Practical guide on tubeless wheels on road bicycles

In it mountain cycling The use of tubess wheels is common. More and more cyclists, both fans and professionals, who opt for this tire system. Its advantages are evident: the risk of stopping the rhythm per puncture is minimized, a greater traction is achieved by being able to roll with lower pressures and save weight (even if they are the few grams of the camera).

On the asphalt, however, the majority tire options have been two: the classic wheels with a lifetime camera.

Among fans the camera wheels remain the majority option. In the world of high competition the preferred option is the tubular. The main advantage valued by tubular professionals is their weight. The tubular is lighter because the tire is attached directly to the tire. In addition, his grip on the asphalt is greater. However, for road cycling the options remained two: o Use classic tires with camera or wheel with tubular. Among the fans the wheels with camera were - and remain - the majority option.

👉 The advantages of wearing tubess wheels in Mountain Bike

But, as with other technological innovations that first reached Mountainbike And then, to the road, it seems that little by little the tubess type wheels are beginning to gain ground in road cycling. More and more look road bicycles With tubess wheels. Even Giant offered in its ranges of carbon bicycles for road in 2018 tires with technology TUBELESS READY serial. Will we end up using this wheel system in the capes? Will the tubeless have the same impact on road cycling that already has on the mountain? What real advantages contributes its use on asphalt?

What is the tubeless?

The functioning of the tubess bicycle wheels is very similar to that of car wheels. Instead of using a camera between the tire and the tire, what it does is use air pressure to create a hermetic seal between these two elements. In addition, in the space that is created between the tire and the roof, a sealing liquid is introduced that, in case of a puncture or cut of the tire, seals the hole to avoid the air leakage. In this way, greater protection is achieved against one of the main spotlights of frustration when you go by bicycle: suffer a puncture.

On the other hand, the tubess type wheels allow you to roll at lower pressures, thus offering a greater grip and comfort. The advantages in mountain cycling are evident, since the tubess wheels favor the traction and avoid being thrown in the middle of the mountain for having punctured a wheel. Of course, they are not 100% infallible either.

Why not the tubeless on the road?

The advantages of this type of wheels in Mountain Bike They are evident. But what happens to road cycling? Why have they not had the same success? As with many other technological innovations, one of the reasons that is used so that its use is not widely accepting is the fact that they are not used by professional cyclists. Until not long ago that was true: in the squad the teams did not want to hear about tubess wheels, unlike what happens between the Bikers professionals from Cross country and Marathon.

However, this is changing. In 2015 Martin Elmiger got fifth in Paris-Roubaix carrying a bicycle equipped with tubess wheels. The following year, the German Tony Martin was proclaimed world champion of counterreloj carrying a tubeless configuration on his bicycle. Fabio Jakobsen won the fourth stage of the 2019 California Tour Specialized. This same year Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) also won the victory in the Gante-Wevelgem and was third in the Flanders Tour carrying Tubelized tires (Although it would be more appropriate to call them Destubelized). And in the Tour de France there are several teams that have used Tubess wheels, as was the case of the AG2R La Mondiale team in the Tour 2019 team counter.

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Another of the reasons that explained the low use of tubess tires among those who practice road cycling was the low availability of this type of wheels in the market.

Mavic was the pioneer brand in developing a specific range of tubess wheels for road bicycles. And for a while it was difficult to find other suppliers and models. But today the main wheel manufacturers already offer type tires TUBELESS READY For Route cycling: Hutchinson, Schwalbe, Maxxis, Bontrager, Vittoria, Panaracer ... Continental, which for a time renegade this system because it considered that the advantages it offered over gravel and land were not transferable to the asphalt, it has a wide Road tubess tire offer. Even large bicycle manufacturers begin to include this type of wheels in their serial models. Giant Wheels already offered in 2018 TUBELESS READY in its ranges of carbon road bicycles. We are like this at a time when professionals, manufacturers and bicycle brands begin to make winks to the cameraless tires. Does that mean that in a few years the Tubeless will be a standard in road cycling as it is already in the mountain?

