Anyone running tubeless wheelchair tires?

[fasdude]

Hey there.

I was on the Schwalbe site and just discovered their Schwalbe Pro One tubeless tires. Anyone have any experience with them? Is running tubeless tires any less reliable or hard to maintain than using tire tubes? Also, if they are reliable, can they be run with common wheelchair rims such as: Spinergy, Round Betty, Shadow, Sun, etc...? All the install videos I've seen on youtube for this type of tire were for fancy road racing bike rims.

EDIT: When I say "tubeless" I don't mean solid tires. I'm talking about an air tire that do not require tire tubes such as car tire.

[August West]

I've used them. They are most reliable and ideal if you want reliability and low maintenance and are willing to sacrifice performance. You can't get a flat regardless of how much you wear the tires. But they are heavy, hard to install, and have a stiff ride. If I recall correctly, you need a special tool for installation, which may be required even for tire changes. If weight doesn't matter and you have access to the tool then the only other question is if you care about the stiff ride.

[HiltonP]

Started using tubeless (KIK Mako's) back in 1996 when I was doing quite a bit of travelling and didn't want to have any puncture issues.
Been perfectly happy ever since, and would never go back to tubes again.

[tooley]

August & Hilton - I believe you are both referring to "tubeless" solid tires? I think what the OP is asking about is tubeless pneumatic tires. I assume the Pro One's are a tubular like Tufo tires. In the sport of wheelchair rugby many high-end players are partial to them because of their low-profile to the rim reducing chances of a flat from collisions. https://www.tufo.com/en/wheelchair-sports/

check this review of the Schwalbe Pro One's -
https://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/...ubeless-49856/

I had a guy at my local bike shop try to convince me to go tubeless (ie. seal tire to rim and install valve stem similar to a car). He raved about its use in his mountain bike world. I wondered how it would hold up to the 100psi higher pressures we run.

I would hardly think it worth it to switch from tubes, both economically and performance-wise for an everyday wheelchair. I ran solid tires when I first got injured but I hated the high rolling resistance of them. Hi-pressure pneumatics forevermore.

[fasdude]

Sorry guys. You must not have checked out these tires on the Schwalbe site. The Schwalbe Pro One tires are tubeless but not solid. They are fractionally lighter than regular air tires because you don't need tire tubes.

[fuentejps]

August & Hilton - I believe you are both referring to "tubeless" solid tires? I think what the OP is asking about is tubeless pneumatic tires. I assume the Pro One's are a tubular like Tufo tires. In the sport of wheelchair rugby many high-end players are partial to them because of their low-profile to the rim reducing chances of a flat from collisions. https://www.tufo.com/en/wheelchair-sports/

check this review of the Schwalbe Pro One's -
https://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/...ubeless-49856/

I had a guy at my local bike shop try to convince me to go tubeless (ie. seal tire to rim and install valve stem similar to a car). He raved about its use in his mountain bike world. I wondered how it would hold up to the 100psi higher pressures we run.

I would hardly think it worth it to switch from tubes, both economically and performance-wise for an everyday wheelchair. I ran solid tires when I first got injured but I hated the high rolling resistance of them. Hi-pressure pneumatics forevermore.

I run these on my handcycles with dt swiss tubeles rims, been since they released great for that.i run 110-115 psi.
I wouldn't run them on my chair. you need to run sealant, that's the point ifyou get a small hole you see a mist of sealant spray out sealing the hole. I wouldn't want that spraying in my house or car and to make them work correctly you need a tubeless rim. no wc wheel mfr makes that currently

[fasdude]

I run these on my handcycles with dt swiss tubeles rims, been since they released great for that.i run 110-115 psi.
I wouldn't run them on my chair. you need to run sealant, that's the point ifyou get a small hole you see a mist of sealant spray out sealing the hole. I wouldn't want that spraying in my house or car and to make them work correctly you need a tubeless rim. no wc wheel mfr makes that currently

Thanks fu! That's exactly the type of answer I was looking for. I was wondering if this was the next technological evolution in the wonderful world of wheelchairs. Other than carbon fiber, there hasn't been anything new to impact the construction of wheelchairs in a while.

I've used solid shox tires for a while especially because there was no maintenance required and my "workout route" had a lot of broken glass on it. A few years back, I switched back to pneumatics because they weighed less and I find the ride much more comfortable than solid tires provide.

[baldfatdad]

I've seen a kit for tubeless that had plugs for the rim, where the spokes came through, and a car tyre valve stem. It was pretty expensive and the sales point was for mountain bikes, being able to run lower pressures and not get a pinch flat on the tube. One of those things I'd like to try but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[fuentejps]

the kits are/were hit or miss that's why most mtn/road/cross wheel manufacturers make tubeless rims now.

I've seen a kit for tubeless that had plugs for the rim, where the spokes came through, and a car tyre valve stem. It was pretty expensive and the sales point was for mountain bikes, being able to run lower pressures and not get a pinch flat on the tube. One of those things I'd like to try but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[giles88]

Hey there.

I was on the Schwalbe site and just discovered their Schwalbe Pro One tubeless tires. Anyone have any experience with them? Is running tubeless tires any less reliable or hard to maintain than using tire tubes? Also, if they are reliable, can they be run with common wheelchair rims such as: Spinergy, Round Betty, Shadow, Sun, etc...? All the install videos I've seen on youtube for this type of tire were for fancy road racing bike rims.

EDIT: When I say "tubeless" I don't mean solid tires. I'm talking about an air tire that do not require tire tubes such as car tire.

Yes it's possible, I know a guy running tubeless on his chair. But, they are tubeless bicycle wheels he had built at a bike shop. It's not something I would recommend. If you are looking to save some weight you could run an ultra light tube, but I've tried that and woke up one morning to a flat tire, the tube had a small (about 1/8") separation right at the seam. So anymore I just stick to regular weight tubes.

[crash86]

shox!! never have a flat again. I'm not in my chair for performance that's what my h/c is for so I would rather run chair tires that might be a bit less performance and never have to worry about getting a flat.

[Oddity]

I keep a set of wheels handy shod with Shox "110psi" solid tires for traveling. They work fine but no where near as high performance as my go to Schwalbe Right-runs inflated to 145psi. Very similar to Marathons not entirely pumped up, though. At 145psi even Marathons have noticably less rolling resistance. The only time I ever use the solid tires is when a flat would be an incredible ordeal (like when flying, or when 1,000s of miles from my house or car tool kit.)

I know you don't mean "solid", but I still think they're a better option than tubeless.

[zagam]

Running solid ones as they do not go flat or need to be pumped up. Less hassle. Cushion provides suspension.

Rims cannot have any leaks if tubeless tires are used. I.e. need to be sealed.

Tubeless pneumatic ones will need tubes if the rims are stuffed. This is a common fix.

[Ewheel]

I use the no flat tire liners and they are great. Solid rubber inserts! I made 3 metal spoon like tools from tent stakes works great just have to use lots of soapy water when installing tires.

[rAdGie]

i use the tufo tyres on my basketball chair is that the same thing? its like the tyre meets an under part and you just push them on the rim and blow them up easy, they are expensive though almost ?50 each and you can put something like almost 200 psi in