Tubes and the CT

[fotooutdoors]

I am looking to do the CT (probably R, not yet decided) sometime in the next couple years.  As I plan for a new bike build, it occurred to me that I may want tubeless compatible rims.  However, these do not come cheap, especially compared to some of the decent quality budget ($25-30) options.  So, my question is how important are they for the Colorado Trail?  Having never ridden in the west, I am clueless as to flatting risks such as goatheads (are they an issue on the CT?).  FWIW, I will likely ride rigid (it's what I have) on fairly high volume tires, if that makes a difference.  Thanks all for your help.

[Done]

My cousin and I rode it in 2010 with tubes. Not one flat between us.

[riverfever]

I can't recall ever getting a goat head on the trail. In 2008 I rode with tubes and had no flats. It's do-able.

[redtabby]

FWIW, I will likely ride rigid (it's what I have) on fairly high volume tires, if that makes a difference.

Goatheads aside, if you are riding rigid it might be a bit more comfortable tubeless (i.e. bump
compliance) to be able to run those high volume tires at lower pressure than what might be
necessary to prevent pinchflats on a tube setup.

[bartspedden]

I rode the CT in 2009 with tubes and had 4 flats from what I can remember. My first flat came a bit south of the MCT while on a jeep trail that had a bunch of water bars, I was having fun manual'ing some and jumping others.  The speed got pretty fast and pssssssssst... pinch flat. And then the next 3 all came on the descent from Sargents Pass.  There's nothing but baby heads for miles and I got going a bit too fast again and jumping and having too much fun... and apparently I'm not a quick learner because 3 flats in one day = 1 brain dead rider having lots of fun but not learning much at the time

In 2011 I ran tubless, just as hard, but with a couple more years of skill, and didn't have any flats.  I think riding style is quite important when it comes to flats.  I was racing downhill before I ever even heard of the CTR, so my riding style tends to lean more towards the aggressive side of things.  Learning to not be so hard on these xc bikes has become invaluable.  For instance, after breaking 5 chains I learned that shifting an xc bike is, for me, different from shifting a downhill bike. I needed to be aware of terrain/speed/torque. 

I think the same type of learning lesson happened with flats too, but going tubeless seemed to be a technical advantage.  In the spring of 2010 just one week into my riding season I already had 2 flats.  On a whim I decided to try a ghetto setup using 20'' tubes and some stans.  That was effectively the end of my flats.  I've learned to be a smoother rider and now seek out the more xc friendly lines... but when things get edgy, I revert to my DH skills and treat my xc bike like it has 8 inches of travel.  And doing all this with 15lbs of gear  on the bike means I'm asking a lot from my tubes/tires/wheels.  And, since I've never had a flat with tubeless, it seems to me like a technical advantage over tubes.  I've never considered going back to tubes.  I converted my wife's bike to tubeless last year and just asked her if she would ever consider going back to tubes and the answer is No. 

All that being said, I still think tubes are fine and would have no problem using them on the CT.