FAQs

Airless tyres have, as they say, no air in them whatsoever. That’s great for road and commuter bikes, but mountain bikers like the ability to change their air pressure based on the kind of riding they’re doing.

They will run a “tube” system or “tubeless” system depending on the style of bike. Our Armour (tube) is built for users who prefer tubes, and helps protect the tube from all kinds of flats. For riders who run Tubeless (A system that has just the tire, some sealant, a valve and tires that are built to hold air in) the Armour Tubeless helps protect the rim from damage while smoothening out rough mountain trails.

Tannus Armour Tubeless does several things, but these are the most important:

1. Help protect the rim from damage so you can ride harder and hit rocks with more confidence
2. Provide a smoother, yet more playful, ride that brings the fun back into biking
3. Increases speed to help win races and, more importantly, beat your friends

150g for the 27.5 and 160g for the 29. To give you an idea, a 27.5″ tube weighs about 160-190 grams, so this is lighter than most tubes even!

1. Help protect the rim from damage so you can ride harder and hit rocks with more confidence
2. Provide a smoother, yet more playful, ride that brings the fun back into biking
3. Increases speed to help win races and, more importantly, beat your friends

There are 2 kinds of Tubeless inserts:

1. Against the rim inserts
2. Floating in the tire inserts

Inserts that sit tightly against your rim are great, but the insert will dissipate the force directly into the rim, leading to reports from bike shops all over the country saying that rims are breaking more often with this kind of insert than without an insert even. They will also make the ride feel “dead” and “boring” according to several riders who used to ride them. Lastly they are usually VERY difficult to install.

The downside of “floating” inserts is that they do in fact provide rim protection, but no ride quality advantages. They are adding weight to your bike, but ride just like a standard tubeless tire.

Tannus Armour Tubeless combines the ride quality benefits of an insert seated up against the rim, but with the weight and easy installation of a floating insert. This is made possible by the flexible “Wings” that allow the insert to sit higher in the tire, but still provide 20mm of rim protection.

Make sure you are using “Tubeless Specific” sealant. If you’ve made some sealant in your garage, we can’t guarantee anything, but props to you for trying. Also, don’t use any “tube” sealants IE Slime, Flat Attack etc.

4-6oz per tire is usually a good gauge.

As you compress your tire while you are riding, the tire has a rebounding property. This rebounding property ‘propels’ the bike forward. The Armour adds an extra rebounding element that adds to the propulsion of a standard tire, making for an even faster ride.

All you’ll need are tubeless specific rims and you’ll be all set! Make sure that you tape them well, a poorly taped tubeless system has more flat issues than anything else out there.

Nope! Any tubeless valve will get the job done. This is made possible by the flexible wings that create two chambers within the system. You can put the sealant in, and the holes in the insert allow the sealant to pass through without getting stuck on one side of the insert.

The Armour Tubeless inserts are MOST of the time an easy installation! Feel free to use tire levers on the inserts as they won’t damage them. Here’s a basic installation video link:

You do NOT need an air compressor most of the time with these! The Armour pushes the bead of the tire against the rim, so a “quick” floor pump usually does the trick in seating the bead! If worst comes to worst and the pump won’t do the trick, a compressor won’t hurt.

Unfortunately they cannot be used with tubes.

Individual units.

Our specialty over here is in high end foam manufacturing. With our airless tires, we spent a decade creating a material that would make a smooth ride and be fast. That material is called Aither. For the Armour Tubeless, we’ve used a similar foam material to the Aither that, according to our engineers, is something that you “don’t just cook up in a basement. This requires labs, experienced technicians, and years of research.”

They are completely re-usable! So go ahead and keep them when your old bike sells and you’re in the market for a new one!

There are several things that can cause a tubeless system to leak, and no exceptions with Armour Tubeless. Here are the main things to check:

1. The rim tape – Check for holes in the tape, this is the main reason for leaking tubeless.
2. Loose valve – Make sure the valve is tight and air cannot escape through the sides of the valve.
3. Hole in the tire – check to make sure there are no holes in your tubeless tires. This will be evident if you hear/see air or sealant leaking out of the tire.
4. Sealant has dried up – You’ll have to pull the tire off for this one, but sealant needs to be replaced in any tubeless system every 4-6 months.

We like to say that you can “finish your ride” on a flat Armour setup. This depends on what kind of a ride you are on though. You can go miles on it, but we wouldn’t recommend going too far. One thing to consider is that if you do have to ride to the bottom of a trail on a flat Armour Tubeless setup, watch to make sure the tire isn’t contacting the frame. The insert may push the tire into the frame, causing it to rub on the frame. Tannus is not liable for any frame damage as a result of riding on a flat tire.