Tubeless tires

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (December 2006)

Tubeless tires are pneumatic tires that do not require a separate butyl rubber inner tube.

Traditional designs of pneumatic tires required a separate inner tube which could fail for a number of reasons, such as: incorrect tire fitment, or friction between the tire wall and inner tube generating excess heat causing a blowout.

Tubeless tire technology does away with the need for an inner tube thereby increasing safety.

In a tubeless tire, the tire, which has an inner lining of impermeable halobutyl, and the rim of the wheel form an airtight seal, with the valve being directly mounted on the rim.

If a tubeless tire gets punctured, air escapes only through the hole, leading to a gentle deflation of the tire. Conversely, an inner tube could potentially burst like a balloon, leading to a rapid deflation of the tire which could result in sudden loss of control of the vehicle. A liquid tire sealant can be added to tubeless tires to prevent deflation.