Introduction
When choosing a new set of wheels, one of the most important decisions you may have is what kind of tire to use. Whether you ride for performance, comfort, or practicality, the choice between whether to choose a tubeless, clincher, hookless, or tubular setups can significantly affect your experience on the road or trail. While all four serve the same purpose, keeping air in your tires, the way they do it, and how that translates to ride feel and maintenance, can be very different.
Making an Informed Decision
What is important to understand is that there is no one size fits all, and what works best for one rider might not necessarily work best for you. This guide should help you make a more informed decision. At Particle, all of our carbon wheels including the GCX Ultralight and RCX Ultralight are hooked and tubeless ready, meaning they can be installed with either tubeless or clincher rims. Pre-installed rim tape makes it easy for you to install your tires.
Clincher Rims and Tires
For decades, the clincher has been the most popular choice, found on everything from entry-level road bikes to high-end race bikes. A clincher tire hooks onto the rim with a bead and relies on an inner tube to hold air pressure. When a puncture occurs, the solution is simple: remove the tire, replace or patch the tube, and get back on the road.
Convenience
The appeal of clinchers lies in their simplicity and convenience. They’re easy to install, easy to repair, and inner tubes are available everywhere. For most riders, this makes them an ideal option for daily training and general riding. However, clinchers do come with a few compromises. The presence of an inner tube introduces extra friction between the tire and the tube, resulting in slightly higher rolling resistance compared with modern tubeless setups. They are also more prone to pinch flats, especially when running lower pressures on rougher surfaces.
Why Riders Choose Tubes
Still, for riders who prioritize reliability, affordability, and the ability to fix a flat quickly at the roadside, the clincher remains a timeless and dependable choice.
About Tubes
As for the rolling resistance issue, there are actually three different types of inner tubes, butyl, latex, and TPU. Stardard butyl tubes are inexpensive, but contribute to more rolling resistance. Latex and TPU tubes are lighter and offer far less rolling resistance.
Tubeless Rims and Tires
Over the past decade, tubeless setups have become increasingly popular across road, gravel, and mountain biking disciplines. As the name suggests, tubeless tires do away with the inner tube entirely. Instead, the tire forms an airtight seal directly against the rim, and a small amount of liquid sealant inside the tire automatically fills and seals small punctures as you ride.
Advantages
The advantages of going tubeless are easy to see. Without an inner tube, rolling resistance drops slightly, giving a faster, more efficient ride. Because of this, tubeless is now the default among pro cycling teams, who almost exclusively ride tubeless. In addition, with tubeless, you can safely run lower tire pressures, which improves comfort and traction—especially valuable on rough roads or gravel surfaces. The sealant adds an extra layer of puncture protection, meaning most small cuts or thorns never stop your ride.
Maintenance
That said, tubeless systems aren’t entirely maintenance-free. Setting them up can be messy and time-consuming, especially for first-timers, and the sealant must be refreshed every few months as it gradually dries out. In the rare event of a large puncture, roadside repairs can be trickier than simply swapping out an inner tube.
Why It is Popular
Despite these small inconveniences, many riders now consider tubeless to be the best all-around option, combining speed, comfort, and reliability in one modern package. At Particle, all of our wheels are tubeless ready and can be used with both clincher and tubeless tires.
Tubular Rims and Tires
Before tubeless technology took over, the tubular system was the undisputed choice for professional racers. In a tubular tire, the inner tube is sewn directly into the tire casing, which is then glued or taped onto a matching tubular rim. This construction creates an exceptionally light, round, and supple wheel-tire system that delivers a beautifully smooth ride quality and excellent handling.
The Former Choice for Racing
The performance benefits of tubulars are undeniable—especially in climbing and sprinting, where every gram counts. Even if you puncture, you can sometimes continue riding carefully until a wheel change, which is one reason they remained popular in professional racing for so long. Tubeless rims can be made lighter, as less material is needed. They also work great with rim brakes as they offered improved safety. Modern disc brake wheels have the only real option until the last 10 years.
The trade-offs
However, tubulars come with serious trade-offs. Installing them properly takes skill and patience, involving gluing and curing time. Though tubular tape is now considered to be much less of a hassle than glue. In general, however, repairs are more complicated than with clincheers, and most riders simply replace the entire tire. Tubular tires are also harder to find today, as the market has shifted toward tubeless and clincher systems.
For most cyclists, tubulars are no longer the practical choice. Yet among purists and professionals chasing every last performance gain, they still have a loyal following and a certain romantic appeal.
Hookless Rims and Tires
Perhaps one of the hottest topics nowadays in cycling isn’t tubeless vs clincher, but rather hooked vs hookless. Hookless rims do not have a bead. This means that tires stay onto the rim by outward pressure alone. These are most common on MTB wheels, since they can be run safely at much lower pressures.
What's the Catch?
Road and gravel tires tend to be run at much higher pressures, making them less suitable and potentially dangerous if used with hookless rims. Hookless rims can only be used with tubeless tires, and running tire pressures over 73 PSI can be dangerous due to the possibility of the tire popping off the rim. For reference, most road tires are run at higher pressures than this. Because of safety concerns, at Particle, we only sell hooked rims for road and gravel, giving you peace of mind.
Choosing the Right System
So, which one should you choose? It depends largely on your priorities and how you ride. Clinchers remain the easiest and most affordable option and are perfect for training or riders who prefer a straightforward setup. Tubeless offers the best combination of performance, puncture protection, and ride comfort, making it the go-to choice for most modern cyclists. Tubulars, on the other hand, are reserved for those who value the lightest possible setup or who simply enjoy the traditional craftsmanship of classic racing gear. Though, due to advancements in carbon fiber wheel design, clincher/tubeless wheelsets such as ours are as light or lighter than former tubular wheels.
Final Thoughts
Each system represents a different stage in the evolution of cycling technology. Clinchers brought accessibility, tubeless introduced modern innovation, and tubulars defined the golden age of racing. Understanding how each one works—and what kind of riding it suits best—can help you make a smarter, more satisfying choice for your next wheelset.
In the end, the best option is the one that makes you want to ride more. For most riders, we recommend clincher due to it being the most uniquitous and hassle free.