By Paul Norman

Published: Monday, 18 April 2022 at 12:00 am


Tubeless tyre technology has been around for some time for mountain bikes, and most gravel bikes will be ready to be set up tubeless too, but it’s a comparatively new option for road cyclists. 

However, there are an increasing array of options and most of the major tyre brands will now have tubeless road rubber in their ranges. It’s the same with wheels, with few new wheelsets not available tubeless-ready, and the makers of many old faithful models upgrading to offer tubeless compatibility. 

So why should you set up your road bike tubeless and which tyres do we rate? Here’s a run down of the very best tubeless road tyres as tested by the BikeRadar test team. 

What is a tubeless tyre?

Since time immemorial, road bike riders have used tyres with separate inner tubes. And, since then, you’ve seen them standing by the roadside, bike wheel off, trying to patch up a pin-prick hole in that floppy black rubber ring.

Tubeless tyre technology does away with all (or at least most) of that. Instead of the air in your bike’s tyre being held in the inner tube, a tubeless tyre makes an airtight seal with the wheel rim.

To do that, the tyre and the rim are made with closer tolerances than a tubed tyre and wheel, and the rim has a tubeless valve screwed into it to make an airtight connection.

The rim also has to be sealed to keep air in. Some are airtight by design, with no spoke holes in the rim bed, others achieve this using an adhesive rim tape applied to the rim bed.

To make sure air doesn’t leak, liquid sealant is poured inside the tyre when fitting (or injected through the valve).

Tubeless sealant is designed to seal small gaps between the tyre and rim, and deals with the majority of smaller punctures, healing them as they happen.

Tubeless tyre technology is the norm in other tyres, such as those found on cars and most motorcycles. It’s been slow to come to road bikes mainly due to the higher pressures used and the need to sort standards and tolerances.

Best tubeless road tyres 2022, rated and reviewed

Our collection of tubeless road tyre reviews is ever-growing, so it’s worth checking back for further tests. Here’s our crop of current top tubeless tyre reviews:

  • Continental Grand Prix 5000S TR
  • Goodyear Eagle F1
  • WTB Exposure
  • Schwalbe Pro One TLE
  • Bontrager R3
  • Continental Grand Prix 5000 TL
  • Hutchinson Sector 28
  • Pirelli P Zero Race TLR
  • Specialized S-Works Turbo 2Bliss
  • Cadex Race
  • Hutchinson Fusion 5 Performance 11Storm TLR
  • Maxxis Highroad HYPR K2
  • Vittoria Corsa TLR G2.0 

Continental Grand Prix 5000S TR

5.0 out of 5 star rating
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Average climb time was practically identical on both the new GP5000S TR and GP5000TL.
Simon von Bromley / Immediate Media
  • £69.95 as tested
  • A perfect balance between performance and usability
  • Compatible with hookless rims

The Continental GP 5000S TR replaced the GP 5000 TL as the brand’s top-end tubeless race tyre in late 2021.

In testing, we have found the tyre to be every bit as fast as the outgoing tyre (though we didn’t find Continental’s “20 per cent faster” claim to hold up to scrutiny) while now also being hookless compatible.

The tyre is also claimed to be more puncture-proof than the outgoing model.

If you want a great all-round tyre for fast riding, you’re very unlikely to be disappointed with these.