Tubeless Tyres

[Phil Conners]

I noticed the CBR-150 has tubeless tyres. Why doesn't all bikes have tubeless tyres? What's the advantage? I've noticed that the air pressure in my car's tubeless tires remain fairly stable but my bikes tubed tyres need to get checked every few weeks as they lose the air. Would changing to tubeless tyres change this? Is it at all possible?

[BSJ]

Hi Phil, it would depend on the type of rim you have and the size of tyre it takes. If you have alloy wheels it's probably more likely you can swap to tubeless if the bead of the tyre will sit on the inside radius of the rim. Wire wheels I think would be less likely.

[0Mix1up]

adv: can't pinch the tube, less unsprung/rotating weight/mass (better handling)

dis: if you get a puncture its harder to fix

[PeaceBlondie]

I understand that the tubes in Thailand bike tires are as good as a used condom. Wire wheel spokes generally interfere with the tubeless feature. Yes, the rim has to be special. I had one puncture on my long term CBR150. I just limped it to the nearest Honda dealer who knew to get it plugged across the street at the car tire repair shop. My CBR150's generally held air well for a month at a time, or even longer.

[Phil Conners]

Many bikes now come with alloy wheels, including Air Blade and Nouvo -- so why don't they deliver them standard with tubeless tyres? Cost? Are they more expensive?

[PeaceBlondie]

I ain't no expert on tires nor tyres, but the CBR comes with high(er) quality rubber, maybe. Over 600 baht for a tyre.

[Familyonthemove]

Many bikes now come with alloy wheels, including Air Blade and Nouvo -- so why don't they deliver them standard with tubeless tyres? Cost? Are they more expensive?

.... my Nouvo 135 came with tubeless tyres on alloys as standard.

Can always carry a tube as a get-you-home back up.

[BSJ]

I hate repairing flat tyres. Can you get flat-fixer Aerosol repair compounds from most bike shops in LOS?

Most (All?) tyre companies would recommend fitting a tube protector band inside the older style spoke rim. The spoke nuts can bugger a tube in short order!