Airless tires better than conventional ones?

I think they only suite kids bikes, I cant see any racing cyclist using them :🙂

HI there fellow cyclists,
a few years ago I had a very bad run of flat tyres. In retrospect there were several factors at work- ie worn tyres, new sub development- gravel all over road shoulders, under inflation etc etc. In reality a very freaky time for an experienced cyclist- 24 flats in a 3 month period. YEP you better believe it! One morning 3 flats in half hour!
I was ready to throw the beast into the middle of the freeway, but no! I pushed the damn lump of expensive steel and alloy into the suburbs where I could see under a street light to repair the tubes.
After this I did two things first made up a very good lighting system- from a miner's headlamp and a sanyo dyna power rear- 10 years later still used almost every day of the working week, runs on a sealed lead acid battery. I didn't want to pay $400 for the only decent lighting system on the market at the time, cause I'm the original tight [censored] ;D.
Secondly I bought a solid tyre from the above comany thru my LBS, and used it for abought 18 months. My experiences are- dont use on quality rims as the shock is transmitted to rims, there isnt enough absorbtion in the tyre.
- they are good if you ride in areas of high glass/ rocky streets
- but my recommendation is to go up in size ie 700/19 then go to 700/23.
The extra tyre air is heaps better in ride quality and avoiding pinch flats.
All in all though if you need em use em!!
regards sillystorm

Guest said:

I think they only suite kids bikes, I cant see any racing cyclist using them 🙂

I may be misinterpretting this, but as a person happy to be a casual rider, and considering airless tires, my hackles have been raised.

If the only two options available were kids bikes, and whatever the racers use, then the three or four thousand of you that are aspiring racers would not have the bicycle friendly laws that we have now (although I think they need to go further). Nor would you have the money to keep the sport alive. Does Trek really make money by selling only the $99,999 bikes that they use in the Tour? No, but they do build a name, and sell a pile of bikes for $1,500 or less....

Ignoring the masses is not a valid argument.

If not for the masses in cycling, racers would be riding up the Alps to the applause of dozens of fans (if the race still existed)... It is the fact that cycling is an activity for the masses that brings the fans.

Why do you think that fewer people go to air races than automobile races? Planes are faster, you can see the planes for a greater percentage of the "track", and the crashes are more spectacular. Could it be that more people own cars than airplanes? Do they have to own a Formula 1 car to be interested? Do they even need a Porsche? No, they can drive a beat up hardly running pickup truck, but they have a connection... And while I can appreciate a fine car, like a Ferarri, I don't even want one...

I learn a lot from the competetive riders in this forum, but it seems that some have an elitist view of cycling. I am just glad that the reality is not as a very few of you seem to envision it.

Just remember the next time you curse at someone for daring to ride too slow for you and not understanding that racing is what cycling is all about... Some of them are fans, simply because they ride a bike (even slowly). If the only cyclists were the elitists.... Lance Armstrong, Jan Ulrich and the rest would be in their respective countries selling the local variety of fast food. Lance could be heard in Texas saying "Would you like fries with that?"

I'm glad I don't live in that world!

Guest said:

Has anyone ever used the airless bicycle tires now on the market at sites like http://www.airlesstires.com

I have some on my bike and think there is not much difference between these and air filled tires, except that you don't have to worry about flats.

They seem like a really good idea for kids bikes, or the occasional cyclist that doesn't want to carry a spare tire and repair kit everywhere (like me).

I agree with the elitist comments.

But I think the main drawback of the solid tires is comfort. They are just too firm.

If you want freedom from flats I recommend the widest tire in back that you can fit , if its a modern road bike that'll be a 25 or a 28. Run a tire with the thickest tread and the most threads per inch (tpi) that you can find. Use Mr Tuffy tube protectors. Use thorn proof tubes. Keep your tires inflated. And fill the tires with Slime (liquid puncture sealer).

It wont gurantee freedom from flats but damn near.

And if you care about weight you can always just do the things I listed on your back wheel, since 95% of your flats are going to be on the back anyway.

Mr_Potatohead said:

I agree with the elitist comments.

But I think the main drawback of the solid tires is comfort. They are just too firm.

If you want freedom from flats I recommend the widest tire in back that you can fit , if its a modern road bike that'll be a 25 or a 28. Run a tire with the thickest tread and the most threads per inch (tpi) that you can find. Use Mr Tuffy tube protectors. Use thorn proof tubes. Keep your tires inflated. And fill the tires with Slime (liquid puncture sealer).

