Question about the "tubliss" tire system

Anybody run these on their dualsports? If you're running the low pressure for good traction in the dirt, does that make them very sketchy if you have to run a stretch of pavement (would the tire have a tendency to roll over and wallow because of the low pressure?)

I've run them before. Not as good as a mousse bib for flat protection IMO. Also a bit of a PITA to check air pressures all the time. Very good for MX track though as tires would grip extremely well under minimal pressure.

Paul, crew member Tommy has been on them for a while now on his 450EXC-F plated bike, I will throw your question into the email loop. Rob

PS see email sabado gigante.

I run Tubliss in both my dual-sports. Mine are the new style that came out about 18 months ago. They don't act any different aired down than they would with tubes. If I have really aired down (10lbs or less) and have to run pavement I air back up w/ my Slime compressor. On the TE630 (908 rear/DesertRace front) I pretty much leave my pressure at 12r/15f all the time. With the softer tires on the KLX (T63 r/TR8 f) 20r/17f.

Counting my buddy's 630, I've installed them on 3 bikes now. My observations:
- There's about a 50% chance you're going to have slow air loss from the low pressure side. Meaning, you may have to air up after the bike sits for a few days. Right now my TE hold pressure perfectly, the KLX front goes flat after a couple days. My buddy's TE goes low after a couple weeks. Some people add Ride-On sealant to fix this problem and seal punctures, I haven't.
- I've had no problems with the high pressure side tubes.
- I've had no tire problems whatsoever on the trail.
- I still carry a 21" tube just in case one of the bikes has a total Tubliss failure.
- You will need ~4oz of weight opposite the rim lock of the Tubliss to get balanced. All three bikes run very smooth on pavement.
- Here's what I've found best for airing the high pressure tubes: Occasionally put a gauge on them before a ride to verify they haven't lost significant air. With your air system pressure set to 100-120, hit them again with air. Don't mess with them after that. Just checking their pressure will loose 10-15lbs.

Would I do them again? Yes. The comfort of knowing I can fix a puncture with a plug&go and no pinch flats sells me.


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Geat info-thanx!

Could you comfortably use them at highway speeds, like 70+?

My 630 cruises perfect at 70.

If you were to have a failure of the high pressure tube you would suddenly loose all pressure in your tire. You might with a regular tube also. The Tubliss has a stout rimlock so you shouldn't loose the tire off the rim though. I think the liability is why they market them as "off-road only". (I heard somewhere they're working on an on-road version?)


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So you need to carry a spare bicycle tube for the high pressure, plug kit for repairing flats, high pressure bicycle pump for inner tube, regular pump for tire and then a regular tube just to be safe? That seems like extra work and not making things easier. Also the tendency to loose air much faster from bead seal slow leaks so more checking also. I also get up to near triple digits at times so worried about their no pavement riding disclaimer. Do you think that is due to the speed alone or maybe heat generated?

I have also seen first hand someone running too low of pressure and hit a rock hard in the sand. Rock caused the bead to break slightly, enough to lose most air but then let sand get inside and bead would not seat again after that with all the sand. In that case rider was stranded as wasn't carrying a regular tube and was impossible to clean the sand out enough to get bead to seat.

I'm sticking with quality tubes and Ride-On. Limited flat protection from the sealant but I love the balancing properties. Makes my knobbies very smooth and no head shake whatsoever.

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Not sure where you got all that?

1-12v pump
1-tire plug kit
1-21" tube between three bikes


Sounds like your low pressure buddy would have ended up with a pinch flat on a tube...


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I don't think that a bicycle tube would replace the high pressure unit in the tubliss. Furthermore, if the high pressure unit were to fail, you could just replace the whole assembly with the spare tube that you are carrying (which you'd need to carry on a non-tubliss bike anyway). There's also no reason to carry two pumps, any decent miniature bicycle pump can do mountain and road bike tires, and thus should be fine for both tubliss inner tubes.

The only additional thing you probably ought to carry is a plug kit.

I don't think that tubliss is as beneficial for high-speed, long-distance, non-technical dual sporting. The whole purpose of it (as I see it) is to allow you to run lower pressures that you normally would in order to improve traction without risking pinch flats.

If you're going to be doing long highspeed runs and aren't going to run 8 psi, there's no reason to run it.

