Anyone Use Hookless Rims for their All-Road Bikes?

[saab2000]

Looking at various carbon rims for my Zanconato all-road bike. There are a few hookless options out there and based on my experience with wider tires, I'm not sure I'd be rolling at pressures high enough to need hooked rims.

Not really looking for "Hooked vs Hookless" because I've had a few lessons on that. But I'm curious if anyone uses hookless rims for gravel bikes and if they have had any experiences that would preclude them from getting them again.

Thoughts?

[donevwil]

I have a set of Lightbicycle hookless rims laced to an RS770 hubset running Compass (er, Rene Herse) Rat Trap Pass at 30-35psi.

I have only used tubes thus far and returned the frame after only a few rides so not much history. Super light and super stiff.

[SlowPokePete]

My I-9's are hookless (700c) with no issues in 5,000 miles...have run anywhere from 38's to 43's.

SPP™

[saab2000]

My I-9's are hookless (700c) with no issues in 5,000 miles...have run anywhere from 38's to 43's.

SPP™

Cool. That's the info I'm looking for!

[PacNW2Ford]

Jan just posted specific info on hookless rim/René Herse tire compatibility on his blog.

[SlowPokePete]

Jan just posted specific info on hookless rim/René Herse tire compatibility on his blog.

i had seen that...

SPP™

[Lovetoclimb]

Hookless carbon w/ Schwalbe 27.5x2.1 and no issues. Initial tubeless setup on the front must not have been great b/c it would lose lots of air sitting idle over 2 days. When I refreshed sealant some months later issue went away. Both times used compressor. For the 30-45 psi ranges I run I don’t see a reason NOT to go hookless. Changing a tire sure is a breeze.

[Spdntrxi]

Enve 4.5AR
Enve G27

Both hookless

[dddd]

I think that there is a tire size below which the pressure may be too high to reliably hold most tubeless tires on most hookless rims.

So I would expect that the lighter riders could, on average, safely use narrower tires on hookless rims.

I think that as time goes on, that ever-narrower tires might be safely fitted to hookless rims, and that likely, sealants will work well with narrower tires than they do today.

Tubeless has come a long way.

[NHAero]

Reviving this thread almost two years later.
More specifically, hookless rims and 38-42mm tires, like SPP mentioned. What tires and what pressures? Looking for the most road-like tire. I've been running Vittoria Voyageur Hypers on hooked alloy Boyd rims at 55-60 psi. Wondering as I go to 650bx38 what tires and what pressures are pretty bombproof on hookless rims, for my 140-145 pounds. Thanks!

[Spdntrxi]

Enve 4.5 AR and G27s for me and they have been great so far.

[Chris(NJ)]

Nox composites Skyline. No issues to report.

[dbnm]

Enve 3.4AR on my all road bike.

zero issues.

[NHAero]

What tires and pressures are you running? All tubeless?

Thanks

[ti_or_die]

I have Enve G23s that are hookless and I run tubeless. I have a gravel bike with 38mm tires and run 40psi. No issues with the rim or tires other than I think they lose weekly air pressure more often than my hooked Enve XC tubeless setup...but that could be perceptual.

[Likes2ridefar]

What tires and pressures are you running? All tubeless?

Thanks

That is so variable given weight, road conditions, tire choice I don’t think it’s much use but here’s what I do for different conditions:

Im about 160lbs on a 25lb bike (guessing surly midnight special weight, really have no idea as I don’t care)

38mm I typically went up to 45 in the rear and 40 up front for road riding pavement and dip to 30ish for gravel and trails. That is with 700 tires though. I’ve not used 650b that small. Mine are 47mm and I run 40 in the rear and 35 to 38 in the front for road and 30 rear 25 for gravel and single track. I can and have gone much lower in the 20s with no issue though it can be bouncy hammering on the road at that pressure.

All tubeless, wouldn’t consider anything else for the type of riding I do.

[NHAero]

Very helpful. It sounds as though i'd run lower pressures if I run tubeless.

[ti_or_die]

This may help:
https://www.enve.com/en/tirepressure/

[Likes2ridefar]

Very helpful. It sounds as though i'd run lower pressures if I run tubeless.

I should add my rims are 25 inner diameter. That probably impacts pressure too.

[sparky33]

Very helpful. It sounds as though i'd run lower pressures if I run tubeless.

