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Guest
Just came across this in the January issue of Mountain Bike Action. Page 19, "TUBE OR TUBLESS"
The spiel is that, "...the tube causes the tire to roll slower due to internal friction,..." and
"...tubless tires roll a whole gear faster in all conditions..." (than tubed).
I'm having trouble with that assertion.
First, a whole gear is a *lot* of friction and it would seem to me that competitive riders using
tubless should have had a crushing advangage over others from day 1. i.e. Virtually all races should
be won by people riding tubless. For all I know, this may be true....anybody know for sure?
Second, it begs the question of why in the old, primative, pre-tubless, days (and even today...)
really competative riders didn't/don't dust their tubes with some friction-reducing substance like
graphite. In my experience, talc is sort of traditional - but more as a convenience to keep the tube
from sticking to the casing and to reduce pinch flats by letting the tube find it's place easier
when the tire is initially pumped up. If friction were such a big issue I'd expect to see the market
littered with near-magical-seeming potions to reduce tub/casing friction.
Comments?
-----------------------
Pete Cresswell
The spiel is that, "...the tube causes the tire to roll slower due to internal friction,..." and
"...tubless tires roll a whole gear faster in all conditions..." (than tubed).
I'm having trouble with that assertion.
First, a whole gear is a *lot* of friction and it would seem to me that competitive riders using
tubless should have had a crushing advangage over others from day 1. i.e. Virtually all races should
be won by people riding tubless. For all I know, this may be true....anybody know for sure?
Second, it begs the question of why in the old, primative, pre-tubless, days (and even today...)
really competative riders didn't/don't dust their tubes with some friction-reducing substance like
graphite. In my experience, talc is sort of traditional - but more as a convenience to keep the tube
from sticking to the casing and to reduce pinch flats by letting the tube find it's place easier
when the tire is initially pumped up. If friction were such a big issue I'd expect to see the market
littered with near-magical-seeming potions to reduce tub/casing friction.
Comments?
-----------------------
Pete Cresswell