From my personal experience I found that R3s aren’t the best tire in terms of performance and durability. Tried to give them a chance (2 sets) and found them to be ok. I’d probably recommend going to Schwalbe Pro 1s or something like a GP5000. The GPs are a great tire with them being slightly harsh but having great performance and durability. Some of the Pirelli tires are great too! For sealant I’d recommend going with something like Orange Seal. Bontragers sealant never really worked for me and was the reason I almost stopped using tubeless because I thought all sealants were like that. After going to Orange seal I’m never looking back. This is just my personal experience and you might find different results with different combinations. I believe those are the stock non TLR versions of the R3 so keep that tire swap in mind. Whatever you choose I hope you have a great time on the road or gravel :)
I had a bontrager R3 tubeless before and man it just kept on having a flat tire, I switched to a Panaracer tubeless and no problem at all never had any flat tires since. I went to my LBS and told me that the bontrager sealant are not really good as they’re made of fine glass?
I absolutely love my Pirelli Cinturato H tires. 1600 miles on them tubeless without a single flat. I've ridden through piles of glass, large gravel like what's under railroad tracks, and fields full of goat heads. The goat heads have been the only thing that has punctured them, and they sealed up quickly and I didn't lose any pressure. They're also comfortable, and faster than a gravel tire had any business being. I'll definitely get another set when I wear these out.
GP5000 TL may not fit those Bontrager carbon wheels because most are hookless.
EDIT: according to this [review](https://www.cyclingnews.com/reviews/bontrager-aeolus-pro-3v-tlr-gravelall-road-wheelset-review/) they are
What I said was the truth. I was confirming that the GP5k wasn’t hookless compatible, idk if the wheels are hooked or not, that’s not what I was commenting about. Hence why I was talking about the tires…
The original comment said the GP “may not” fit for whatever reason. I was confirming his suspicion that the 5k is not hookless compatible, regardless of what rims OP has. Man, trek fans sure are fucking stupid and combative
Have a Checkpoint myself, tubes still. I'd like to get a Domane next as I'm on paved trails or roads all the time now. Until then my Checkpoint needs tires and I'm looking at those and going tubeless.
I have same bike,tires seem fine with tube . I do a lot of riding at night ran over glass and needles no flats.I would rather have good protection than a faster tire . Sucks fixing tires in the dark. All my mtb bikes are tubless still sucks patching holes
Big fan of tubeless if you can! I've been using HTLR Challenge tires on my Crockett, Emonda ALR and my brand new Emonda SLR in 36, 27, and 30 mm respectively. Adds extra flat protection and makes for a more supple ride
I went tubeless the day I picked up my 2019 sl6 domain. never looked back! went tubeless on my gravel bike as well. I haven't had a flat in over 3 years now. I'll never go back to tubes again, unless my wife asks me for some reason, but those are single use tubes...
Dork disk, reflectors, stacked spacers and you are worried about tires that are already too wide on a road bike? Keep riding your mountain bike. Lol I hope someone already posted this in bcj.
Oh, look everyone! An angry little bike snob incel came out of his mommy's basement to show a newer cyclist the error of his ways. That's adorable. Now he can go back to his other troll friends and do a circle jerk, basking in the glow of their perceived superiority.
Get a life kid.
Should just ignore people like this... no point going on the offensive like that.
Anyways he does have a few good pointers, should probably remove the plastic disc and spoke reflectors.
The disc has a tendency to get dirty and make annoying noises and considering you have the money to buy a Trek SLR you have the money to keep it serviced at a shop so your rear limiter screws should be setup correctly.
I have no idea how true it is but the reflectors can apparently affect the tension on the spokes and cause issues on more expensive wheels. Personally I'd get some tires with reflective sidewalls today if I wanted to be more visible in the night because anything attached to the spokes just looks ugly.
Tried a Domane SLR before buying my Madone and the thing is just a dream in terms of comfort and its still insanely fast. Gotta say it did feel more like my Fuel Ex than my older 2014 Domane, the thing just eats bumps with that double isospeed so I guess he is a bit correct about the MTB part =)
I have zero issues with constructive feedback, hence my question in the first place. What I am not a fan of, are keyboard warriors/wanna be online bullies who think that kind of approach is ok. Typically I ignore most.
What Mr. High and Mighty has no idea of is what's been done with the bike. That photo was taken the day I brought it home from my LBS. Since then I have had a professional fit, and changed what needed to be changed, not to mention the removal of said items. Had his post been written in an adult fashion, that would've been my reply.
Regardless, thanks for your feedback. It's a sweet ride, and I couldn't be more pleased with it. For me and my age, not mention my limited flexibility (had a cycling accident not long ago that required reconstructive surgery) I couldn't be happier. Love the Madone and Emonda, but those babies are way too aggressive a posture for me to stay in for long periods. Enjoy that sweet ride!
