Road tubeless

[Evilcat]

Just got some new Ultegra 6700 wheels for the road bike (from Merlin Cycles: great price/service) and they are a "2-way" design which allows both regular clinchers and tubeless (i.e Hutchinson Atom, I guess) tyres.

It was a little more difficult to get Pro Race 3s on than with my old 6600s, but does anyone have any experience of running tubeless road tyres on 2-way rims? Worth it or not? Incidentally, there now appear to be a fair few options in 2-way wheels too, but very few options in terms of tubeless tyres.

EC

 

[MajorMantra]

Just got some new Ultegra 6700 wheels for the road bike (from Merlin Cycles: great price/service) and they are a "2-way" design which allows both regular clinchers and tubeless (i.e Hutchinson Atom, I guess) tyres.

It was a little more difficult to get Pro Race 3s on than with my old 6600s, but does anyone have any experience of running tubeless road tyres on 2-way rims? Worth it or not? Incidentally, there now appear to be a fair few options in 2-way wheels too, but very few options in terms of tubeless tyres.

EC

That does seem to be the biggest sticking point, there are only about two readily available road tubeless tyres on the market.

Tubeless is appealing in that you might get more of of the suppleness of a tubular tyre, but there isn't really any weight advantage.

I don't think there's been much on them here but if you search Bikeradar or Bikeforums you'll find a few threads about them.

Matthew

 

[accountantpete]

No experience of the two-way fit, but as MM says they roll better.

On the other hand gluing the tyre and punctures are a real pain in the ass - they are only worth it for competitions IMHO.

 

[MajorMantra]

No experience of the two-way fit, but as MM says they roll better.

On the other hand gluing the tyre and punctures are a real pain in the ass - they are only worth it for competitions IMHO.

The OP is talking about tubeless, not, tubular, so gluing is not an issue. They're like car tyres - the bead forms a seal against the wheel without an inner tube.

Theoretically this could give you the ride quality of tubulars with most of the advantages of clinchers, but it's not been widely enough adopted for their to be much choice in tyres yet.

Matthew

 

[Evilcat]

Just been reading various reviews and reports and will definitely be giving tubeless tyres a go when the Pro 3s give out. Campag and Fulcrum wheel brands are both available in 2-way designs, and it seems to be becoming standard for Shimano too. Getting the tyre on the rim the first time was a challenge and I managed to give one of the tubes a slow puncture, but more care and plenty of soapy water was the solution... obviously not an issue with tubeless.

People say that benefits of tubeless are less rolling resistance, better p*ncture protection and much better ride as you can run lower pressures, so I will invest in a pair of Hutchinsons in a few months and report back.

EC