Quote:
Originally Posted by Warin
Rate of flats .. I suspect the tyre has a large part to play here .. tubeless tyres are usually heavier and thicker than the tube type tyres .. and thus get less flats just from their increased thickness and density. If you want to compare then run the same tyres with the same bikes riders etc .. one with a tube the other without and see.
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fwiw. I think there is a lot of truth in the above statement - certainly with regard to the actual frequency of punctures (I agree a tube is more time consuming to repair a simple [sharp penetration] puncture than a tubeless - just as long as the hole is nice and small and round and can be plugged satisfactorily)...
Ultimately, the tube is really only the vessel for holding the air - just as the chamber created by a tubeless tyre sealed against the rim is - so ideally you do not want the tyre to let through an object in the first place - whether that be due to the thickness of the tread [blocks] or ultimately the carcass itself.
Running low pressures with tubes can increase the chance of a pinch-flat (typically if you hit a sharp/square edged rock or similar), but on the whole, I'd suggest that a quality tyre, inflated to a sensible pressure for the weight of the bike, is no more likely to puncture with or without a tube?
Certainly I imagine that the reason BMW riders (for example) are not constantly complaining about punctures is less to do with their tubeless rims and more because they are almost always running a Continental TKC80, which has nice big tread blocks, and relatively few thinner gaps between the tread than a more dirt/MX derived all-terrain treaded tyres?
Jx
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