I don't understand the sand example. How hard is it to take a tire off and clean all the sand out? Also, why wasn't that rider carrying a spare tube? They would have been just as screwed if they slashed their tire running a conventional tube (too big to patch, no spare tube).

Disclaimer: I don't currently run the tubliss system. Mostly because I'm cheap. I'd love to try it on my trail/race bike though.

I ran them and they were great but only with a brand new tire and a straight/clean rim. Dont bother otherwise or you will constantly be dealing with air leaks. Theyre built nice and if you go on youtube, Jeff Slavens from Slavens KTM does and awesome how to with the Tubliss install.

You're right a complete clean out would have worked but he didnt want to do a take off and field repair when the sand got in. He had an air pump and plug kit only. When neither of those worked he limped it flat back to the trailhead and caught a ride home in the back of someone's pickup. But he wasn't carrying a spare tube like DynoBob does and other Tubliss users I know dont carry a spare tube either. Only a spare bicycle tube to replace the inner high pressure.

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Your 12V pump can do the 100psi+ needed for the inner tube? That is surprising, what brand do you have? Surely you dont jetison your Tubliss and switch to regular tube when your pressure gets too low?

Probably wouldn't have got a pinch flat because he wouldn't have been running that low of air pressure to pop the bead. But then not exactly apples to apples, of course I would rather be running 10psi in the sand versus the 18-20psi I normally run. I keep it higher just for this reason and for better rim protection.

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Thanks DB!

Very good info. I have wondered about using Tubliss on DS, now we know.

Claiming that tubliss isn't a good product becuase a guy was unwilling to properly fix an issue seems like a stretch.

That's like saying that tubes are bad because I don't want to change them when I get a pinch flat.

Well no, not even close. Big Tubliss advantage and reason why many switch over is the plug and go flat repair. In this case it couldn't be done so was noted. I never said Tubliss was bad, just put down some considerations pro and con. For many it is a great product but for me I'm not sold yet due to some concerns for the riding I do. Some days first and second gear only in the woods but the next day might be dirt/gravel/pavement for 300-400 miles. And I'm not a squid but I do get near triple digit speed for short periods of time when safe to do so. I dont have the confidence in Tubliss for that and dont want the extra air pressure check frequency. Same I still dont trust Li-Ion batteries either. Still have concerns for those and unwilling to take the extra precautions that come with them same as the Tubliss. If not a clear advantage for me I will not switch just to have something "new" or hi-tech on my bike.

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Bottom line for me is:

1. You have to accept they could have a unrepairable failure on the trail (inner hard liner gets punctured) and be prepared, lack of preparation is not Tubliss fault. All the reading/research I did said these failures are rare....regular old "nail in the tire" is the most common scenario.
2. I don't carry a spare high pressure tube - My thinking is, if I have to get far enough in to see that tube while I'm on the trail, I'm just going to pull the Tubliss/put a regular tube in and carry on. I do have tube patches though.
3. I may have overstated the low pressure air loss issue. I brought it up because you don't hear it talked about on Tubliss threads and I know it's an issue. Right now, of my four Tubliss one goes flat, three hold air perfectly.
4. Set the high pressure the way I described above and don't mess with them on a trip. (make sure your cores are tight/use metal caps)

Another thing that factored in for me: I needed to install rim-locks in the four wheels ($60+some work) and Tubliss took care of that. Plug&go, rim locks, no pichflats, and run low pressure - checked enough boxes for me to try them. Not saying they're for everyone, if you're a wiz at changing/fixing tubes that factors in, but I'm not. Also, my perspective is dual sport trips, not MX or woods so YMMV there.


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I am in the same boat. I had Tubliss on all three off-road bikes and slowly went back to tubes. I NEVER had a failure and any flats I had were 2 min repairs with a simple plug (nails/screws all three times).

The newer generation (in the past 2 years) have way less leak issues. The early versions were very prone to slow leaks. I also found certain brands of tires worked way better than others.

The huge upside is that I could run 3 psi in a rear trials tire and literally ride up the face of a wet cliff - they hooked up like a knobby cannot.

Good company, good product. However, they added an extra level of complexity and I just ditched them for a heavy tube. I sold all 6 tubes on Ebay and recovered about 70% of my investment - so they are safe to try and see what one thinks.