Tubeless-ready and Tubeless Terminology
The industry is not helpful in its language about tires— being new to tubeless, I did not know the terminology. Plain English:
- “tubeless ready” or “TLR” = a tire with a bead appropriate for a UST rim. The sidewall might be quite thin, and thus the tire is likely to have a few or many pinhole leaks for which Stan’s sealant is mandatory.
- “tubeless” or UST tires = true tubeless tires. These are realtive heavy with stiffer sidewalls and in theory need no sealant, and should not have any leaks. I do not ride UST tires as I don’t like the weight or ride nearly as well as TRL tires with Stan’s sealant.
- Clincher rims and tires require a conventional tube. I don’t ride clinchers any more on either my road bike or my mountain bikes.