It wont gurantee freedom from flats but damn near.

And if you care about weight you can always just do the things I listed on your back wheel, since 95% of your flats are going to be on the back anyway.

I ride a Giant Sedona DX (26" wheels) and I switched last year to narrower higher pressure tires. I had 2 blow-outs (one front and one rear) that I wrote off to be due to a rim issue with the higher pressure tires, so I switched to thorn resistant tubes. (Neither blow-out happened while I was riding, but later when the bike was sitting in my apartment). I rode a metric century in October with no problems, and I still have had no flats this year (only about 6 or 7 rides). I think I may take advantage of someone else's comments and look closely at my rim to see if there are rough spots that are OK with my old 50 PSI tires, but cause problems at 80...

I currently ride at maximum pressure (80 PSI) and could actually use a little more due to my weight, but I want to wait until next year to upgrade to a bike with 700c wheels, as I expect to be into the 250 lb range by then. Then I will be able to go with a little more pressure, and also won't need it as much. 😉

I also read an interesting comment somewhere (perhaps in this forum) that the extra weight of the airless tires is offset by the reduction of weight in what one carries (pump, spare tube, patches, tire levers etc). Admittedly, I suspect that spinning weight costs more effort-wise than weight carried on the frame, but still another issue to consider in the weight equation.

Also, I like your idea about beefing the back tire more than the front... by tire wear, it is obviously the back that would be more susceptible to issues (although I would rather lose pressure in the back than the front).

Even though its bike related, its still SPAM.... 🙄

(meaning the original three posts by a "guest" user are more than likely by the same person trying to get people to their site, etc)

I was unable to find www.airlesstires.com
perhaps our unidentified guest meant www.airfreetires.com or amerityre.com, or www.greentryre.com or www.kiktire.com

once again I am unable to guess what someone else probably means.

This is still a free country so far this week. Whether you buy airfree tires or not is none of my business. I offer this info only to make you aware that, in my opini0on, airfree tires area good investment. This in the same way that you might report that you rode the latest Crotch Comfort Bicycle Saddle and found that it not only prevented NNS (numb nuts syndrome) but was a deliciously near-orgasmic experience, though you do not care if I buy one or not.

We use airfree aka airless tires since 2001, have them on five of our bikes and we are pleased with them. see my post http://www.cyclingforums.com/showthread.php?t=207642

If after reading my several posts you have questions, please fire when ready.
Be aware that I am unable to intuit the probable meaning of a non-specific question such as, "Are they better"? I would be pleased to give my subjective opinion in answer speciific questions such as.......
1. Do airfree tires have less rolling resistance than pneumatics?
2. Are airless tires more economical?
3. Do you feel safer riding on airless tires?
4. Have airless tires ever damaged your rims?
5. Is it true that riding on airless tires is like riding over broken bricks?
6. Have airless tires come off the rim at speed? and if so, how many bones did you break each time?

PS A bike shop owner rode my bike equipped with aifree 26x1.9 Unidirectional High Resilient +30% tires. He said he likes the ride. He also said that he would never offer them for sale. A significant portion of his income is from selling tires and tubes and fixing flats.

If someone badmouths airfree tires to you, pls ask which particular airfree tire they bought, why they did not like it, and if they returned it for full refund. I will be interested to hear the answers.

Tried some air less tyres about 8 years ago - they were bad, really bad - high rolling resistance, no shock absorption, poor wear and terrible feel.

Tried some about a month ago and they were much much better! Not up to the levels that you would expect in high end clinchers, but on a par with low end things definitely.

The technology is coming on and will continue to do so.

For personal preference I don't ride them but I can the attraction for some people

Cheers

domaindomain said:

Tried some air less tyres about 8 years ago - they were bad, really bad - high rolling resistance, no shock absorption, poor wear and terrible feel.

Tried some about a month ago and they were much much better! Not up to the levels that you would expect in high end clinchers, but on a par with low end things definitely.

The technology is coming on and will continue to do so.

For personal preference I don't ride them but I can the attraction for some people

Cheers

I had some problems with flats last year. I had three or four in a two week period. I switched to a kevlar lined training tire. No more flats. Keep your airless tires.

re Teton AT HP 26x2.0 airfree polyurethane foam tire
http://www.airfreetires.com/Bicycle/Legacy/26x20HP.html

The tires fit the rims of Giant Sedona. A 230 lbs (105 kg) rider felt the tire had too much rolling resistance. A 140 lb (64 kg) rider said that he loves the ride.