jskash

I read about these tires today and wondered if anyone had ever seen them or rode on them. They look intriguing.
Tannus Tires - Solid Bicycle Tires

GeoKrpan

Thanks.

JanMM

No, I've never seen them or ridden on them.
I've had three flats in the last two years - that's about 7,000 miles. Not ready to give up on pneumatic tires.

canklecat

Looks interesting. I'd consider them for my errands and short hop riding. Considering the weight of my puncture resistant tires and goop-filled tubes, a well designed solid tire probably wouldn't be any more sluggish.

The main advantage a pneumatic tire/tube setup might continue to offer may be the ability to adjust pressure for different rider weights and surfaces. I like being able to reduce pressure to around 50-60 psi for gravel and grass, and 70-80 psi for smooth roads.

hueyhoolihan

did a little digging... at (source Bike Rumor article) 380gm for 23mm, it's probably an advantage weight wise, in as much as i don't have a rim strip or tube and i don't have to carry any tire fixing paraphernalia, extra tube, patch kit or CO2, tire pump or tire levers. and can reduce the size of, or eliminate altogether, any saddle pouch.

anyway, if this is legit, all i can say is, "IT'S ABOUT FRICK'N TIME!!".

at the price, i'll probably i'll take the, "see if Mikey likes it" first. and if so, then i'll probably get one for the rear.

that damn tube (!) is quite a prima donna, demanding concessions from all the other components just in order to protect it's precious cargo. would be nice to be shed of it once and for all; maybe reinventing the wheel altogether. if so, we could also discard that annoying idiomatic metaphor too.

Shimagnolo

You know if that tire is a homogeneous material all the way through, then theoretically you should be able to wear it down until your rim starts rubbing the ground on the corners.

hueyhoolihan

i hear Park Tool has a solid tire tread wear indicator on the drawing boards as we speak (est MSRP $65).

CliffordK

I rarely get flat tires in the sunshine
But, unfortunately I get the occasional flat in the rain

I believe in riding to the right, at least around cars. And, that also puts me more at risk of road debris.

So, I've decided to put in an order for some tires for use on my "rain bike".

Musai Aither 1.1 Road Bike Tires $50 each for 700x23 1.1 tires (cheaper for 1.0).

They should arrive next week. Then I should get them mounted either just before, or just after Christmas, as my new :rain tires:.

Yeah, they look homogeneous. They are rated for 5000 or 6000 miles or so. (for 23mm?), but I don't know how flat of a top that is, or if it makes any difference for typical handling. If sidewalls don't wear out, perhaps they can be recapped a few times.

Consider my Marathon Plus tires (700x25) are rated at 595 grams, and I managed to get a flat last year the first week I had them mounted. Even my Origin8 Elimin8er tires are rated at 450g, I think.

Anyway, I'm excited about the Tannus tires, but they're not here quite yet.

There were a couple of recent threads about them, and I think a couple of the people posting had actually tried them.

BlazingPedals

I'm happy for others to be the beta testers. Airless tires are typically very hard on rims, and I'll take the rolling resistance claims with a grain of salt for now.

SloButWide 

They've been discussed pretty often here. The site search function isn't that good. Try adding "site:bikeforums.net" to a Google search.
@raygunden mentioned he liked them, last week. His bottom line was if you're not constantly fixing flats, they're a solution to a problem you don't have. Makes sense to me. If flats become a problem on my commute (1 in 1500 miles so far), I'll try Gatorskins or Schwalbe first.

chasm54

Don't get too excited. I've tried a very similar product in the UK. The weight isn't a problem, but the rolling resistance is atrocious. Really, really atrocious, to the extent that when climbing it felt I was in at least two gears higher. Plus, the edges of the tyre tended to flake off at the rim. I'd never use them again, except possibly on a trainer.

GerryinHouston

I notice a note at the site saying that they are no good for trainers because the bare metal traction they offer is not good. Don't they make bridge decks with bare metal?

shelbyfv

These pop up every few years. A friend tried them on a lark, money back guarantee. He sent them back after one ride. Slow, hard, just overall POS. Remember, pneumatic tires were a welcome advancement in the early days of cycling.

yooperbiker

Solid bike tires kept the chain driven "safety" bicycle from being popular until Mr. Dunlop invented the pneumatic tire. This "new" solid tire is moving backwards over a hundred years?

These are sure to suck.

Edit: Looked at a few online reviews. Not full of hate, so maybe?? Somebody try them and give us an opinion. I am very skeptical to say the least.

