Vavida52

Hi, I am planning to get the Zipp 303S wheels for my road bike. I want to use the wheels with inner tubes (preferably latex tubes with TL Ready tires). Most of the riders will use them tubeless I assume. But maybe there are some others who are riding with tubes.

Will it work with no doubts? I have read somewhere that SRAM suggests riding with tubes only in case of e.g. a puncture.

Sy Reene

So I guess I'm curious as to why you'd opt for a hookless setup just to run with tubes, which means you're running heavier tires (TL) plus tubes, while also negating the advantage of sealant protection?

Koyote

I would guess that tubes will run just fine. But if you really want info, why not just contact the manufacturer?

Vavida52

I am not into that weight game to be honest. I think that the 303S are nice wheels Overall and affordable for what they are and I want to try them out. Going tubeless is no option for me because I don't want to mess with that fluid stuff when I would eventually have a puncture during the ride.

Vavida52

That is what I will have to do I guess.

Koyote

By the way, the text in bold font expresses one of the most common misconceptions about tubeless. Tubeless means that you will rarely (if ever) have to deal with a puncture...and when/if you do have a puncture, you will repair it EXACTLY as you do with a standard tube+clincher setup.

I'm not trying to sway you either way, but you might want to read up (to gain understanding) before making a decision about tubeless.

cxwrench

I used TL on the road for a few years til I had a pretty good size cut that wouldn't seal. It was such a mess that as soon as I got home I went back to tubes. It's (for me...with my experience) not worth it to run TL on the road. That said, TL is the ONLY way to go for the mountain bike and I'll be converting my BMX bike to TL as soon as I can find the Michelin tires.

Racing Dan

Its a hookless rim, thus You must use a Zipp approved TL tyre, no clinchers, no exceptions. You can however use a tube in the TL tyre. But why would you?

Vavida52

Where would I find a list of Zipp approved TL tyres? All I can find in their page is that every tyre works which has any TL Label on it.

Edit:
They state for some specific Conti, Specialized and Zipp tyres which are compatible. The other Brands seem to be compatible in general if they are TL tyres.

Sy Reene

sorta.. you need to cross reference with the actual tire makers and the specific models, and sometimes even the width within the model drives exclusions.

Kinda weird that afaik Zipp only sells tubeless or tubular road wheels, but the only road tire they sell is neither.

WhyFi

I have the Zipp 303S. I love them.... but you shouldn't get them. They're for people that are committed to tubeless.

If you want to use tubes, go get some of the newish Bontragers if you want wide, moderately deep, relatively light, and not terribly expensive wheels.

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WhyFi

They have tubeless Tagente unless they were recently discontinued. If they were recently discontinued, it was probably to introduce new ones under hookless ETRTO guidelines.

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Hiro11

I would get a set of wheels with hooked rims if I were dead set against tubeless.

oris

I concur with this as a 303S owner as well. You could run a tube but this is a wheel meant for those who have adopted tubeless. I carry a spare tube regardless while riding for emergency.

Answering the OP's question on approved tires...
https://support.sram.com/hc/en-us/ar...hookless-rims-

I'm running the SWorks Turbo in 28c; they're pricey but so far they've been great. They seated quickly with a track pump and retains air pressure for weeks.

Vavida52

Thanks for the feedback which I was kinda expecting.I received the wheels today and will definitely try my luck with inner tubes. Also received feedback from zipp that I may use tubes if the other criteria are fulfilled (max. Pressure and TL tyre).

Vavida52

Just a quick update:

Installed Panaracer Gravelking slicks in 700x32c. Installation was easy as I would have expected. The loud banging noise was a bit shocking when seating the tyre as it was very loud (should be a good sign for the tube setup I guess). Tyre sits perfectly and overall look is very nice. Could not test it yet except for 1hr of zwift.

Razorrock

This is a trend I've noticed as well. I run tubes on my 32mm road bike. only have a flat every other year if that. I would like to get a nice set of Carbon wheels. Not wanting to switch to tubeless but most of the wheels offered are tubeless only.

WhyFi

Very much not true. A few of the newest models from Zipp are tubeless only, ENVE has a handful, and Giant has a few - of the major players, that's about all of the tubeless-only wheels on the market; it's a small percentage of the total.

If you're talking tubeless ready/compatible, sure - most of the current model wheels are compatible, but you don't need to run tubeless tires on them.

Mojo31

Agreed - works well for me.

Razorrock

I'm looking for a carbon disk wheelset. something in the 35mm - 45mm deep running 32mm tires. (conti 5000) Enve or Zipp would be 1st choice but open to other manufactures. I keep running into hookless options. What am i missing?

GhostRider62

Swiss side and Reynolds make nice wheels without silly dimples.

WhyFi

A lot. As I said, only a handful out there are tubeless only, but you seem to be intent on the two brands that are pushing hookless/tubeless. Look at just about any other brands.

Sy Reene

There's a lot of brands out there that meet your spec. Campagnolo WTO, Fulcrum Speeds, Lightbicycle, Bontrager (who I've heard has a pretty excellent warranty). Also these, which seem intriguing with a 21mm inner rim width but 30mm external width -- a bit out of the ordinary: https://ffwdusa.com/product/road/ryot-dt240-exp/

Koyote

Seems like at least a few people are more interested in the big brand names than in an appropriate design, which is weird.

masi61

I have to ask the same question as well. The ride quality with a tubeless tire run with a tube is not going to be nearly as good compared to running that same tubless tire with some sealant. The learning curve is not bad. The ride quality with full road tubeless set ups was a revelation for me. People seem to think that flat avoidance is your biggest priority and sure this is important. But folks are selling themselves short by not seeking the inherent benefits of some nice tubleless road tires. Being able to ride 25mm tires with mid 60 psi pressures front and mid 70's psi in the rear is entirely possible for a person like myself who is not exactly a lightweight (I weigh ~ #195). Running tubed tires that low would lead to more flats for you. But inflating your tubeless approved tires with inner tubes will require higher pressures which sort of defeats the purpose of your awesome wheels since you have now just dialed the ride quality right into the "crap" category.