Hutchinson Fusion 3 Tubeless Tire Review
(Review by Eric Williams- Over the Hump Single Speed Hamster)
- Raise your hand if you cross-train for Over the Hump by riding your road bike.
- Raise your hand if you run tubeless tires on your mountain bike.
- Raise your hand if you can’t imagine running anything else on your mountain bike except tubeless tires.
Raise your hand if you have been eternally curious how tubeless tires work on the road.
What if you never had to buy a tube again? Wait, what? You heard me… never buy a tube again. Let me ask you this question… “If you run tubeless mountain bike tires, when was the last time you purchased a tube?” I’ll bet you’ve never really thought about that. Since the introduction of tubeless mountain bike tires, my tube purchasing has been reduced to virtually nil. Sure, I keep one in a seat bag, but to be honest, I’m not even sure it works since I haven’t had to use it in years.
Think about this concept for road tires… what if the same principle applied to road tires? Is it too good to be true?
I have been curious as to why road tubeless hasn’t really taken off, and after riding Hutchinson Fusion 3 Tubeless tires for the past 4 weeks, I am astonished it hasn’t. I don’t think I will ever go back to clinchers. For me, here is the bottom line with road tubeless: CONFIDNECE. The Hutchinson’s that I mounted to Shimano’s Ultegra wheels have given me a brand new confidence riding the roads of Orange County and beyond. No longer am I worried that every single piece of nothing that seems to work its way through my tire into my tube will cause me a flat. I am able to run lower air pressure, which equals less rolling resistance and better cornering, and charge through all the road debris that would normally leave me with a double flat in multiple places. If you do puncture, as you would with a mountain bike, spin the wheel, let the sealant do its job, re-inflate and roll on. And if by some chance you have a catastrophic cut or puncture; boot it, throw a tube in it and limp home.
On to the tires. Hutchinson was really one of the pioneers in the road tubeless game and it shows. The Fusion 3s are an amazing tire that has proved itself on multiple rides in various terrain. My first ride was from Long Beach to Beaumont. 80+ miles at around 95 psi made for a comfortable and enjoyable ride. The lower pressure and supple lay up of the Fusion 3s took out the majority of road chatter and vibrations. In addition, I recently spent some time riding in Park City, UT and found them very grippy in steep mountainous descents and sharp turns. Since I installed them (which was a bit more difficult than a traditional clincher) I have over 1000K on them with only one small cut on the tire. Zero flats, far better grip, improved control and a far smoother ride. Hutchinson makes three tubeless options – The Fusion 3, Intensive and Atom Galactik.
For more info check out Hutchinson.com/en or better yet, stop by your local shop and pick up a pair.
Oh, and if you need some tubes, I got a bunch for sale…
2 Comments
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I have one tubeless tire, a Hutchinson Fusion 3, in the front and one tubed tire, a toughskin, in the back. I’m waiting for the toughskin to wear out and then I’ll replace it with a tubeless tire. In the last year of riding with one of each I’ve had to change maybe 4 flats on the tubed tire and none on the tubeless. BUT, after only maybe 2,500 miles on the tubeless tire, I had a half inch slash show up on the sidewall with no explanation as to how it got there. I did replace it with another Fusion 3 so I am a convert however, I have never had a tubed tire with that kind of failure before. The ride is just as nice if not nicer with the tubeless tire.