Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Will 2013 Be The Year Of Road Tubeless?


I have been writing here for two years, and during this time we have seen some slow and steady growth in road tubeless tire acceptance.  But in the last few weeks between Eurobike and the run up to Interbike next week in Las Vegas, I have seen a dramatic uptic in the number of companies releasing tubeless specific wheelsets and those announcing tubeless road tires.

For example, Bike Rumor announced today that Reynolds is releasing multiple wheelsets with rims licensed by Stans.  Add to that the recent announcements by companies like HED, American Classic, and others, and the only conclusion reachable is that manufacturers are seeing a critical mass (finally) forming around this technology. In essence, we are seeing the same type of industry consensus around disc brakes for road bikes.

At the same time, highly respected cycling experts like Lennard Zinn are recognizing how great this technology really is. According to his column in VeloNews, he has "only had two flats with tubeless road tires in many years and tens of thousands of miles of riding them." Its hard to argue with that kind of testimonial from a journalist, mechanic, and industry icon of his stature.

Next Wednesday, I am going to visit Interbike myself and take a close look at the state of road tubeless technology. I also have a forthcoming feature article about road tubeless technology that is scheduled to appear in a nationally circulated magazine. So please keep coming back and allow me to show you where all of this is heading.

2 comments:

  1. The tubeless tires will have an inner lining made up of an impermeable membrane of halo butyl. The rim of the tire will act as a sealant for the air inside the tire. The air valve is directly kept on the rim.

    Tyres Northern Ireland

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is very useful information you have shared about tubeless road wheels. I am very happy to read this article. Thanks for giving us nice info. Fantastic walk through. I appreciate this post.

    ReplyDelete