Tubeless or inner tube for MTB: Which is better for me?

To mount or not to mount tubeless bicycle tires in MTB. This seems to be the eternal debate among off-road cycling fans. Many are still not sure when to opt for tubeless or traditional inner tube. You have asked us a lot of questions on social networks and we are going to give you our answer and try to solve the doubts you still have.

Tubeless or inner tube: How are they alike?

In the first place, what we should always recommend is the use of an anti-puncture protection systemNeither option will protect you 100% from punctures. Both will significantly reduce the likelihood of that happening. In addition, both options allow you to ride at lower pressures to maximize grip both in the dry and on muddy terrain and in the event of a puncture, we will be able to ride for a while without damaging the rim.

Tubeless or inner tube: What is the difference?

Previously, if you wanted to have your mountain bike protected from punctures and "rims" caused by rocks and logs, it made a lot of sense to incorporate a system to protect it. tubeless to the wheels of your bike. It is composed of a tubeless rim or tubeless tires, a reinforced tire, a liquid anti-puncture sealant and a protective mousse. However, the appearance of our insert of foam for inner tube wheels opens up new possibilities without losing protection.

However, from our point of view, we recommend the following tubeless bicycle tires if you need to push the performance of your MTB wheels to the maximum. If for you it is very important to subtract a few extra grams to the total weight of these, if you look in detail the pressure Bars at which you want to ride or want the highest protection for your tires, you should go tubeless! Now, you must be clear that it is a system that requires adaptation and that is why it is usually more expensive than other options. It will also require more maintenance and has no lateral protection against cuts caused by stones.

On the other hand, we have developed a specific and unique puncture & rim protector on the market for bicycles with traditional inner tube wheels. This product also provides great protection and very good performance, although it is not as high and it is not a product so focused on professional and competitive use. Its strengths lie in the comfort and convenience that guarantees you have a tire, rim and protector combination that you know you'll be able to fit on any mountain bike and won't need as much maintenance.

Our conclusion

Rolling with tubeless or inner tube? As we have already mentioned, we assume that if we opt for an inner tube, it is almost essential to have an anti-puncture protective mousse.

So, given this new comparison, our final answer is that if you want to have the 10 in performance, bike tire without inner tube. On the other hand, if the 10 you prefer to rely on comfort and save maintenance time, inner tube. Therefore, we recommend for the vast majority of users to use the combination of tire + inner tube + Tannus Armour.

So if you need a product for competition or to squeeze the most out of your performance on the bike, you should opt for tubeless tires with the Tannus Armour Tubeless protector. This is the combination chosen by professional downhill teams Commencal 100%, Commencal Schwalbe IjRacingChiguiro, GT Racing Factory and Cannondale TBelles de Cross Country.