Before the start of Paris-Roubaix the Belgium team of Lotto Dstny revealed they will exclusively race on 30mm tyres with its hookless rims.
The team has found itself at the centre of attention regarding the safety of hookless rims and tyres after two high-profile crashes sparked the debate. As a result of these incidents at the UAE Tour and Strade Bianche, the UCI stepped in with news coming last week of a new task force that will look into equipment and rider safety.
Ahead of the cobbled monument, GCN caught up with Lotto Dstny to find out the team’s feelings on the investigation into the technology. Although it might seem like these incidents have not been attributed to the hookless rims used by the team they have made some changes to their setup.
“I think we had a good communication with the head of the UCI about these wheels, we talked about it and we made some adjustments to the setup to at least avoid/downsize the risk of having another tyre come off,” said one of the team’s mechanics.
When asked exactly what changes the team has made, he went on to say, “The NSW 353 is only going to use exclusively 30mm tyres which means that we have the 25mm inner rim with 5mm on top of it. Before it was declared it was applicable with a 28 but now we take the precaution to use it with a 30mm Vittoria Corsa Pro tyre. This should avoid any other troubles.”
Moving to exclusively 30mm tyres will allow the team to run lower tyre pressures and also the shape of the tyre on the rim will provide a sturdier interface. Without a retaining hook on the internal edge of the rim, the tyre is held in place purely by friction. The 25mm internal rim width of the 353NSW rims makes them some of the widest in the peloton with 28mm tyres right on the limit of what can be used.
Read more: Why tyre pressure and tyre width matter so much for cycling
Sharing their thoughts on the technological advancements within the peloton the team said: “We might discuss if it is safe or not but we need to see it broader. What about tubeless in general, we used to have tubular tyres and for sure that was the safest way but if the cycling industry evolves we evolve with them.”
“If performance-wise it is better then we need to follow this and something we do which might not be done with every team is we are always adding an airliner inside the tyre and if they declare that it is only a 5 or 10% safer it is still a 5-10% addition and we are going to use it. Even if it costs one watt in rolling resistance we care about safety.”
What are the UCI doing about hookless rims?
The new ‘SafeR’ group has been tasked with ‘preparing new measures’ surrounding the equipment used ahead of the 2025 season.
In an official statement issued by the cycling governing body, they said “The UCI also recognises that compliance with the ISO standards by teams and riders is made more difficult by the fact that manufacturers base their recommendations for compatibility between tyres and rims on the recommendations provided by the European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation (ETRTO), which have not always been aligned with ISO standards.”
They also stated: “The UCI notes that the norms defined in these ISO standards have not always been respected and does not rule out the possibility that this may have been a contributing factor in some of the incidents encountered.”
What are the benefits of hookless rims?
Hookless rims have been around for quite some time in other industries with standard car and motorcycle rims using the technology. In recent times, the technology has found its way over to mountain bikes before slowly infiltrating the world of road cycling.
Hookless rims present a few different advantages over traditional hooked rims. Firstly, they are cheaper to manufacture as the straight rim profile is simpler and easier to produce. The saving, however, is not significant at least to the customer. The most notable advantage to a rider is the reduction in weight with comparable hookless wheelsets around 200 grams lighter than a hooked rim.
Because of the shape the tyre adopts on a hookless rim, there is also a slight aerodynamic advantage as the transition for the tyre to the rim surface is smoother, creating less drag.
With Lotto Dstny changing their setup as a result of the potential hookless incidents, it does raise the question if there is enough research into the technology for it to be safely used on road bikes even if the ETRTO’s safe pressure limit of 5 bar (73psi) is adhered to.
The SafeR group are set to provide its findings for implementation for the 2025 season however until then the future of hookless looks to hang in the balance.
What are your thoughts on hookless, do you embrace the new technology or see no reason to stray away from the tried and tested hooked design? Let us know your comments below. For more tech news make sure to head to the dedicated tech news section of the website.
Laura Adams is a tech enthusiast residing in the UK. Her articles cover the latest technological innovations, from AI to consumer gadgets, providing readers with a glimpse into the future of technology.
