ASK THE MXPERTS: TUBELESS MOTOCROSS TIRES VIA TUBLISS

 

Dear MXA,
Since virtually every high-performance vehicle uses tubeless tires, I’m interested in the Nuetech Tubliss system, but I can’t grasp how it works. Can you explain it?

Tubeless motocross tires have been around for 20 years (on works bikes), but they have never seen the cash register side of a motorcycle shop. Why? Making a tubeless motocross tire was too complicated. It required a special rim (to keep the air lock tight), a rubber sealing bladder (to eliminate leakage around the spoke nipples) and messy sealant (to keep sidewall flex from burping air pressure). The problem areas were so numerous that most tire companies shelved the idea of tubeless motocross tires‚ except for Nuetec.

Instead of trying to seal the rim to keep air in the tire, Nuetec seals the gap between the two tire beads with a special rubber inner liner (which is a fancy way of saying bicycle tire).  Filling the gap between the tire’s beads with an inflatable rubber bladder closes the open end of the motocross tire; thus, it becomes an airtight chamber. It isn’t exactly tubeless, though; the rubber bladder has a small bicycle tube in it.