Tubeless Tires
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A tubeless tire ( also spelled as tubeless tyre in
Commonwealth English The use of the English language in current and former Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, countries of Commonwealth of Nations, the Commonwealth was largely inherited from British Empire, British colonisation, with some exceptions. Eng ...
) is a
pneumatic Pneumatics (from Greek 'wind, breath') is the use of gas or pressurized air in mechanical systems. Pneumatic systems used in Industrial sector, industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A centrally located a ...
tire A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineeri ...
that does not require a separate
inner tube An inner tube is an inflatable torus that forms the interior of some pneumatic tires. The tube is inflated through a valve stem and fits inside the tire casing. The inflated inner tube provides structural support and suspension, while the out ...
. Unlike pneumatic tires which use a separate inner tube, tubeless tires have continuous ribs molded integrally into the
bead A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under 1 ...
of the tire that are forced by air pressure into a flange on the metal rim of the wheel, sealing the tire to the rim.


History

Many patents had been filed covering tubeless tires. ''Killen Tire'' applied for a patent in 1928 and was granted in the UK in 1930. The Wingfoot Corporation, a subsidiary of
Goodyear Tire The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturer headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for passenger vehicles, aviation, commercial trucks, military and police vehicles, motorcycles, recreati ...
were granted a patent in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
in 1944. Due to technical problems, most of these designs saw only limited production or were abandoned. Frank Herzegh working for
BF Goodrich BFGoodrich is an American tire brand. Originally part of the industrial conglomerate Goodrich Corporation, it was acquired in 1990 (along with Uniroyal, then The Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company) by the French tire maker Michelin. BFGoodrich wa ...
applied for a patent in 1946 and eventually received in 1952 in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. By 1955 tubeless tires became standard equipment on new cars. BF Goodrich had to defend their patent in court several times, due to the similarities of previous designs. The primary difference between the BF Goodrich design and their predecessors was the usage of
butyl rubber Butyl rubber, sometimes just called butyl, is a synthetic rubber, a copolymer of isobutylene with isoprene. The abbreviation IIR stands for isobutylene isoprene rubber. Polyisobutylene, also known as "PIB" or polyisobutene, (C4H8)n, is the homop ...
, which was more resistant to air leakage than the natural
rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...
used in the other designs.


Safety

Traditional designs of pneumatic tires required a separate inner tube which could fail for a number of reasons, such as incorrect tire fit, friction between the tire wall and inner tube generating excess heat, or a puncture. Tubeless tire technology does away with the need for an inner tube thereby increasing safety. In a tubeless tire, the tire and the rim of the wheel form an airtight seal, with the valve being directly mounted on the rim. If a tubeless tire gets a small puncture, air escapes only through the hole, leading to a gentle deflation. Conversely, a tubed tire, with an inner tube, could burst like a balloon, leading to deflation of the tire which could result in sudden loss of control of the vehicle. However, the "bursting like a balloon" scenario is highly unlikely due to fact that the inner tube is inside of the tire and will deflate at a rate proportional to the puncture hole size. In antique automobiles, made before the mid 1950s, the rims are not designed for tubeless tires, and an inner tube is required to prevent slow leaks at the bead.


Advantages of tubeless tires

Tubeless tires provide several advantages, such as remaining operational at lower air pressure. Due to their high width, tubeless tires are less likely to get punctured than regular tube tires. Air leakage is also reduced as the rubber in the tire keeps the air trapped for longer, giving an extra time to drive safely and pull over. In addition, mending a tubeless tire is easier than a traditional one—a simple liquid sealant poured over the puncture is often enough to patch it. Furthermore, the higher air pressure inside a tubeless tire provides more stability and comfort while driving. Lastly, the lack of a tube also boosts
fuel efficiency Fuel efficiency (or fuel economy) is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical energy, chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or Mechanical work, w ...
due to reduced tire friction.


Tire sealants

Liquid tire sealant can be injected into tubeless tires to prevent deflation in case of small punctures, although there is controversy regarding its compatibility with direct
tire pressure monitoring system A tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) monitors the air pressure inside the pneumatic tires on vehicles. A TPMS reports real-time tire-pressure information to the driver, using either a gauge, a pictogram display, or a simple low-pressure ...
s (TPMS) that employ sensors mounted inside the tire. Some manufacturers of sealants assert that their products are indeed compatible, but others warned that, e.g., the "sealant may come in contact with the sensor in a way that renders the sensor TEMPORARILY inoperable until it is properly cleaned, inspected and re-installed by a tire care professional". Such doubts are also reported by others. Use of such sealants may void the TPMS sensor warranty.


