While tubeless tech has taken over on mountain and gravel bikes, and is the typical choice of pro road cyclists, it still gets mixed reviews from everyday riders. This is despite tubeless' capability to lower rolling resistance, increase ride comfort and, thanks to the sealant, heal many punctures without you even noticing.
But what if you have a non-tubeless ready wheelset or are using tube-type tyres, or just aren't willing to jump into the tubeless world? If your tyre setup forces you to run inner tubes, you’re a hostage to flats and roadside repairs.
Bicycle frame builder and tech journalist Richard Hallett has a solution that provides tubeless levels of anti-flat performance, which he calls faux tubeless.
"I've converted all my tyres to faux tubeless," he says. "It's the uncertainty of tubeless [that's the problem], you don't need to worry if you don't get a seal, and there's no mess.
"It solves all the problems with tubeless," he claims.
Here’s how it works.
What is faux tubeless?
Inner tubes with sealant have been around for a long time. But the thin casing and flexibility mean that, if you get a puncture, the tube doesn’t tend to seal properly, and will leak air and sealant into the space between the tube and the tyre casing.
Tubeless tyres also run the risk of rolling off a rim in the event of sudden air loss. Seeing a crash at Paris-Roubaix, where this had occurred, gave Hallett the idea for faux tubeless.
Hallett’s solution is to glue the inner tube to the inside of the tyre. This provides rigidity and thickness to enable the sealant to plug the hole, and no space between the inner tube and tyre for the sealant to leak into.
Hallet published a full guide on how to carry out the conversion on the Cycling UK blog, though he now recommends SVS-Vulc glue over tubular cement.
As good as tubeless
Hallett says he’s been running faux tubeless for more than 1,000 miles with several pairs of tyres.
One tyre with a thorn embedded held pressure for more than four weeks.
He cites one customer using faux tubeless who found nine thorns embedded in his tyre when it eventually stopped holding air.
He also claims that performance and ride quality are similar to a conventional clincher setup with tubes.
Other benefits include inflation using only a hand pump or electric inflator, the option to run tyre pressures over 5 BAR / 72psi, avoidance of burping and a volume of sealant that’s around half that needed for a full tubeless setup.
It’s also possible to remove the tyre from the rim, without bathing yourself in sealant and without the usual struggle of mounting and dismounting tubeless tyres on tubeless-ready rims.
The minuses are that faux tubeless is still prone to pinch flats, as with a standard tubed setup, and you can still get punctures that the sealant or a tyre plug won’t seal.
Hallett reckons a full tubeless setup still works better if you have a tubeless-ready wheel and tyre. It also weighs less and is more pliable, increasing ride comfort and performance.
But, as a halfway house for those running non-tubeless wheels, or if you're preferred tyres aren't available in a tubeless option, this could be a worthwhile option.
