What is Tubeless ?

A tubeless bike tire set up doesn’t use an inner tube

1 / The benefits of tubeless tires on road bicycles

Tubeless tires offer many advantages in terms of performance, comfort, grip and puncture protection :

  • reduced rolling resistance due to the absence of an inner tube, thus avoiding unnecessary friction between the tire and the inner tube.
 
  • less inflation pressure without loss of performance, better comfort and considerably improved control in degraded pavements, narrow or tight curves. The tubeless tire is better suited to the roughness of the ground, thus allowing a better grip on the road
 
  • very high protection against the risk of punctures : as they do not have a tube, there is no more risk of pinching punctures. With the use of a liquid sealant inside, small punctures will be repaired. For the repair, the application of a patch is enough, curatives also exist.

2 / The disadvantages of tubeless tyres

  • This type of technology does not reduce weight and may even weighs slightly more heavily because of the sealant.
 
  • In the event that the liquid has not been able to seal the hole, you must proceed in the same way as a regular tire: a patch inside the tire and a spare tube. Simply unscrew the valve from the rim and put it in your pocket or bag.
 
  • Mounting such a tire requires a certain vigilance, without however requiring special skills. The application of the installation instructions is imperative in order to guarantee the tightness of the system. A simple foot pump or hand pump is enough to install a tubeless tire. For the installation on the rim, you will encounter some hardness, because the bead hook of a tubeless tire is more resistant, therefore harder to pass.
 
  • Like all recent technologies, the costs are a bit higher than traditional tires.
 
  • Tubeless tires require suitable rims. However, if you want to try tubeless without changing your rims, there are systems to change a conventional tire tubeless anti-puncture system.
 

3 / How To Setup Tubeless Road Bike Tyres

4 / What is a Tubeless Ready bike tire ?

Tubeless Ready tires are not tubeless tires but can be converted into tubeless tires by using sealing liquid.

The Tubeless Ready tire is therefore a solution between Tubeless (tubeless bicycle tires) and Tubetype (bicycle tires with inner tube). The Tubeless Ready tire does not have a waterproof coating. The use of preventive liquid is mandatory since it is he who will seal the carcass of the tire.

The benefits of Tubeless Ready tire :

  • Lighter than a Tubeless tire in the absence of the internal sealing layer
  • Greater flexibility than a standard tubeless tire for superior grip, performance and traction
  • Can be mounted with an inner tube when needed

 

Disadvantages compared to Tubeless tire :

  • Preventive liquid and sealing essential
  • Overall less easy to install than a Tubeless tire
  • Sidewall less puncture resistant than standard tubeless tires

 

At Schwalbe, a new version of Tubeless Ready is available : Tubeless Easy. It is distinguished by a new monofilament texture on the sidewalls (SnakeSkin) that allows a very easy tubeless conversion. Even if it is still necessary to use sealing liquid, the fitting is however as simple as for a tubeless tire.