CliffordK

I've got some on order that should arrive, maybe Monday, but I'm not sure if I'll get them installed before Christmas. And, you'll have to wait a bit if you want a review after 5,000 to 10,000 miles.

Solid rubber tires have come a long way since they came out a century ago. Those old tires would actually have been solid rubber. Todays tires are more like a foam rubber. Even those from a decade ago were HEAVY

I've used solid rubber tires on wheelbarrows, and wouldn't use anything else. Of course, that is a bit different from a bike.

I don't get that many flats during the summer, so I may just keep these on my winter commuter, when it is a pain to fix flats in the dark in the rain, and I seem to get quite a few more wet weather flats than dry weather flats.

My nephew is having a tough time with flat tires, so if the solid rubber tires would come out in 520/23, I'd be all over them. We'll see how the test goes, then perhaps I'll write to the company about more sizes.

avidone1

I'm probably due for a flat. I don't understand why, but in the 11 years since I re-discovered cycling I haven't had a single flat.
I ride around 2k miles a year so I know I have well exceeded the typical flat free interval.
But my reality is what it is. I don't carry or even own a tube patch kit or tire changing tools.
I had my lbs mech install my upgraded tires.
When the inevitable happens, I'll call darling wife to pick me up in the suv and have lbs fix the flat.
I'm on very good terms with the mechanic and ply with Guinness on occasion.
It's my system, and it works

10 Wheels

Clean roads help with that.

What tires do you have?

kuroba

I once stumbled upon the website of a local Tannus distributor, but I've never seen them in person nor ride them. I've been commuting since March (1,700kms this year) and only had two flats, and that was before I switched my MTB tyres for skinnier urban ones. Haven't had a flat in months (hope I'm not tempting my luck with this statement) and my route is a bike path full of urban debris.

The color assortment does look fun tho.

Leebo

Heard of tubeless? Great setups for off road, cross and road soon.

CliffordK

The tires arrived yesterday.

size: 700x23

Pushing on the tread, it has some give, somewhat like 80 psi or so.

According to the Tannus website, the tire should be good for rims with an internal width of 13, 14, or 15 mm. Mine is about 12.8mm bead to bead, so a bit tight.

They also, by default, only ship pins for the 14 & 15 mm internal width rims. And, nobody seems to be advertising the replacement pins.

However, my old Rigida style rims seem to take the 14mm (17.5mm) pins ok.

The tire fit seems to be very tight. I can't get it started on the rim, although perhaps I'll be able to force it over the rim, then seat the whole tire rather than seating a little at a time.

I did buy their pliers (plastic). But they seem a bit awkward to use. I'm thinking I need something more like Sheet Metal Vice Grips to compress the tire as I mount it. But, with wider jaw opening. I may end up making my own installation pliers.



One other note is that apparently removing the tire requires cutting the pins (again, I'm not sure where replacements are available, but I'll probably be able to source them ahead of time). Then, if the tire is a beast to install, hopefully it can be removed without too much effort.

Anyway, I decided to true my wheel to my approx 1/2mm tolerance. Perhaps I'll work on trying to get it even a bit better.

I think I'll concentrate on getting ready for Christmas now, and work on mounting the first tire after Christmas...

I was thinking, perhaps the company should make some "tubular" type tires. Just glue them on to mount, and peal them off when one is done. It would seem easier to deal with.

jon c. 

Well, at least it's easier than changing a tube.

But I will look forward to hearing the conclusion.

CliffordK

While not as easy to change as a tube, I won't have to worry about doing it in the rain or on a tight schedule. Plus, I'll be able to leave my pump, spare tubes, and patch kits all at home, at least in theory. I'll have to figure out how to deal with trailers though

Something like changing a nipple will be a huge hassle if ever needed.

We'll see about the mileage. Tannus is suggesting 5K, more or less. Without rotating front to rear, the front tire could last quite a bit longer.

Homebrew01

Could you put the tire in hot water to soften it ? Roll it around in the bathtub?

CliffordK

I don't keep my house real hot in the winter, so I was wondering about warmer. But, I don't need it to expand in width... well, maybe bigger in diameter. But, if I can force it over the rim, I should be able to get it to drop into place.

But, I have to work on it after Christmas. I don't want to get it half installed and not be able to ride my bike.

fietsbob

ride for a "workout"? they will make your workout harder if that is what you want.

another thread on same topic ? Wheelchair manufacturers use that sort of foam plastic ring inside wheel chairs wheels .

to remove those tires to put in a Pneumatic Tube, We , in the shop, take the tire off with a hacksaw.