Airless tyres?

It has surprised me that I seemed to post only two bike posts last year!

• 4000 miles, an update – March 2019
• Two years – Six and a half thousand miles – Sept 2019

It’s been more than eight years riding a bike to work daily (Velocipeding), more than 30,000 miles, and I’m now riding my ninth winter, brrrrr! Back in Oct 2017 I switched to my Gazelle Ultimate S8. Guidance and advice from friends and Future Cycles in Leicester has proved worthwhile – I am extremely pleased with my bike.

I thought I had made all the adaptions I was gonna make: The Gates belt, the Shimano gears, extended handlebars, Marathon Plus tyres, Brooks saddle, etc. but…

Puncture!

This week for the first time in about 3 years I had a puncture on the way to work. A right pain in the arse when it’s dark, cold and you’re 3 miles from work and 5 miles from home. (I scooted 3 miles to work on the pedal!)

I’ve had the ‘puncture-resistant’ Marathon Plus tyres since 2016 and I have to say they have been great.

I was thinking about options like slime etc, then touched on the subject of airless tyres, and after a little deliberation I thought let’s give it a go!

I rely on my bike, after selling the families second car that we used once a week. I use the bike daily for work in all weathers and although I had not had a puncture in three years I could do without the stress of potential punctures and tyre pressure maintenance etc.

Airless Tyres

So I am trying a Tannus airless tyre on the rear wheel – I’ve kept the Marathon on the front. I read somewhere that ~80% of punctures occur on the rear wheel as it takes the weight etc.

The first ride back from The Shop, I have to say felt no different! I understand the Tannus tyre is relatively lighter than the Marathon. I have moved from 35mm to 40m which I had been thinking of anyway due to the surface conditions the commute deals with. As it’s just a commute; I am not trying to break records or burn off the beer; I ride in a relatively relaxed manner so the ride is still great.

You will probably the tyre/s fitted properly so once again your LBS will be worth its weight in gold. If you live in or around Leicester I recommend the guys at Future Cycles!

The initial reactions are great! Time will tell, I’ll let you know.

Update March: I now have Tannus Armour on the front, under my Marathon Plus. Feels great! Will update on the Airless rear tyre in due course.

UPDATE: You can read an update here: https://julesprichards.wordpress.com/2020/09/19/airless-tyres-an-update/