Airless Tires?

[Eric22]

Are airless tires any good for use on my training road bike? I HATE getting flats and having to keep them pumped up to 120 PSI everyday (I just broke 2 more pumps trying to get them at 120 PSI). So I was wondering what are the advantages/disadvantages of using an airless tire?

 

[domaindomain]

I have never seen an airless tyre that can give you the same ride as a decent tyre or a tyre at 120psi...

To stop flats, you may want to get some decent kevlar protected tyres with a high tpi count - Look at the Vitttoria Open Pave CG for instance.

 

[tfstrum]

You shouldn't have to pump up the tires everyday. Buy the best floor pump you can and try pumping up the tires once a week (unless you're getting daily flats).

 

[AussieRob]

Are airless tires any good for use on my training road bike? I HATE getting flats and having to keep them pumped up to 120 PSI everyday (I just broke 2 more pumps trying to get them at 120 PSI). So I was wondering what are the advantages/disadvantages of using an airless tire?

I ride at about 120 psi, get a Blackburn Track Pump Pro (its a steel floor pump with a pressure gauge). They are guaranteed for life. I also had a Specialized one, never had a problem with it 'till I lost it.

As for pumping every time I ride, I do it too mostly just to check the pressure.

Lastly, how is it airless? Solid rubber? Now that would be a harsh ride that could not be good for the wheels, frame or rider.

 

[AussieRob]

You shouldn't have to pump up the tires everyday. Buy the best floor pump you can and try pumping up the tires once a week (unless you're getting daily flats).

If you run silks on your track bike you have to pump them up all the time. Kind of sucks actually, but then they are fast.

 

[meehs]

Are airless tires any good for use on my training road bike? I HATE getting flats and having to keep them pumped up to 120 PSI everyday (I just broke 2 more pumps trying to get them at 120 PSI). So I was wondering what are the advantages/disadvantages of using an airless tire?

Any review that I've ever read for any airless tire always says that they provide a jackhammer ride. There's no reason that you should be breaking pumps inflating your tires to 120 PSI. Those must've been crappy pumps (were you using the little portable repair pumps that are carried on the bike?). Like another poster said, get a high quality floor pump and you shouldn't have to buy another pump for many years. You shouldn't have to pump-up your tires before every ride either. I commute by bike pretty much every day (30 miles round trip) and I only air-up my tires once a week or so.

 

[artmichalek]

If you run silks on your track bike you have to pump them up all the time. Kind of sucks actually, but then they are fast.

Same with ultra light latex tubes, but there's no reason to use them on a training bike. Regular tubes should hold 120psi for at least a week.

 

[meehs]

Lastly, how is it airless? Solid rubber? Now that would be a harsh ride that could not be good for the wheels, frame or rider.

A few companies have introduced "The Next Great Thing" airless tires over the years. They're usually sort of a "semi-solid" material like an open cell foam or the like. The manufacturers always claim that they "ride like a pneumatic tire". But when they're reveiwed, they always get trashed because they actually ride like ****.

 

[artmichalek]

But when they're reveiwed, they always get trashed because they actually ride like ****.

Probably because you can't fine tune the ride by adjusting the pressure.

 

[meehs]

Probably because you can't fine tune the ride by adjusting the pressure.

Well... yeah I suppose that's part of it. That and I just don't think that there's any way to duplicate the ride of air using a solid material. It's a great idea if someone could make it ride well. But solid tires have been tried in a lot of applications besides bicycles and they never seem to gain acceptance. About the only place you see them used consitently is on tricycles for little kids and things like that.

 

[artmichalek]

That and I just don't think that there's any way to duplicate the ride of air using a solid material. It's a great idea if someone could make it ride well.

I think you're right. Some of the research work that I do is in poroelastic materials (open cell foams fit into this category), and their mechanical properties are so unique that I don't think there's any way to get them to behave like something else.

 

[otherworld]

As far as airless tyres go.... forget it. You could run heavy thornproof tubes but it depends on what is giving you flat tyres. For training use 25mm tyres or nothing smaller than 23mm, Conti gator skins or four seasons or Vittoria rubino pro (not as good as Conti but economical) and you don't need 120psi, this would be race pressure for a 23mm rear tyre unless you weigh over 90kg in which case you would be better off on 25mm. I weigh 86 kg and train on 23mm tyres 90psi front and 100psi rear with no problems. Race at 110/120, less if I know the surface is particularly rough.

If you are using latex or other expensive race tubes keep them for racing and put cheap butyl tubes in your training wheels as these hold pressure for extended periods. Get a floor pump anyway.

Keep you eyes open and watch where you are going. It amazes me how many don't and just run over whatever is on the road in front of them. It doesn't hurt to learn the trick of carefully running your palm web lightly over your tyres when you think to you've just been over something hazardous. God mitts even have a hide or kevlar insert for exactly this purpose.

Good Luck Jay.

 

[chero]

I have used airless tires, and bought them for the same reason: being driven crazy by flats, almost always on the rear tire. So I put a solid tire on the rear. I commuted that way for about 6 months, and as you might imagine, it is a foolproof solution to the problem of flats. I didn't notice a big difference in rolling resistance, but I may not be a very good judge of that. It was nice not to have any flats.

But I gave up on the solid tires after about a year for two reasons. The solid tires seemed to wear out pretty fast, and though giving a good drip on a dry road, they seemed more prone to slip on wet or frosty pavement.

I helped my flat problem with kevlar rear tire, a bigger tire width (40), and h a wee bit of tread on it so I have a little more rubber for thorns, wire and glass to have to get through. The flat I had (yesterday!) was the first in almost a year of 100 mile per week of commuting on urban roads.

So, I prefer my new solution, but solid tires are definitely a brute force solution to flats, and on dry pavement, they work pretty well.

Chero

 

[wilmar13]

I want to know how you get them mounted to your rim!

I remember from my teens you could put these Michelen foam inserts into your motorcycle tires for thorn protection, and I helped a buddy get them in and it was a real ***** with crow bars and everything... and they only simulated like 15psi!

 

[chero]

Wilmar, glad you reminded me of that point. The tires I bought came with a special levering gizmo that fit on the skewer coming out of the hub, and which cleverly levered the tire onto the rim as you pulled it arond the rim. Also, you warm up the tires before "applying" them. This actually worked quite well, but the gizmo broke after the second use, and that was another thing that discouraged me from continuing with them; but that was a fluke.

I seem to be the only poster so far who has actually used them, and though I didn't stick with them, I have a much more positive impression than the reviews mentioned by other posters. They definitely are firmer than 15 psi! (I would say they feel like ~75.) And, the ride is NOT harsh. I am not a performance oriented rider, just a commuter, and many who post here are more serious speed demons than I. They would probably not be satisfied. And I had reservations about road grip in bad conditions. But, airless tires can give a functional ride, and I guarrantee you one thing: no more flats. So if that is your priority, give them a try. The ones I used were from http://www.airfreetires.com/.

Has anyone else used them and have an opinion to share?

Chero