Zipp Tubeless Tires
Tubeless is back and without much fanfare. And, just like gravel, it’s being driven by consumer demand, v a push from manufacturers. There’s not a bike I’m riding that isn’t with a tubeless wheelset on it and that’s because of high volume, low pressure (never more than 32), and much, much better tires. If you care less about riding a road bike on dirt, you should care about how good new tires like the Schwalbe One are.
In the short history of tubeless, what happened was, Shimano gave up the market and that includes their tech; they unofficially are allowing anyone to use what was once heralded as UST, and do so with a new rim profile that secures the tire, preventing a blow off.
If you used road tubeless back then, it sucked…because the tire would only seal at the lower, limp-home PSIs, and if you did flat, the tire would fly right off the rim (happened to me twice).
Well, with about zero fanfare, tubeless is back.
For road. It’s what we’re riding.
Tangente Speed RT25 and RT28 Specs
- Available in 25mm (RT25) and 28mm (RT28) widths to meet the preferences for wider tires among today’s road riders.
- 127 TPI nylon casing.
- Low rolling resistance, high cornering grip provide speed and stability in any situation.
- Ability to run lower tire pressures with reduced risk of pinch flats.
- Max tire pressure 115PSI for RT25 and 100PSI for RT28.
- No tire levers needed or recommended for installation.
- Polyamide puncture protection layer under tread
- 60 ShA durometer rubber (Shore A)
- Water-siping tread pattern
- WEIGHT:
292g Tangente Speed RT25
302g Tangente Speed RT28
RETAIL AVAILABILITY:
- June 2017 (RT25)
- August 2017 (RT28)
and at an MSRP $74.00. To pair these new tires up, Zipp offers multiple tubeless-ready wheels, the 303 Firecrest Carbon Clincher Tubeless Disc-brake, 30 Course Disc-brake, and 30 Course rim-brake.
If you’re not quite ready to upgrade to a gravel, adventure bike, these tires will open up new roads for you, for sure. What’s missing and I’m not sure why is any mention of sealant and I’m not running any pressures near 115 PSI, but good to know I can do that, I guess.
Also see my Tangente post here from when they first launched. The remind me of the old Open Corsas, new, and improved with Zipp graphics.