Are Clincher Tires better than Tubeless in 2026?
5 Reasons to choose Clincher tires over Tubeless on the Road
- Marginal rolling resistance gains
In the past, tire rolling resistance testing proved that there were considerable gains to be made by switching to Tubeless. However in 2026, with the development of modern latex / TPU tubes and clincher tires, rolling resistance gains are now marginal between Tubeless tire setups and Clincher tires paired with latex / TPU tubes.
Specifically, independent testing done by bicyclerollingresistance.com suggests that there is only a ~1 watt difference when pairing a TLR tire with sealant rather than with a TPU inner tube. There has been no credible testing regarding the difference between Tubeless tires with sealant vs. Clincher tires with latex / TPU tubes. However, I believe it is safe to estimate that the rolling resistance gains of Tubeless tires vs. Clincher tires are now marginal. This is due to the fact that the same rubber compounds are used in the casing of the tires. The only major difference between Tubeless tires and Clincher tires are the Tubeless bead construction featured on Tubeless tires.
