At some point it has to happen. You mount a new road bike tire at it goes through its entire life without a single flat. But, was it coincidense that my first no-flat perfect-tire also happened to be a Hutchinson Road-Tubeless with Stan’s?

With one tire worn through, one prematurely retired, and a third well into its tread I thought it was time to offer some long term observations.

The first thing worth reporting is the lack of flats. Most high end racing tires have a decent puncture resistant layer. Usually, the difference between flat protection has more to do with luck than the tire itself.  The tires have picked up glass and rock chips. I have done routine checks of the tire to pick out debris. But no more often than usual. And so far, nothing has brought about the dreaded hiss of escaping air. I even had the bad luck of locking up a rear tire to avoid a high speed crash in the first few miles of a road race.  The skid was bad enough to expose a good half inch of casing. The tire however survived another 50 miles to get me to the finish line without incident.  At this point the Hutchinson Stan’s combo is starting to convince me that a little more than luck is at work here. 

The one (non) problem with the lack of a definite puncture is that its hard to know how well the Stan’s would actually seal a flat. Its possible that punctures had been sealed without me realizing it. But with mountain bike tires there is usually some sort of damp spot or dried sealant as evidence of a puncture. If I’m curious enough I just might do some experimenting with a sharp nail when the next tire is ready to be replaced.

Another highlight, is that the ride-quality and grip was significantly better than a comparable clincher for the life of the tire. This is not a surprising finding as these tires can be run with a good 20 psi less than clinchers. Going even lower is possible, but I stopped at 80 psi in the rear. At this pressure things still felt stable without any squirming tight turns.

Longetivity of the tire was a mixed result. In the past, the Hutchinson casing has tended toward the fragile side. Its not unusual for a racing tire’s life to be cut short by road debris. The Road-Tubeless casing on the other hand seems relatively bomb-proof. Its only a suspicion, but Hutchinson likely erred on the side of beefiness to prevent reports of Road-Tubeless failures. There is definitely room to go lighter and still maintain reasonable durability. Now the actual tread is a bit disappointing. Yes its not a training tire. But there is only one option available at this time. I would have preferred a longer wearing tread especially in the center of the tire. And with the increase grip at lower pressures, any traction given up to a harder compound would probably go unnoticed.

Another area where some improvement is needed is with airing the tires up after they have some miles on them. A quick blast of CO2 always did the trick. But they would not air up with a floor pump as they did when new. A couple extra layers of tape or a dedicated tubeless rim could help. But to convert the masses, airing up reliably with a floor pump is a must.

The other trouble spots I ran in to were with the valve stems, tape, and availability. If the rubber at the base wasn’t molded correctly it was difficult to get a good seal. Buying an extra valve stem is much easier than trying to get a finicky stem just right. The tape is fine, but it is a one shot deal. If you have to remove it for some reason, such as replacing a spoke, you can’t just put it back on like cloth tape. It tends to fold over at the edges and not stick as well leading to sealant seeping in between the layers. Finally, road-tubeless tires are a rare sight in most of the shops in my area. An unexpected need to replace a tire meant that I had to throw on a regular clincher until the replacement arrived.

Overall, I’m confident that Road-Tubeless is better than traditional clinchers for high-end racing tires. I expect the gap will only grow as the technology is refined. For training its still a toss-up. It depends on whether you think ride quality and performance or longevity and reasonable price are more important. If you are on the fence the Stan’s conversion is a reasonable way to try Road-Tubeless without committing to a new tubeless compatible wheel-set.