More than a decade after Hutchinson and Shimano began working on road tubeless designs that eventually launched in 2006, the technology has yet to fully take off for the 700c set. As more and more wheel players and bike brands are jumping in with tubeless and tubeless-ready designs, the chasm is getting deeper between tyre brands who say the technology isn't fully baked and those who say refraining from tubeless now is just silly.
We talked to more than a dozen companies on both sides of the fence – and a few who are sitting on it. We also consulted an independent analyst who has tested rolling resistance on 60-plus tyres, including clinchers, tubulars and tubeless models.
Related reading – Bend in the Road: My meh-affair with road tubeless
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Those in the pro-tubeless camp are relatively unified about their claims: fewer flats, potentially lower rolling resistance, a wider range of air pressure. Those who don't offer road tubeless are quick to agree on these benefits for mountain bikes and other vehicles, but offer caution about the transition to skinny road tyres. And there are a few players who frankly aren't rushing to produce road tubeless wheels or tyres where they don't see a big demand.
Virtually all agreed that producing tubeless road wheels is the relatively easy part; getting a high-performance road tubeless tyre that is competitive on weight, rolling resistance, price and user-friendliness is the trick. It's notable that more wheel companies are producing road tubeless products than tyre companies (see chart below). While Hutchinson has long championed the system, its rival tyre behemoths Continental, Michelin and Vittoria have notably declined from bringing anything to market despite extensive testing. Meanwhile, many of the big bike brands are producing their own road wheels with tubeless or tubeless-ready touted as a selling feature. Every aftermarket 2015 Bontrager road wheel is tubeless ready, and about 80 percent of Giant's 2015 road and cyclocross bikes come tubeless-ready.
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