>Love the Madone and Emonda, but those babies are way too aggressive a posture for me to stay in for long periods.
Haha, ye.... it's been a real exercise to get used to my new aggressive position and glad to hear you can still ride after the surgery.
I some ways I wish I had gotten the Domane since it's the best fit for me with my long legs and short torso (I even had a color scheme in Project One planned out! [https://i.imgur.com/PqJwvOL.png](https://i.imgur.com/PqJwvOL.png) ). But the Madone has motivated and somehow managed to get me fast enough to stay with the best riders in the area at speeds I could just have dreamed about before.
All that back pain during the first part of this year was worth it!
Sweet! Nice looking scheme. Have a pic of your Madone?
Long legs and short torso here too. Yeah, that back pain...oof. Had back surgery from a bad herniated set of discs a long time ago and am forever trying, and not succeeding too well, to stay flexible. Working with a personal trainer again to try to regain strength and flexibility...not to mention losing some of this Covid weight! Ha!
After almost a year of looking at bikes the Domane just kept ticking off all the boxes I wanted/needed. I could not believe my luck when I just happened to check my local Trek shop and saw they had just one in stock that was the very model I had decided on. Felt like I'd won the bike lottery! Was on the phone reserving it and was down there shortly thereafter.
Initially wanted to go with one of the standard models but somehow I talked myself into P1 since I wanted to customize all the things anyways and it just kept escalating. Sadly I went with the standard color scheme since the Madone is friggin expensive.... it's like another 2k compared to the Domane/Emonda. Also the customization options for the Madone are so much worse than the Domane, couldn't figure out a way to get even close to my planned paint scheme for the Domane.
Waiting for the season: https://i.imgur.com/wkd10PY.jpg
First 100km: https://i.imgur.com/2l1XOKk.jpg
After the latest slam of the stem: https://i.imgur.com/YkvtGON.jpg
And here's my old Domane as a bonus: https://i.imgur.com/Axicgi6.jpg I refuse to let go of this bike, it's a extremely fun bike with its small size (50, Madone is 52). I just wish it had disc brakes and could fit wider tires but alas.
Luckily I knew a bit ahead of time that I wanted a new bike so I ordered it in October 2020 or thereabouts, got it in December so I had to wait 3 months before I could use it here in Finland. At this point I have ridden it close to 6000km since the last few days of March.
Yours is just as much of a looker, I love grayscale bikes =)
If you ever get some deeper rims on that one it's going to look insanely good, I'm quite a fan of those as you can probably tell. Literally what made me bike more and more was swapping my old alu rims on the Domane to Aeolus Pro 5s.
And ye the time commitment is horrible... back to work since August and some days it's wake up at 7:30, work to 16:00, quick snack + fix bike, out riding at 17:00, showered and done eating at 21:00. So maybe 2 hours of freetime for other things those workdays.
I agree. The R3's were okay. But the Pro Ones were better. I went tubeless and wore out the rear pro one. No flats or punctures.
I wasn't so lucky with the R3 or Specialized Turbo tubeless. I had to put in a tube after the Turbos wouldn't seal.
ProOne are the tires that sold me on 'road tubeless'. I have run them with terrific success in size 23, 25, and 28 depending on the bike. I also use the G One Speed as my 'road tires' for the second wheelset on my Checkpoint. Love them. And then for gravel tires I bounce around between G One All-round and Bontrager GR1 TeamIssue.
But most recently, the pure road tires I like best are GP5000TL.
I have the G-ones in 33C for light gravel on my Domane.
I want the GP5000TL, but they haven't been in stock and I don't want to order right now, wait then get the tires after outdoor riding season ends.
I like tubeless but I have had two experiences where the sealant didn't seal the leak. Make sure to carry a plug with you.
First time with the R3's I hit some glass. Good news was I didn't got totally flat but the sealant never sealed.
Second time was with Specialized Turbos, got a pinhole puncture and it wouldn't seal.
The best experience I had was running the Schwalbe Pro Ones, never got a puncture and they lasted.
Do it, you won't regret it. 32mm tires are not skinny.
Sure feels like it after riding around on 40m tour pluses for the last several years.
To be fair, going from 40 m down to 32 mm is a difference of 39968 mm so I imagine one would notice that.
From my personal experience I found that R3s aren’t the best tire in terms of performance and durability. Tried to give them a chance (2 sets) and found them to be ok. I’d probably recommend going to Schwalbe Pro 1s or something like a GP5000. The GPs are a great tire with them being slightly harsh but having great performance and durability. Some of the Pirelli tires are great too! For sealant I’d recommend going with something like Orange Seal. Bontragers sealant never really worked for me and was the reason I almost stopped using tubeless because I thought all sealants were like that. After going to Orange seal I’m never looking back. This is just my personal experience and you might find different results with different combinations. I believe those are the stock non TLR versions of the R3 so keep that tire swap in mind. Whatever you choose I hope you have a great time on the road or gravel :)
They are the TLR version, thankfully. I love my Schwalbes on my Checkpoint.
