Whilst in the contemplation booth at work, a question arose. Why do road bikes have tubs but mountain bikes have tubeless?

Because tubs date back to the Victorians, but tubeless to the late Elizabethan.

There was a picture on here the other week of a bloke finishing an XC race on a bare rim with a prototype TUB MTB tyre around his neck that had rolled off the rim.

The made mtb tubs in the early 90s, but no one bought them.

roadies are going tubleelss as well now, well the kits available, whether its taken up is a different matter. I suspect if it is it may be the end for tubs for all but track raceing, unless soemone makes 200psi tubeless!

Anyone tried roadie gheto tubeless yet?

What point is there for road tubless?

Tubeless used at Paris-Roubaix this year.

I’d be bricking it when inflating them to 100+ psi though. Bad enough when a mtb tyre explodes of rim at 40psi.

The point: less rolling resistance than tubed clincher, and as tubs, no instant deflation (maybe). No pinch flats (happens on road bike too, but less likely due to high pressure). Easier to mount than tubs, easier to repair than tubs etc..

I’d buy proper roadie UST

well theres no tensile strength in a tube so its unlikely that the tube is doing anything to hold the tire onto the rim………….

what point………

same as off road tubeless, faster rolling, better grip, lighter weight, less punctures (depending on your priorities geting all at once is unlikey).

With the advantage over Tubs in that its an easy roadside fix if you do get a puncture, just pop a tube in.

Bad enough when a mtb tyre explodes of rim at 40psi.

BLOODY OATH !!! its like a bomb going off , nevermind the silicon sealant up your nose !

Dugast still make mtb tubulars – I’m building a pair of wheels to give them a try. In fact the rims just arrived about half an hour ago… They are going to be pretty flash.

Yep Sam, maybe thats what the racer guy had hung around his neck, he didnt mention the make, but he mentioned on another site explaining why he had to get the tyre back to a checkpoint as it was an expensive prototype one.

I have been searching STW to find the picture and the link to what he had written about it but I cant find it.

Story here

That’s pretty mental considering it’s the front tyre!

MTB tubs are making quite a come back in racing at world cups and stuff. Can’t really see why, heavier, less versatile and less widely available than tubeless!

Thats the pic… thank you.. He would have looked really cool if only he a peak on the helmet..

Dugast still make mtb tubulars – I’m building a pair of wheels to give them a try. In fact the rims just arrived about half an hour ago… They are going to be pretty flash.

Dugast? The tyres will be worth more than the rest of the bike..!

So, in summary, tubeless is the future!?!

Tubs on the road have a number of advantages that tubeless can’t replicate eg more ’round’ tyre profile, much higher pressure capability, far better performance when punctured (a well glued tub should stay put far better than any flatted clincher). Not to mention lighter rims.

Conversely the biggest benefits of tubeless on MTBs – lower pressure – is rather lost on the road, and the sealant is less effective at sealing punctures on very high pressure tyres.

So basically… tubeless on the MTB, tubs for the road, they’ve been right all along!

MTB tubulars at Tufo.

They also make a clincher tubular which is an interesting concept. Not sure if it’s the best of both worlds, or the worst 🙂 ANyone used them?

I’m thinking of trying the tubular clinchers this winter on my cross bike as I like cross tubs, but having just “upgraded” to 10spd can’t use my old sets of 8spd sprint wheels and can’t justify buying some sprint wheels just for cross.

I have read that unlike clinchers, and like tubulars, road tubeless deflates slower when punctured and stays on the rim.

There’s practically no choice of road tubeless tyres at the moment. Two models from Hutchinson are available to buy (Fusion-2 and Atom). Their Intensive 700×28 model, as used at Paris Roubaix, is not in the shops.