Tyres¶

Bicycle tyres are fall into several main categories and they all have their strengths and challenges.

The type of riding surface (road, gravel, mountain bike) has a significant influence on tyre choice. Rider comfort and tyre maintenance are other major factors.

• Clincher: an inner tube holds the air pressure, used by the vast majority of cyclists.
• Tubeless: a thicker tyre edge bead with sealant creates an air tight seal and minimise air loss from punctures
• Solid: no air involved so impossible to get a puncture, typically heavier and harder to fit & remove

On good road conditions the simplicity and performance of Clincher tyres is hard to beat, especially when used with TPU inner tubes and inflated to the manufacturer recommended pressure.

Riders seeking to use lower pressures, 75 PSI or lower, may find comfort benefits with Tubeless tyres especially where roads are littered with potholes and poor surfaces. Greater benefits of Tubeless come with Gravel riding and rougher terrains.

Clincher tyres¶

The most commonly used tyre with a long history of effective use.

If the tyre is punctured and the object breaches the inner tube, then the air will escape causing a 'flat tyre'.

Repair can be quickly achieved at the road side by replacing the inner tube or repairing it with a patch (use a patch suitable for the material of the inner tube).

Many models of clincher tyre include enhanced puncture protection within the tyre itself, e.g. thicker rubber or Kevlar mesh embedded in the tyre.

Common Size Clincher Tyre ranges: 23C to 32C

Benefits

• the most widely used tyre by a large margin
• much simpler maintenance
• lighter than tubless and solid tyres (especially when used with TPU inner tubes)

Challenges

• incorrect tyre pressures lead to increased risk of puncture and pinch flats (the tyre deforms so much it squeeze the tube and causes a puncture)
• older wheels have a narrower width, e.g. 17 mm or less, making tyres harder to fit or remove (recent wheels tend to be 19mm-23mm)

Tubeless tyres¶

Use this style of tyre when 'flat tyre' resilience is more important than the highest performance, e.g when there is an increased risk of punctures. Tubeless tyres are commonly used for gravel rides and other off-road activates.

As tubeless tyres run at lower pressures, they deform more on rough surfaces and absorb bumps to give a more comfortable ride.

A tubeless tyre has no inner tube, instead relying on the tyre wall and a liquid sealant to keep the air pressure.

The liquid sealant should fill the holes created by punctures whist riding the bike. Small punctures should seal before too much air escapes, avoiding the need to stop for a repair.

If a larger puncture occurs that the sealant cannot fix, a 'plug' can be inserted into the wheel to help the sealant completely block the hole. If successful, this repair does not require removal of the wheel from the bicycle (potentially saving time).

Running tyres at a lower pressure is less effective at flicking away flint and other sharp objects that cause punctures, but the sealant should compensate and prevent the need for road-side repair.

Regular maintenance of tubeless tyres is essential to keep their puncture resilience and avoid complete failure.

Common Size tubeless tyre ranges: 30C upward (maximum size only limited by frame geometry)

Benefits

• run at lower pressures for comfort (no inner tube so no risk of 'pinch-flats')
• automatically seal most punctures (if sealant regularly maintained)

Challenges

• requires tubeless or tubeless ready wheels
• slightly harder to remove and fit due to the thicker tyre wall needed to grip the wheel rim
• fitting tyres can be messy if the tyre doesn’t bed correctly when inflating, enough pressure is required to ensure a tight seal
• sealant can leak if tyres are deflated when travelling (airlines require tyres to be deflated
• wheel balancing is harder with sealant in the tyres
• sealant must be changed regularly to stop it from becoming hard
• sealant will harden quicker if a bicycle is not regularly used (or sealant replaced more often)

Solid Airless Tyres¶

It can take more time to fit a solid tyre initially. Once fitted though, a solid tyre requires no work until the tyre is worn (about 8,000 km).

Benefits

• never need to stop for a flat tyre
• no maintenance once fitted (except cleaning them of course)
• tyres seem to last a lot longer (not affected )
• never need to carry a pump
• excellent for commuting or touring as no maintenance is required

Constraints

• a little more expensive (although prices have come down to near that of tubless)
• tyres are hard to remove without damaging them
• may be difficult to replace a broken spoke if access inside the rim of the wheel is required
• tyre stiffness cannot be adjusted (no air pressure to adjust), handling may feel different especially when accustom to a different air pressure (PSI)

Tannus Airless tyres are a modern 'solid' tyre that never goes flat. Tannus also has thick amour tyre inserts that prevent punctures.

Tannus Airless Tyres