When in 1847 Robert William Thomson demonstrated his ‘ aerial wheels ’ to the public at London ’ s Regents Park little did he realise what controversy it would cause over 170 years later and although his Scottish countryman , John Dunlop , is often credited with ( re ) inventing the pneumatic tyre both could arguably be responsible for the debate that still rages around a simple ring of rubber .
Almost 100 years to the day of Thomson receiving a patent for his ‘ noiseless and more comfortable ’ tyres Frank Herzegh of BF Goodrich applied for a patent 1 for a tyre that required no inner tube and in 1952 so was born the tubeless tyre , adding fuel to the debate that would begin in the 1970 ’ s when motorcycle manufacturers started to mass produce cast wheels that were able to run tubeless tyres .
The two schools of thought diverged to the point of almost war . To tube or not to tube ? That was the question , a question that will forever be argued over and regardless of your allegiance , both do have their merits . Yes ! Tubed rims and tyres still do have a place in the modern motorcycling world .
Every manufacturer creates bikes with cast , ‘ solid ’, wheels requiring no tube , some even go as far as creating wheels that are wire spoked and require no tube , trying to slot between the best of both worlds . Yet most bikes that have the slightest inclination to head off road have wire spokes and rims that require a tube inside the tyre .
The tubes place is to contain air . Obvious , right ? Yet there are many other considerations when choosing the right tube for your tyre and application .
Wire spoked wheels , through their inherent nature , are said to be better in rough off-road conditions than solid or cast rims . The physics of the wheel is that the hub is suspended below the upper arc of the wheel allowing the lower arc and / or leading edge to flex . Spoked wheels allow this phenomenon to occur with little or no damage while solid rims can deform to the point of failure often resulting in unrepairable damage .
Wire wheels flex and absorb the shocks found in off road situations and while they can become damaged a tube inside the tyre will more than likely keep the air in place despite a damaged rim or even tyre .
The pros of tubed tyres are many , there ’ s also a serious con that needs to be added to the equation . When punctures occur , they generally occur very rapidly , resulting in almost instant deflation .
Some tubes perform better than others and again there ’ s the many and varying applications that need to be considered .
A tube ’ s size is an important consideration . Running a tube that is too large for the wheel / tyre can result in the
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