cartsman wrote:
Main question I have is whether there is reason to wait another year or 2 for tubeless to become more standardised or mature across different manufacturers? I haven't done a whole load of research on it as I have no pressing need for new wheels, but it seems there are still a few issues which are potentially a PITA or at least off-putting to a newcomer, such as the difference between tubeless and tubeless-ready, different bead and rim types, certain tires being incompatible with certain rims, etc.
This is a tough call (for most consumer products). How long to wait? You could've asked that same question two years ago, five years ago, or more. Personally, I'm a late-ish adopter to most things, and want the early adopters to go through the heartache for me. I still have an iPhone 6S because I like the headphone jack.
The good news is that you largely don't have to wait. There aren't a ton of new mid-high-end wheels still being sold that aren't tubeless-ready. If you aren't ready to go tubeless, you can still run inner tubes and standard clincher tires on those wheels... all you have to know is the
slightly updated tire installation procedure.
From what I've heard, Schwalbe's latest tubeless stuff is the most forgiving in terms of installation ease. I haven't used them, but should have something in my hands fairly soon. To me, the bigger question to ask yourself before making the jump is whether you can find the right tire to suit your needs in terms of puncture resistance. For example, with most brands' tubed road tires, you can pick between ~3-4 levels of puncture resistance (usually affecting rolling resistance). Supersonic, GP4000, GP 4 Season, Gatorskin, for example. I don't see as many choices with tubeless. Sealant helps, but can't make up for casing thickness. At least for training, I don't want a thin race tire - tubed or tubeless.