Advantages of tubeless wheels on road

There are several advantages offered by tubeless technology to road cycling. Below we indicate the most detaches.

Less incidents for punctures

The main advantage of road tubeless wheels is that it reduces the incidents caused by a puncture. It is not true that with this type of tires you are not going to prick, but if so the sealing liquid will close the hole and you can follow the march for several kilometers (and even until the end of the day) without getting off the bicycle . On the other hand, the road wheels They need a higher pressure than mountain bicycle. In case of a puncture, this pressure difference increases the risk of accident. Think for a moment what happens when you are descending a mountain port and click the front wheel. The tubeless tire reduces the risk of ending the bones on the ground. It ended up getting out of the bicycle for a puncture, although this advantage is already enjoyed by those who use tubular with sealing fluid inside. 

Greater traction with irregular or wet asfact

Another outstanding advantage of tubess wheels in road cycling is that they provide a greater grip in situations where the asphalt has an irregular profile or is wet. This is possible because with the tubess tire it is possible to roll at lower pressures, which earns traction by offering a larger contact surface of the roof with the road. In addition, rolling with less pressure without a chamber inside the wheel reduces the risk to suffering a puncture produced by the typical pinching that sometimes occurs between the camera and the tire when passing through a bump or stretch in poor condition.

Lighter and faster wheels (in theory)

As there is no need to introduce a camera between the tire and the tire, a lighter wheel is achieved, since you save the weight of the camera. This is so in theory, because in practice it only applies to some tubess wheels of high ranges, as we will analyze later when talking about the disadvantages of the tubess tire on the road. Friction between the camera and the roof is also eliminated. With this, in addition to avoiding punctures by pinching of the previous point, it is won -Teambien in theory- a higher speed.

Disadvantages of tubeless wheels on the road

Obviously, not all the advantages. You also have to keep in mind the inconveniences that suppose to the tubeless for your road bike or continue with the classic chamber. These are some of the disadvantages offered by this system.

They require greater maintenance

As far as maintenance is concerned, carrying camera tires just have to worry about carrying the proper pressure and monitoring the wear of the roof. With tubeless tires you have to replace the sealing liquid from time to time. In addition, the assembly of this type of wheels is more laborious and sometimes it is necessary to use an air compressor or a CO2 inflator to assemble them and to carve them correctly. This happens because the tubess system depends on creating a hermetic seal between the tire and the tire. Consequently, visits to the mechanic for wheel maintenance are greater than with the classic camera system.

They are not as light as they presume

Surely you have heard that passing to some tubess wheels you will reduce some grams of weight to your bicycle. This is so in theory because this type of tires do not need camera, so it saves the weight of this component. However, in practice this is not always the case. Tubeless wheels, due to their configuration, may require extra materials that increase their weight. Let's put the continental GP 5000 range. TUBELESS GP 5000 TL tires have a weight of 340 grams. However, the 5000 GP for camera weigh 250 grams.

Temperatures up to 150 degrees

The fact that there are less incidents for punctures and that can be shot at lower pressures is not always an advantage. Precisely due to the anti-class advantage offered by tubess tires, some manufacturers reduce the thickness of the rolling band, so that in reality both the possibility of puncturing and the wear and tear is greater. On the other hand, road wheels require higher pressure than mountain. This causes that temperatures of up to 150 degrees and superiors that limit the efficacy and durability of the sealant fluid be reached inside the wheel. And if it is filmed with lower pressures, the friction of the tire and the road is greater, with what is earned in grip but is lost in speed.

Is it worth taking tubeless wheels on the road?

Really about this aspect you will find opinions both for and against. But the reality is that little by little the tubess wheels are beginning to make a font in road cycling and their advantages are superior to their inconveniences for the use made by most amateur cyclists. In addition, a phenomenon similar to that experienced by other innovations that first reached mountain cycling and then moved to road bicycles. It happened with the disc brakes. It also happened with the 11V exchange groups. Currently they also begin to see road bicycles with 12V transmissions and even monopath. And is going with the tubess wheels. And what do you think? Have you tried the tubeless on the road? Do you think it will end up being something common?