Has anyone actually used the new Tannus tires that are solid for road bike racing or training. What do you think? Weight is suppose to be close to tire and tube combo. I was told that they could be very stiff and hard on carbon rims and full carbon disk wheels.
The concept would be great. Go to a race. Don’t have to worry about tire pressure. Don’t have to take all the tools, tubes or CO2 during a race let alone change a tire during a race.
Thoughts?
I’d have to see the Crr numbers, but non-pneumatic tires have typically had horrible rolling resistance.
From their website:
“It now has the rolling resistance rate that closely matches premium pneumatic city bike tires, taking this a step closer to ideal bike tire.”
So - even if the statement were true, you’d leave perhaps 30-40 watts on the table?
I don’t have any direct experience with these, but as above, I can only imagine the Crr of these are atrocious, especially given that you can’t adjust the pressure in relation to weight etc.
I’ve also heard that once fitted to a rim, removal is essentially destructive for the tyres; I don’t know why, whether they have to be cut off the rim or just that they’re damaged or stretched by removal? Either way, it might be worth investigating that further before committing.
As such, I’d consider them more of a fit-and-forget training/commuting tyre if anything, but certainly not a race day tyre.
A silly review http://veloballs.com/tannus-solid-tyres-review/
I’ve got these on my radar also, prolly try them first as commuting tires.
A very experienced cyclist on a cycling forum I used to frequent a bit gave these a bit of road testing a year or two back.
As I recall, he was skeptical before trying them but ended up thinking they were better than all the previous attempts at solid tyres. Having said that, he didn’t think they were anywhere near being fast or comfortable tyres as compared with their pneumatic counterparts. I think his conclusion was that they might make sense for those afraid of repairing punctures or who for any other reason couldn’t tolerate any possibility of a puncture but he didn’t enjoy riding them and reckoned even the heaviest and dullest of “puncture proof” pneumatic tyres were probably superior. As I recall he also reported that they were not very hard wearing and he wore a big flat spot on a wheel with a simple braking test. Since these are expensive and difficult to install, this would not be an irrelevant detail.
I can try and find his review later if you really want it but no promises!
I just had one installed in my roadie work bike. Weight is the same as the air tire before. I am a bit afraid to take it fast in sharp turns at the moment. Would be great if someone came out with numbers for this… I think it should be definitely pushed for MOP-BOP folk… Yes for races
Why?
How’s the ride quality compared to an air tire? I’ve heard mixed reviews.
I’ve been looking at these for my everyday/commuting bike, but at ~$80 each I’d rather if I can ride it first before buying…
Similar so far
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That’s good to hear. Did you go with the same tire width as your air tires?
My thinking was to go ~2-4mm wider for more comfort.
I was given a set of these to test last year. They were 700x23, which were a bit narrower than what I was normally riding (700x23 GP4Ks, which actually measured 26mm on my wheels). I did a comparison test on my commuter bike, to hold 20mph while riding on the hoods the Contis required 213w, while the Tannus required 288w. The Tannus also felt like 700x23s that had been pumped up to way over 120psi. After just a few test rides I gave them to a co-worker, who rode them for a few weeks until he started breaking spokes. He also mentioned that traction was a bit unpredictable when wet…
Not same width, which I guess is ok for rear, definitely will get wider on front. As above poster mentioned, they seem more narrow than normal. I am in the 120psi version cause I got a deal. I dont feel I am forcing more watts, especially that drastic amount he mentions
Have you done any measurements or are you working on feel so far?
Its a $200 used bike. Not going to put a power meter on it, thus if you see my original post, I am asking others for real data