You can run lower pressures tubeless without flatting, but it's a bit hard to compare to tubed because pressure is also a function of the casing construction, which is typically different on on tubeless tire and so on.

fwiw, all but one of my tubeless gravel wheelsets are hookless, and they work just fine, perhaps even better than hooked rims. 650x42 Compass tires at 30 psi is perfect on an Enve G27, for example. I used to race cx on Stan's Valor rims with Schwalbe tubeless 700x33 at low 20s psi (I am 145lbs).

Hookless rims I've used without issue with gravel tires: Enve G27, G23 (700), SC Reserve 25, Nox Skyline, Stan's Valor (650,700/29)

various tires from Compass/RH, Schwalbe, WTB, Terrene, Teravail and Hutchinson

I honestly don't know what purpose hooked rims serve for tubeless tires anymore.

[NHAero]

I'm hoping to order some BTLOS wheels and the rims are hookless, so trying to understand if that will preclude tires and pressures I might want to run. The pressures shown in that ENVE chart are certainly below what I run now.

[Davist]

Very helpful. It sounds as though i'd run lower pressures if I run tubeless.

yes, and it doesn't hurt with tubes either. 180-185lb here running tubes gp 4 seasons in 32 at 55r 50 front, a much nicer tire than when I was running at 80. Tubeless / hookless TB 2.1s at 35r 30f if I remember to pump them up, same with WTB horizons. Tubeless road 25mm id farsports 50-55r 45-50 front in gp5k tl 32s, can keep up with the fast boys on this combo as well.

[NHAero]

I wonder if it is just the tires I run - Vittoria Voyager Hyper 700x37. Low tested rolling resistance, smooth siped tread. I kept dropping the pressure to see when it was noticeable and at 50 psi in the front I felt it got a tad squirmy in turns. Do tubeless tires have more resistance than tubed at a given pressure?


yes, and it doesn't hurt with tubes either. 180-185lb here running tubes gp 4 seasons in 32 at 55r 50 front, a much nicer tire than when I was running at 80. Tubeless / hookless TB 2.1s at 35r 30f if I remember to pump them up, same with WTB horizons. Tubeless road 25mm id farsports 50-55r 45-50 front in gp5k tl 32s, can keep up with the fast boys on this combo as well.

[Davist]

Could be.. I definitely noticed squirmyness when the 2.1"/large tires are in the 20s, tried it for singletrack/jr MTB and went up. 35psi and a large carcass is actually quite solid feeling in my experience now. (and I'm the guy who raced XC mtb with 60+ psi in my 1.9 original ground controls and BMX with 100psi routinely!)

[saab2000]

I see this is back to the top. I just finished a full season on the DT-Swiss GRC1400 wheels. They’re very good. And hookless. My concerns were, of course, unfounded.

The Schwalbe tires seated without a compressor and held air pretty well with no sealant. Of course I use sealant but I was amazed at how well everything worked.

I know they’re not cheap but they’re really nice wheels if they’re within the budget.

[nmrt]

I weigh 145-150 lb.
I have a BTLOS 21 mm internal rim hookless/tubeless rim. Have been using 25 mm tire (true width = 28 mm) on it with about 70-75 psi.

NHAero -- Also look at the hookless rims made by altocycling. They show that hookless rims, at least their hookless rims, can take almost 100 psi!

[joevers]

Do tubeless tires have more resistance than tubed at a given pressure?

No. In fact tubes add some resistance.

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/road-bike-reviews

The 4 fastest current tires are tubeless.

[owly]

140lb. Been on CarbonFan 22mmInner hookless rims last couple years. Around 280gm in 650b and 700c.

All tubeless tyres. No issues.

Highest pressures around 45psi (road) on 38mm ReneHerse.

[NHAero]

Poor word choice on my part! I meant resistance to deforming under the side loads of turning - I'm asking if tougher sidewalls on tubeless or some other aspect of TL makes them able to run lower pressures without feeling like they are rolling away from you?

No. In fact tubes add some resistance.

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/road-bike-reviews

The 4 fastest current tires are tubeless.

[NHAero]

Great data point for me, thanks!

140lb. Been on CarbonFan 22mmInner hookless rims last couple years. Around 280gm in 650b and 700c.

All tubeless tyres. No issues.

Highest pressures around 45psi (road) on 38mm ReneHerse.