Just lately on the UAE Tour, Lotto Dstny rider Thomas De Gendt hit the deck. However not like many run-of-the-mill crashes in professional biking, De Gendt’s crash ignited a firestorm of media consideration as a result of trigger. Nicely, as a result of potential trigger as nobody can say for sure what precipitated the crash, however we do know that De Gendt was driving hookless rims and tubeless tires with a tire insert.
In the course of the crash, the tire almost got here off the rim utterly leaving the Vittoria tire liner flapping within the breeze. Since then there have been many questioning the compatibility of sure tires and hookless rims, together with the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés whose president, Adam Hansen, has voiced the CPA’s concern over hookless rims within the Peloton.
As a refresher, hookless rims eradicate the small hook on the rim which prior to now has served to lock the tire bead in place. Hookless rims as a substitute depend on the form of tubeless tire beads to carry the tire in place with friction in opposition to a straight aspect wall. The benefit is supposedly a lighter rim with a diminished likelihood of pinch flats and affect injury to the rim whereas permitting the tire to fill out a extra rounded profile and run decrease pressures for higher grip.
From a producing standpoint, hookless rims appear to be simpler and more cost effective to fabricate, which hypothetically leads to a extra reasonably priced product.
Nonetheless, hookless rims have particular necessities for tire sort, measurement, and strain – with most hookless rims required to run beneath 72.5 PSI.
UCI Weighs In
In the event you’ve been following the drama, you knew this half was coming: the UCI is now investigating. Releasing a brief assertion at the moment, it’s clear that the UCI intends to rapidly resolve whether or not hookless rims have a spot within the professional peloton.
In mild of a collection of latest incidents involving the usage of hookless rims and tubeless tyres (a mix generally known as hookless) in skilled street biking, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has determined to review the state of affairs as a matter of urgency with a view to taking a speedy determination within the curiosity of rider security.
These measures shall be communicated as quickly as attainable.
The UCI shall proceed to work intently with the stakeholders of biking and gear producers to make sure that acceptable measures are taken each within the quick and long run. This evaluation and the choices that may observe are a part of the UCI’s coverage to advertise rider security, certainly one of its main considerations.
-UCI
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