Bicycle tires

A tubeless
bicycle tire A bicycle tire is a tire that fits on the Bicycle wheel, wheel of a bicycle or similar vehicle. These tires may also be used on tricycles, wheelchairs, and handcycles, frequently for Wheelchair racing, racing. Bicycle tires provide an importa ...
system requires a compatible tire, an airtight rim—capable of being sealed at the
valve stem A valve stem is a self-contained valve that opens to admit gas to a chamber (such as air to inflate a tire), and is then automatically closed and kept sealed by the pressure in the chamber, or a spring (device), spring, or both, to prevent the g ...
, spoke holes (if they go all the way through the rim) and the tire bead seat. Liquid sealant is added inside the tire to prevent leaking around the bead and to seal holes from small punctures, but the sealant can be messy to mount or in case of punctures. Tubeless systems typically utilize
Presta valve The Presta valve (also French valve (FV) or Sclaverand valve) is a type of tire valve commonly found on high pressure bicycle inner tubes and is commonly used on tubeless setups. It consists of an outer valve stem and an inner valve body. A lo ...
s with removable cores. Some feature a larger internal diameter than usual Presta valves to prevent clogging and to accommodate more air flow during installation. The main benefit of tubeless tires is the ability to use low air pressure for better traction without getting pinch flats because there is no tube to pinch between the rim and an obstacle. Lower pressures mean improved comfort and rolling performance on rough surfaces. Since there’s no inner tube, there’s no friction between tire and tube. Many punctures will self seal. Most punctures that don’t seal are easy to fix with a tire plug.


Mountain and gravel

''UST'' or ''Universal System Tubeless'' is a rim designed by
Mavic Mavic may refer to: * Mavic (bicycle parts company), a French manufacturer of bicycle parts * DJI ''Mavic'', a series of compact UAV drones by DJI * Mavic Chen, a fictional character in ''Doctor Who'' from the 1965 serial "The Daleks' Master Pla ...
with hooked edges designed to seal with specially designed tires. Several companies such as
Michelin Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...
and Hutchinson make tires compatible with UST rims, and that. UST was the first tubeless system for bicycles. Other companies such as Stan’s NoTubes,
Bontrager Keith Bontrager (; born December 18, 1954) is a motorcycle racer who became a pioneer in the development of the modern mountain bike. Between 1980 and 1995, he was president of his own Bontrager Company, which continues to develop components for ...
, DT Swiss, and WTB have their own similar system called ''Tubeless Ready''.


Road

In 2006,
Shimano , originally and later , is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing company for cycling components, fishing tackle and rowing (sport), rowing equipment, which also produced golf supplies until 2005 and snowboarding gear ...
and Hutchinson introduced a tubeless system for road bicycles. There has been a slow migration of the professional peloton to tubeless designs, with the change happening slowly over the later end of the 2010's with tubeless turning up on a meaningful number of bikes around the 2017 season and continuing to gain popularity into the early 2020's. As of 2024, most of the professional peloton is now using a tubeless setup for most applications with the odd UCI pro team using tubular or clinchers in certain races or stages. Tubeless tyres now dominate the lowest rolling resistance charts.


See also

*
Dunlop valve The Dunlop valve, (abbreviated as DV; also called a Woods valve, an English valve or a Blitz valve) is a type of pneumatic valve stem in use—mostly on inner tubes of bicycles—in many countries, including Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan, Sri L ...
* Inflation pressure **
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...
**
kPa The pascal (symbol: Pa) is the unit of pressure in the International System of Units (SI). It is also used to quantify internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus, and ultimate tensile strength. The unit, named after Blaise Pascal, is an SI ...
**
psi Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ or ψ), the twenty-third letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviat ...
*
Outline of tires The following Outline (list), outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to tires: Tire (North American) or tyre (British) – ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel Rim (wheel), rim to protect it and enable bet ...
*
Presta valve The Presta valve (also French valve (FV) or Sclaverand valve) is a type of tire valve commonly found on high pressure bicycle inner tubes and is commonly used on tubeless setups. It consists of an outer valve stem and an inner valve body. A lo ...
*
Rolling resistance Rolling resistance, sometimes called rolling friction or rolling drag, is the force resisting the Motion (physics), motion when a body (such as a ball, tire, or wheel) Rolling, rolls on a surface. It is mainly caused by Plasticity (physics), non- ...
*
Schrader valve The Schrader valve (also called American valve (AV)) is a type of pneumatic tire valve used on virtually every motor vehicle in the world today. The original Schrader valve design was invented in 1891 and patented in the United States in 1893.G ...


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tubeless Tires Tires