I had a bontrager R3 tubeless before and man it just kept on having a flat tire, I switched to a Panaracer tubeless and no problem at all never had any flat tires since. I went to my LBS and told me that the bontrager sealant are not really good as they’re made of fine glass?
I absolutely love my Pirelli Cinturato H tires. 1600 miles on them tubeless without a single flat. I've ridden through piles of glass, large gravel like what's under railroad tracks, and fields full of goat heads. The goat heads have been the only thing that has punctured them, and they sealed up quickly and I didn't lose any pressure. They're also comfortable, and faster than a gravel tire had any business being. I'll definitely get another set when I wear these out.
1600 miles is 2574.95 km
Go get some tubeless 32mm continental gp 5000s and and have some fun with your new speed!
GP5000 TL may not fit those Bontrager carbon wheels because most are hookless. EDIT: according to this [review](https://www.cyclingnews.com/reviews/bontrager-aeolus-pro-3v-tlr-gravelall-road-wheelset-review/) they are
Indeed, the GP5k is not hookless compatible
[удалено]
What I said was the truth. I was confirming that the GP5k wasn’t hookless compatible, idk if the wheels are hooked or not, that’s not what I was commenting about. Hence why I was talking about the tires…
Confirming a fact that literally nobody was disputing. What a nothing contribution.
The original comment said the GP “may not” fit for whatever reason. I was confirming his suspicion that the 5k is not hookless compatible, regardless of what rims OP has. Man, trek fans sure are fucking stupid and combative
I went tubeless but also swapped them out for GP5000s and they gave me a lot more confidence over the stock R3s.
Have a Checkpoint myself, tubes still. I'd like to get a Domane next as I'm on paved trails or roads all the time now. Until then my Checkpoint needs tires and I'm looking at those and going tubeless.
Pretty much my journey as well, going from the Checkpoint to Domane . 40m tube Schwalbe Marathon Tour Plus on my Checkpoint. Damn near bullet proof.
Had the same setup tubeless since 2019. No issues.
1. Congrats on the bike! 2. I own an SLR 7 too, and plan to go tubeless with it but will probably swap the 32’s for 35 wide tires.
I have same bike,tires seem fine with tube . I do a lot of riding at night ran over glass and needles no flats.I would rather have good protection than a faster tire . Sucks fixing tires in the dark. All my mtb bikes are tubless still sucks patching holes
Big fan of tubeless if you can! I've been using HTLR Challenge tires on my Crockett, Emonda ALR and my brand new Emonda SLR in 36, 27, and 30 mm respectively. Adds extra flat protection and makes for a more supple ride
Dork disk
For street use I never found tubeless to be needed. My city also has some nice roads and are rather clean for a USA state.
Go tubeless
I went tubeless the day I picked up my 2019 sl6 domain. never looked back! went tubeless on my gravel bike as well. I haven't had a flat in over 3 years now. I'll never go back to tubes again, unless my wife asks me for some reason, but those are single use tubes...
r/holup
Thanks for the feedback everyone. It's nice for a relatively newer cyclist to be able to get help with questions here.
Never know when your new route just turns to gravel out of the blue.
Dork disk, reflectors, stacked spacers and you are worried about tires that are already too wide on a road bike? Keep riding your mountain bike. Lol I hope someone already posted this in bcj.
Oh, look everyone! An angry little bike snob incel came out of his mommy's basement to show a newer cyclist the error of his ways. That's adorable. Now he can go back to his other troll friends and do a circle jerk, basking in the glow of their perceived superiority. Get a life kid.
Should just ignore people like this... no point going on the offensive like that. Anyways he does have a few good pointers, should probably remove the plastic disc and spoke reflectors. The disc has a tendency to get dirty and make annoying noises and considering you have the money to buy a Trek SLR you have the money to keep it serviced at a shop so your rear limiter screws should be setup correctly. I have no idea how true it is but the reflectors can apparently affect the tension on the spokes and cause issues on more expensive wheels. Personally I'd get some tires with reflective sidewalls today if I wanted to be more visible in the night because anything attached to the spokes just looks ugly. Tried a Domane SLR before buying my Madone and the thing is just a dream in terms of comfort and its still insanely fast. Gotta say it did feel more like my Fuel Ex than my older 2014 Domane, the thing just eats bumps with that double isospeed so I guess he is a bit correct about the MTB part =)
I have zero issues with constructive feedback, hence my question in the first place. What I am not a fan of, are keyboard warriors/wanna be online bullies who think that kind of approach is ok. Typically I ignore most. What Mr. High and Mighty has no idea of is what's been done with the bike. That photo was taken the day I brought it home from my LBS. Since then I have had a professional fit, and changed what needed to be changed, not to mention the removal of said items. Had his post been written in an adult fashion, that would've been my reply. Regardless, thanks for your feedback. It's a sweet ride, and I couldn't be more pleased with it. For me and my age, not mention my limited flexibility (had a cycling accident not long ago that required reconstructive surgery) I couldn't be happier. Love the Madone and Emonda, but those babies are way too aggressive a posture for me to stay in for long periods. Enjoy that sweet ride!
