Hookless Rims: Are They Worth It?

Although hookless rims have long been applied to mountain bikes, people in the field of road bikes have been conservative and are reluctant to embrace new technologies.

Until recent years, hookless rims are becoming more common in professional road racing, then people slowly begin to accept them. You may be wondering: hookless rims, are they worth it?

Hookless rims provide better strength, wider inner rim width, and lighter weight, improving the aerodynamic performance of the wheelset while bringing better performance to the tire.

Hookless rims are rims that do not have a hooked shape on the sidewall to fix the tire bead.

As shown above, the biggest difference between hookless rims and hooked rims is the removal of the hook that holds the tire at the top of sidewall.

The hookless structure makes the rim’s carbon fiber structure more continuous (as shown in the picture, its carbon fiber material avoids bending) , which can increase its overall strength and allow the rim’s wall stronger and more durable.

Especially in the condition of low tire pressure, the hookless rims are more difficult to damage when facing various bumps.

Without hooked structure, the hookless rims will release more space to accommodate the outer tire, resulting in a wider inner rim width.

Using a smaller tire could obtain the same comfort and grip compared to the hooked rims with a larger size tire. At the same time, the hookless rims can also reduce a certain weight because of no hooked structure.

Because there is no hooked structure, the sidewall of the outer tire will be smoother to get stronger sidewall support when turning, further improve the cornering performance of the tire.

For traditional hooked rims, it is S-shaped at the combination of the outer tire’s sidewall and the rim, and the tire will significantly shift inward at the position close to the rim.

The shape of outer tire wall of hookless rim is closer to the round shape, and there is no obvious inward shift at the position near the rim. This makes the transition of hookless rim sidewall and outer tire wall more smooth, which can slightly improve the aerodynamic performance of the wheelset (it mainly refers to rim and tire combined position).

The traditional hooked rims mainly rely on the hooks on the rim to hold the tire, which has gradually become an inherent concept in the minds of riders. They believe that the combination between the tires and rims entirely depends on the hooks. Therefore, the hookless rims will make many riders feel that the tire will easily fall off without the hook and it is very dangerous.

But in fact, no matter whether the rim is hooked or hookless, its matching with the tire is not only limited to the hook, more is to rely on the rim bead lock and rim bead seat. A tight fit among the tire bead, rim bead lock and rim bead seat allows for good air tightness while maintaining a close cooperation between the outer tire and the rim.

In other words, the function of the hooks can be realized by the close coordination of the tire bead with the rim bead seat and the rim bead lock. So the hooks can be removed in exchange for better performance.

The key to achieving a close cooperation is that the size of the tire bead and the rim bead seat must be accurately coordinated so that they can have adequate air tightness. At the same time, the width of the tire bead should be matched with the groove of the rim bead lock, so that the tire bead can be confined in the rim bead lock to prevent the outer tire from being shifted inwards or even falling off.

All in all, there is no need to worry about the problem of the tire falling off if you use a tire that matches the rim.

Because the outer tire needs to cooperate closely with the hookless rim, the compatibility of the outer tire and the rim becomes the key factor whether the tire will fall off from the hookless rim. Many dangerous situations associated with hookless rims happen mostly due to the failure to use a matching tire or to use the correct tire pressure.

Different brands have different requirements for the compatibility of their hookless rims and tires. You need to consult the supplier before ordering to understand the tire models compatible with their hookless rim.

There is no strict standard for what tire pressure to use in hookless wheels. All we have to do is to use the tire and tire pressure recommended by the manufacturer so as to ensure maximum safety and best performance.

The hookless rims are really worth it because they provide better tubeless tire performance. As long as the installation is correct and matching tires are used, the hookless rims are also very safe and reliable.

We have both hooked and hookless wheelset or rims available. Please view our products to see if we have a product that meets your requirements. If your prefer specs are not listed, you can leave us a message through hello@bestwheelset.com

– Road Bike Wheelset/Rim
– Gravel Bike Wheelset/Rim
– MTB Wheelset/Rim
– BMX Wheelset/Rim
– Tri/TT/Track Wheelset

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