Should I go tubeless?

Thanks Matthew, I will have a look at them.

Thanks Wynne - I saw them - but I was looking for a good all rounder, ones I can use in winter and in the summer really.

Yes , definitely go tubeless. Bontrager have a good range, but this year I've bee running MudX all year...

I'm against it but don't let that put you off.

My first encouter was Specialized tubless tyres on mavic x819 tubeless rims and one of the tyres got a puncture that I could not fix - I am even more against using the sealant; also the rims make for a heavy set of wheels. I ended up using inner tubes which negates the tubless concept.

My second encounter, in the last couple of days, was with a pair of tubeless tyres - brand escapes me - but these are so incredibly tight it took me two hours to get them off the rim - I doubt I would have been able to do that on the trail. Of course one could argue that since they were filled with sealant, they would not puncture so would not need to be removed but I believe in sod's law that the one time you go out riding without a spare inner tube, you will puncture. Also they tyres are heavy, much heavier than tyre plus inner so weight is at a disadvantage, and yes, I know tubless allows you to run at lower pressure.

I've had problems fitting tyres to Stans 355s, but no probs at all to DT4.2 or Mavic 317/517. Bontrager Tubeless Ready go on using just fingers. THey're light too, at 500gms for 1.8 mudX or 600gm for 2.1 XR3s. The yellow rim strip weighs F all and the sealant less than 100gm . Narrow tyres can Fart if you land funny from jumps, but the bigger sizes are fine. One of my rides includes a half mile downhill flint fest, and they're OK so far...

Specialized don't make tubeless tyres AFAIK but tubeless ready , you need to use sealant, the beads are tubeless but the sidewalls aren't (and therfore not heavy) as the sealant seals the sidewalls, the Sworks ones are too thin for longterm use at low pressures (20>25psi) and start to degrade after about 6 months (mine were replaced FOC with non sworks ones) . I've been running Spesh GC's since Jan this year and have found them to be very good , only had 1 thorn puncture and found this out when cleaning the bike a few days later (I could see the thorn not due to pressure loss). You do have to top up the sealant every six months or so but I certainly won't be going back to tubes. As an all round all year tyre I'm happy with them and will be buying another set for the Orange, oh and the RR is very low.
Matthew