Does anyone on this forum have experience with or strong opinions on Tannus airless tires?
My fear of flats has caused me to resort to Continental Gatorskins even for my race wheels. I've dismissed the idea of using tubeless tires with self-sealing goop because they seem messy and maintenance intensive. Another option might be Tannus airless tires < https://tannusamerica.com/pages/airless-tires >. They won't work on my race wheels simply because they won't fit the rims, but I have been considering them for my touring bike and possibly for a non-race set of wheels. The following is based on the propaganda I've been reading on various websites and seeing on YouTube.
[Official Disclaimer: I have no association with Tannus. I don't even know anyone who works in the bike industry other than some folks at a local bike shop.]
Weight
There might be an actual weight savings if the weight of the tire change kit is included.
Weight for Tannus
700x25 Tires: 395 grams x 2 = 790 grams
Weight for Continental Gatorskins
700x25 Tires: 240 grams x 2 = 480 grams
Rim Strips: 5 grams x 2 = 10 grams
Tire Tubes: 65 grams x 2 = 130 grams
Spare Tube: 65 grams
CO2 Cartridge: 60 grams
CO2 Inflator Head: 30 grams
Tire Levers: 15 grams x 2 = 30 grams
Total: 805 grams
Ride Quality and Performance
The ride is described as being as harsh as Continental Gatorskins, but I'm already riding Gatorskins. Tannus actually offers three grades of stiffness for their road tires (Regular 100 psi, Hard 110 psi, & Soft 95 psi). One performance distinction that I've seen noted on YouTube is less swerving due to a loss of fear of riding over broken glass and other road debris. Tannus claims that the rolling resistance of their tires is 2% to 8% more than conventional tires, but they don't state the brands and models that they used as benchmarks. My present Gatorskins are among the worst for rolling resistance.
Installation
Installation is a battle that involves brute force and fitting a lot of little plastic pins, but this should be a once-in-the-life-of-the-wheel event. Tannus recommends having your local bike shop install the tires.
Sizing
This is where I find I can't use them for my deep-section race wheels. Sizing is a function of the clear distance between the beads on the inside of the rim. Based on what I've seen on manufacturers' websites, this is 4 mm or 5 mm less than the outside width of the rim.
My touring bike has rims that are 20 mm on the outside, which suggests 15 mm or 16 mm on the inside. If the inside width is 15 mm, my choices as specified on the Tannus website are 23 mm and 28 mm tires. If the inside width is 16 mm, my choices are 25 mm and 28 mm tires. The bike presently has 25 mm Continental Gatorskins.
My triathlon bike has deep-section HED wheels that are 25 mm on the outside and 21 mm on the inside. The only choice Tannus gives me are 40 mm tires, which is ridiculous. The bike presently has 23 mm Continental Gatorskins. My understanding is that the recent trend in bike wheels is to make the rim width larger so that the cross section of the rim-tire combination is more like an airfoil than a light bulb. The takeaway message is that Tannus tires aren't designed for the typical deep-section wheel.
Cost
Tannus tires are $80 each. That's about twice what I paid for the Gatorskins including the tubes. Tannus recommends having a bike shop install the tires, which could double the cost. Tannus offers the option of buying a set of Mavic wheels with Shimano 105 hubs and tires already installed for $375 < https://tannusamerica.com/...re-mavic-wheel-combo >. That might be a good option for someone who wants a set of conventional tires for racing and airless tires for training.
My fear of flats has caused me to resort to Continental Gatorskins even for my race wheels. I've dismissed the idea of using tubeless tires with self-sealing goop because they seem messy and maintenance intensive. Another option might be Tannus airless tires < https://tannusamerica.com/pages/airless-tires >. They won't work on my race wheels simply because they won't fit the rims, but I have been considering them for my touring bike and possibly for a non-race set of wheels. The following is based on the propaganda I've been reading on various websites and seeing on YouTube.
[Official Disclaimer: I have no association with Tannus. I don't even know anyone who works in the bike industry other than some folks at a local bike shop.]
Weight
There might be an actual weight savings if the weight of the tire change kit is included.
Weight for Tannus
700x25 Tires: 395 grams x 2 = 790 grams
Weight for Continental Gatorskins
700x25 Tires: 240 grams x 2 = 480 grams
Rim Strips: 5 grams x 2 = 10 grams
Tire Tubes: 65 grams x 2 = 130 grams
Spare Tube: 65 grams
CO2 Cartridge: 60 grams
CO2 Inflator Head: 30 grams
Tire Levers: 15 grams x 2 = 30 grams
Total: 805 grams
Ride Quality and Performance
The ride is described as being as harsh as Continental Gatorskins, but I'm already riding Gatorskins. Tannus actually offers three grades of stiffness for their road tires (Regular 100 psi, Hard 110 psi, & Soft 95 psi). One performance distinction that I've seen noted on YouTube is less swerving due to a loss of fear of riding over broken glass and other road debris. Tannus claims that the rolling resistance of their tires is 2% to 8% more than conventional tires, but they don't state the brands and models that they used as benchmarks. My present Gatorskins are among the worst for rolling resistance.
Installation
Installation is a battle that involves brute force and fitting a lot of little plastic pins, but this should be a once-in-the-life-of-the-wheel event. Tannus recommends having your local bike shop install the tires.
Sizing
This is where I find I can't use them for my deep-section race wheels. Sizing is a function of the clear distance between the beads on the inside of the rim. Based on what I've seen on manufacturers' websites, this is 4 mm or 5 mm less than the outside width of the rim.
My touring bike has rims that are 20 mm on the outside, which suggests 15 mm or 16 mm on the inside. If the inside width is 15 mm, my choices as specified on the Tannus website are 23 mm and 28 mm tires. If the inside width is 16 mm, my choices are 25 mm and 28 mm tires. The bike presently has 25 mm Continental Gatorskins.
My triathlon bike has deep-section HED wheels that are 25 mm on the outside and 21 mm on the inside. The only choice Tannus gives me are 40 mm tires, which is ridiculous. The bike presently has 23 mm Continental Gatorskins. My understanding is that the recent trend in bike wheels is to make the rim width larger so that the cross section of the rim-tire combination is more like an airfoil than a light bulb. The takeaway message is that Tannus tires aren't designed for the typical deep-section wheel.
Cost
Tannus tires are $80 each. That's about twice what I paid for the Gatorskins including the tubes. Tannus recommends having a bike shop install the tires, which could double the cost. Tannus offers the option of buying a set of Mavic wheels with Shimano 105 hubs and tires already installed for $375 < https://tannusamerica.com/...re-mavic-wheel-combo >. That might be a good option for someone who wants a set of conventional tires for racing and airless tires for training.
Last edited by:
Fredo_Adagio: Mar 21, 20 19:37