Hookless Rims Explained | Which Bike Tyres Can You Use & Why?

Hookless rims are relatively new pieces of cycling tech that are changing the way in which bike wheels are manufactured, allowing for lighter and stronger construction compared to the conventional hooked rim. But there are still a few misconceptions about their safety and which tyres you can use with them, so Si explains all with some help from our partners at Zipp and Pirelli.

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Do you use hookless rims on your bike currently? Do you have any further questions about them?

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[gcntech]

Do you use hookless rims on your bike currently? Do you have any further questions about them?

[exmum]

so good to see Si hosting this GCN tech

[jimhansen]

i purchased a very expensive set of carbon hookless rims at my local bike shop. They sold me some nice, expensive tires to put on them. After a full weekend of wrestling with it, the tires would not seat or seal. Turns out the tires weren't compatible with the rims. So we checked with the wheel manufacturer.. they basically said, 'we only tested it with ONE specific tire MODEL, and only in one specific size, and only at a very specific pressure at that. So, we tried that tire (not a tire or brand I was fond of mind you), and still had a terrible time getting it over the edge of the rim, even using metal tire levers (after snapping several plastic/nylon levers). These wheels were specifically intended to use on a gravel bike. I live in an area where it is often cold and wet and dark, and almost all of the best gravel riding is in areas with little or no mobile phone coverage. Then we asked if they supported running tubes in these tires.. the answer was a firm NO. Which means no emergency tube/boot install.

I sent an email to the manufacturer asking them how I could get possibly service this tire in the field - i.e. on the side of a gravel road or trail, potentially in cold/wet/freezing weather, and outside of mobile phone service area. They had no answer. My comment was a very pointed request for a refund, which they granted. The shop doesn't sell that particular brand of wheel any more - at least they didn't last time I was there.

Keep these simple thoughts in mind when considering spending money on hookless rims. What tires are you going to run, and at what size and pressure? Are those tires compatible? (ask the wheel company and the tire company - you'll probably get VERY different answers from both). Are you willing to limit your tire choices to those that are compatible? What happens if you cut a sidewall, or have some problem that requires you boot the tire and put a tube in? Bottom line, what benefit are you getting from hookless rims that make it worth dealing with all of this hassle?

I'm back to hooked rims and safe tires that can support a wide variety of sizes and tread options, and have the options of running tubes. I'll be there for a while.

For those that opt to go with hookless rims, best of luck to you.

[jaivora]

SI is just BRILLIANT - His explanations seamless.

Kudos !!

Really appreciate him !

[hogdog]

We’ve been talking to Zipp and Pirelli to get completely independent and unbiased answers 😉

[oldanslo]

Definitely one of the most informative videos from GCN Tech. Answered questions I didn't know I had. Thanks!

[dougpatterson]

On a ride today with my friends and one had a flat. He was riding his new Orbea (beautiful bike) . Imagine our consternation when we tried to take the tire off the rim only to find it was stuck, almost like it was manufactured in one piece. The tire was fully deflated but we could not get the tire bead to come free of the rim edge. We, 4 men, worked on this for 30 minutes before resorting to youtube and finally a call out to bike mechanic friend who told us it was a new "hookless rim" and we needed to basically "man up" and force the tire to break seal with the rim edge. Another 30 minutes with the strongest among us finally using a two hand twisting motion on the tire perpendicular to the diameter of the rim and the bead finally moved to the center of the wheel, where we could get a tire lever under it and fairly easily hook it over the wheel. On closer examination a "hookless" rim has two shoulders around the outside edge of the wheel where the bead of the tire when mounted is stretched so tight by the extra height that it makes a almost unbreakable seal. This is an incredibly hard thing to deal with on the road, and that is putting it mildly! So why would anyone create such a difficult to deal with wheel system??



One final detail, while a new bike and wide rims, think they must have measured 25mm width internal, maybe?, due to shortages the bike shop put on 25mm wide tires, was this the reason we had such problems, would a 28 or 30 have been a different experience?



My buddy is ready to shop for new rims, any feedback would be appreciated!

[frazergoodwin]

Brilliant as you say to see the industry working so hard to find common standards that all can agree and use for production. Now, about those bottom brackets....

[timatrout]

5, 000 miles on my new Zipp 303S hookless wheel set. Love tubeless! Love the ride quality! Loved the price!

[superhell]

Such a good explanation. I'm hooked.

[robyi]

Perfect timing! I just learned that my GP5000 TL may not work with my hookless rims, which led to researching this subject! Thanks!

[KenSmith-bvsi]

Cool video Si. I've been riding tubeless for three yrs. I went tubeless because I thought was cool but, little did I know how much I would enjoy all the haters telling me tubeless horror stories, and they reason why they'll never ever go tubeless.

[elvisderblasehase]

Still on hooked carbonclinchers with latex-innertubes and rimbrakes.

[MugheesAhmed]

Grrreat video! Tonne of information condensed in to a single place. Very useful for learning and future reference!

[biketrybe]

Always love the deep dive into bike tech nerdery. Thanks, GCN.

[jacksharmonoquinn]

Si is so good at this, serious yet not over technical

[nelson]

Bought a pair of 303 and running Pirelli PZero SL. A breeze to install and pump and the most comfortable setup I had in years. Running 58/62 PSI front and rear. Never go back!!!👍

[jonathanzappala]

I’m sticking with hooks, you can use whichever tire you want.

[schantzc]

Using new Zipp 303 Firecrest hookless wheel with 28mm Schwalbe Pro 1 TLE tires at 51/58 tire pressures. Everything so far has worked great. Easy to mount the tire and able to inflate with a track pump. Ride quality is excellent.

[nikveldkamp]

Great to hear that the new standard "leaves no ambiguity". Instead of 622mm, it's now 621.95mm. Plus/minus 0.5mm. 😋 Love this.