Tubolight liners for road tyres

[xav]

We recently did a test on a road tubeless liner from Tubolight, it's the only road one I know of that's commercially available and will work with smaller (eg. 25mm) road tyres, but someone can correct me if I'm wrong. Very small penalty using a GP5000 TL 25mm & 30ml of Zefal sealant, basically nonexistant really (1.2w at 45kph for a pair of wheels). Not sure how rideable it would be when flat, can give that a go outside but it is icy in the UK at the moment, if anyone has experience with running a Tubolight when flat it'd be good to hear.

https://aero-coach.co.uk/road-tubeless- ... resistance

It's really light, 11g, and 20mm wide so fits pretty well in a 25mm GP5000 TL. I think in a wider tyre like a "big" 28mm it might get a bit lost as it would be too roomy? Stated width compatibility is 23-28c.

[aeroisnteverything]

A useful test - thank you. And probably a worthwhile product to use especially if the tyre/rim combo is such that the tyre does not stay seated when deflated.

Xav, while you are here: at what pressures do you run your rolling resistance tests?

[xav]

A useful test - thank you. And probably a worthwhile product to use especially if the tyre/rim combo is such that the tyre does not stay seated when deflated.

Xav, while you are here: at what pressures do you run your rolling resistance tests?

Thanks - we standardise the pressure for roller testing at 90psi. As stated tyre widths vary so wildly (eg a 23mm Corsa Speed measures up the same as a 26mm Pirelli P Zero SL on our test rim) and we only really look at the racing end of things (23-26mm), I didn't think going down the rabbit hole of changing the pressures to match either the stated width or measured width/height (which would need to be measured at a standardised psi in itself ) would be a) much fun b) any more informative. Of course when riding outside 90psi is too much nearly all the time, we've got a little pressure calculator on the Learn section of the website to what we'd recommend for racing.

We'll have more of a play with the Tubolights outside to get some real world feedback as maybe it'll change the ride feel when outdoors? All of us at AeroCoach HQ ride/commute so we can pass some wheels around to ride.

[grover]

Thanks for doing this. It's a question that needs answering.

My thought process
- No point in running one unless the pressure is low enough to pinch flat the tubeless tyre
- At lower pressure the tyre, and therefore liner, compresses more so does that dramatically increase the rolling resistance (we know not in the tyre, but what about the liner?)
- At ~50-60psi does a tubeless tyre with liner have more or less rolling resistance than the equivalant tubular.

Tubeless at Paris Roubaix was a fail as Alexander Kristoff found out (complicated by running tyres too narrow), but what about tubeless with tyre liner?

I use tubolight liners on both my cx/gravel bike and mtb. Great product!

[TobinHatesYou]

Way to bury the lede. Kristoff likely would have flatted on 25mm tubs or clinchers so you have no reason to call tubeless + P-R a fail.

These liners aren't advertised by Tubolight as anything other than protection against the tubeless tire unseating in a rapid air loss situation. It's not for pinch protection since there's no tube and you aren't going to prevent snakebites in the casing of the tire just because you have a foam insert installed.

[yinya]

Not having ever dealt with liners, how does this interact with the liquid? Not obstructing the flow, or absorbing it? Basically, does it seal just as well with the liners as without?


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[xav]

Not having ever dealt with liners, how does this interact with the liquid? Not obstructing the flow, or absorbing it? Basically, does it seal just as well with the liners as without?

Using Zefal sealant it sealed just like normal. Only thing I would say is that deflating the tyre required removing the valve core and then getting a thin allen key to push the liner up to release air as it was blocking it. Pumping up the tyre was fine though.

[grover]

Way to bury the lede. Kristoff likely would have flatted on 25mm tubs or clinchers so you have no reason to call tubeless + P-R a fail.

These liners aren't advertised by Tubolight as anything other than protection against the tubeless tire unseating in a rapid air loss situation. It's not for pinch protection since there's no tube and you aren't going to prevent snakebites in the casing of the tire just because you have a foam insert installed.

The perception in the media/public was that tubeless sucked fro P-R due to the N=1 study of Kristoff. I 100% agree with you that it is an unfair conclusion to draw due to the fact that he was running tyres way too narrow for the purpose.

They do prevent snakebites in the casing of the tire. Maybe tubolight don't market them as such, but others do. They sit higher than the rim and absorb some of the force of an object bottoming out the tyre to rim depth.

I have pinch flatted plenty of gravel/cx tyres running tubeless where the carcas gets split just above the bead when I have a rim strike. So I increased my pressure. Running a tubolight liner I have decreased my pressure 25%, and am yet to flat despite hearing rim strikes.

[req110]

Hello group. I will discuss MTB for now.
I admit that inserts are fine, especially on rear wheel.

I have purchased zerocuc 40mm few months ago and was riding it fine. Specs on my LBS was mentioning 50g per piece, and i forgot to weight it home.

Few weeks ago i had to change a tire, so a put insert on scale and realized it has bloody 120g per piece, which is nuts considering it's rotation weight, especially on mtb where i am often acccelerating/braking.

So i am looking for as light as possible foam insert, suitable for 29x2.25xPresta combination.
I would like to avoid tubolight, because it's incredibly expensive. I am ok with any cheap chinese product.

Any idea?

Thanks.

[pjctyk]

Anyone tried riding on these (road version) when flat yet?

[RDY]

Anyone tried riding on these (road version) when flat yet?

Curious if there's any update on this?

Also, are these or Vittoria air-liners a reliable way to prevent dismounts / blow-offs with hookless on skinnier tyres? With the way the rim / wheel industry is going, we need something ...