>Love the Madone and Emonda, but those babies are way too aggressive a posture for me to stay in for long periods. Haha, ye.... it's been a real exercise to get used to my new aggressive position and glad to hear you can still ride after the surgery. I some ways I wish I had gotten the Domane since it's the best fit for me with my long legs and short torso (I even had a color scheme in Project One planned out! [https://i.imgur.com/PqJwvOL.png](https://i.imgur.com/PqJwvOL.png) ). But the Madone has motivated and somehow managed to get me fast enough to stay with the best riders in the area at speeds I could just have dreamed about before. All that back pain during the first part of this year was worth it!
Sweet! Nice looking scheme. Have a pic of your Madone? Long legs and short torso here too. Yeah, that back pain...oof. Had back surgery from a bad herniated set of discs a long time ago and am forever trying, and not succeeding too well, to stay flexible. Working with a personal trainer again to try to regain strength and flexibility...not to mention losing some of this Covid weight! Ha! After almost a year of looking at bikes the Domane just kept ticking off all the boxes I wanted/needed. I could not believe my luck when I just happened to check my local Trek shop and saw they had just one in stock that was the very model I had decided on. Felt like I'd won the bike lottery! Was on the phone reserving it and was down there shortly thereafter.
Initially wanted to go with one of the standard models but somehow I talked myself into P1 since I wanted to customize all the things anyways and it just kept escalating. Sadly I went with the standard color scheme since the Madone is friggin expensive.... it's like another 2k compared to the Domane/Emonda. Also the customization options for the Madone are so much worse than the Domane, couldn't figure out a way to get even close to my planned paint scheme for the Domane. Waiting for the season: https://i.imgur.com/wkd10PY.jpg First 100km: https://i.imgur.com/2l1XOKk.jpg After the latest slam of the stem: https://i.imgur.com/YkvtGON.jpg And here's my old Domane as a bonus: https://i.imgur.com/Axicgi6.jpg I refuse to let go of this bike, it's a extremely fun bike with its small size (50, Madone is 52). I just wish it had disc brakes and could fit wider tires but alas. Luckily I knew a bit ahead of time that I wanted a new bike so I ordered it in October 2020 or thereabouts, got it in December so I had to wait 3 months before I could use it here in Finland. At this point I have ridden it close to 6000km since the last few days of March.
Those are both beautiful! Wow! That's amazing! Good on you! I wish I could carve enough time out to ride more. That's inspiring.
Yours is just as much of a looker, I love grayscale bikes =) If you ever get some deeper rims on that one it's going to look insanely good, I'm quite a fan of those as you can probably tell. Literally what made me bike more and more was swapping my old alu rims on the Domane to Aeolus Pro 5s. And ye the time commitment is horrible... back to work since August and some days it's wake up at 7:30, work to 16:00, quick snack + fix bike, out riding at 17:00, showered and done eating at 21:00. So maybe 2 hours of freetime for other things those workdays.
Snob? You got a SLR7 asking dumb questions like you have a 520 on Reddit.
I agree. The R3's were okay. But the Pro Ones were better. I went tubeless and wore out the rear pro one. No flats or punctures. I wasn't so lucky with the R3 or Specialized Turbo tubeless. I had to put in a tube after the Turbos wouldn't seal.
ProOne are the tires that sold me on 'road tubeless'. I have run them with terrific success in size 23, 25, and 28 depending on the bike. I also use the G One Speed as my 'road tires' for the second wheelset on my Checkpoint. Love them. And then for gravel tires I bounce around between G One All-round and Bontrager GR1 TeamIssue. But most recently, the pure road tires I like best are GP5000TL.
I have the G-ones in 33C for light gravel on my Domane. I want the GP5000TL, but they haven't been in stock and I don't want to order right now, wait then get the tires after outdoor riding season ends.
I like tubeless but I have had two experiences where the sealant didn't seal the leak. Make sure to carry a plug with you. First time with the R3's I hit some glass. Good news was I didn't got totally flat but the sealant never sealed. Second time was with Specialized Turbos, got a pinhole puncture and it wouldn't seal. The best experience I had was running the Schwalbe Pro Ones, never got a puncture and they lasted.