HUTCHINSON TIRES
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2010 Hutchinson Fusion 2 Road Tubeless Tire
- Item: HUT110 Actual Weight:"Actual Weight" means we weighed this item ourselves. 290.0g
- $64.95/2/$61.00/4/$55.00
About four years ago, the braintrusts at Hutchinson, Shimano, Mavic and Michelin began a collaboration (which ended up being more of a competition) that resulted in what may prove to be one of the biggest advancements in cycling technology since the clipless pedal: A tubeless wheel and tire system for the road. After countless hours of testing, tweaking, riding, and racing, the Hutchinson/ Shimano team finally emerged with a winner: the Hutchinson Fusion 2 Tubeless Road Tire. (No unlike "UST" for mountain bikes, “Road Tubeless” is the official nomenclature for this new technology on the road side.)
Hutchinson has collaborated exclusively with Shimano, Campagnolo, Specialized and Roval on the project. Their new Road Tubeless tires are only compatible with these specific tubeless wheelsets. Why? The key, as you can imagine, was figuring out how to hold the tire to the rim in a way that is airtight and doesn't slip. In order to do this, both rim and tire had to be completely deconstructed and re-thought. Unlike every other clincher tire on the market, the Fusion Road Tubeless tires don’t use a round Kevlar bead -- the bead on these tires is a butyl-rubber wrapped carbon fiber rectangle (which is a perfect match to the rectangular channel on the inside of the intended rims). When you inflate the tire, the result is an air-tight seal that's locked into place, doesn't slip, and won't accidentally blow off -- even when riding the tire flat! The butyl layer wraps around the beads much like a rubber washer, and seals in air. This layer also serves as a microscopic inner tube, as it transverses the inside layer of the tire.
Before you install your new Road Tubeless tires, you should remember one thing: it’s a breeze! Road Tubeless tires can be installed and removed by hand, and obviously you don't have to worry about twisting or pinching an inner tube. However, should you have difficulty with the last few inches of the tire, Hutchinson does not recommend using a square-edged tire lever. Any round or smooth-edged tire tool will suffice -- their Stick Air Lever has rounded edges that won’t damage the somewhat delicate combination of soft butyl rubber and carbon-fiber beads. Hutchinson also advised a light soap-and-water solution to ease installation, and create a stronger seal between tire and rim.
Once the tire is seated into the rim, inflation is easy. Just pump and go. If you're particularly concerned about flats, Hutchinson recommends installing their Fast'Air sealant before pumping up. Like many of the other liquid latex products on the market, Fast'Air will gravitate to small punctures while you’re riding and seal them before you really notice any loss of tire pressure. Fast’Air comes in a hair-mousse style can, and is designed to be injected into the tire via the valve core. If you start with a flat tire, you’ll have about 80 PSI in 90 seconds. Hutchinson recommends using Fast' Air only (and not Tufo sealant or Stan's No Tubes) because Fast' Air doesn't contain ammonia, which will degrade the inner layer of a Hutchinson tire.
Like a true tubular tire, you will never be stranded as a result of a pinch-flat, but the tires are not indestructible. If you suffer what we call a ‘litterbug flat’ (which is a nasty cut resulting from running over a broken OE bottle) the tire should, and can, be patched. Luckily, Hutchinson’s Rep'Air kit, which features specially-designed glue and patches, will do the job. Sticker-type patches can also be used, though they are a temporary solution. Also, Rema-style patch kits should be avoided because you should not rough up the inside wall of the tire with sandpaper or a metal scraper and the glue degrades the tire walls. And, for those who never want to be stranded, a standard road tube will work inside the tubeless tire. Just pull out the removable valve core first.
OK, so you’ve installed the tires, stuffed your jersey pockets full of flat fixins (we usually just carry the good old tube and CO2 when we ride our Road Tubeless), and now you’re ready to ride. And, man-oh-man, is it a good one! Hutchinson carefully analyzed many other tires on the market and noticed one thing: too many manufacturers are relying on air pressure to give a tire form and structure. The resulting ride quality of a $60 open tubular tire at 140+ PSI is less than pleasant. Hutchinson decided to do the inverse: beef up the casing, thus making the tire itself responsible for holding its own form when cornering and descending at speed, and lower the overall PSI to increase vertical compliance. Mission accomplished! Not only do you experience a more comfortable ride at the required 85-95 PSI, but you also experience lower rolling resistance as a result of the removal of the friction created between a traditional tire-and-tube system.
The tire folds, just like a regular Kevlar-beaded tire, so one can be easily carried on the road. But, if you want a spare and don't have another Fusion 2 handy, a regular folding road tire will also fit into the Shimano, Campagnolo, Specialized or Roval bead. It just won't as a tubeless tire. Weight for the Fusion 2 Tubeless is 295g.
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