Recently, Lotto's Degent crashed in the fifth stage of the Tour of the UAE due to the tubeless detachment on his vehicle.
In the race**, Degent suffered a crash in the middle of the car, and then it can be seen that the tires on his vehicle have come off the hookless rim, and the vacuum foam pads have completely detached from the wheels and become stuck in the fork. De Gent returned to the field with a couple of wounds after checking that he was fine. After the race, many fans discussed the German hookless rims and tubeless tires in this incident, including Adam Hansen, chairman of the Riders' Association.
Team Lotto is using a Zipp 353 with 25mm hookless wheels paired with 28mm Vittoria Corsa Pro tyres this season. Hookless rims have become increasingly popular in the pro race in recent years, they have better aerodynamics, and manufacturers can make lighter rims at a lower cost, but they are also limited to a maximum pressure of less than 73 psi. It was this maximum pressure that prompted Adam Hansen, president of the Motorists' Association (CPA), to publicly oppose the use of the hookless system.
The Australian, who was team-mates with Degent at Lotto between 2015 and 2020, said in an interview that the Riders Association is 100 per cent against hookless wheels because it could lead to mass crashes. When you look at Thomas Degent's bike, you can see that his tires have fallen off, the safety foam inside is stuck in the fork, and the front wheel is directly "locked".
The tires should not come off the rims. These hookless tires have a maximum pressure of 73 psi, and if you do hit something, it will impact more than the maximum pressure, which is why hookless rims tend to cause the tire to fall off. Hansen said they had also tested hookless tires in the sun before, and the tires blew out. But manufacturers really like them because it's easier to produce and requires fewer molds.
Lotto's mechanics insist that the tyre and rim combination they use is fully compliant with UCI's rules and industry standards. According to UCI's requirements, they use 23mm tires on the 28mm or 28mm inner rim. This is according to all regulations of UCI, Zipp and Vittoria. They insist on using vacuum foam pads for the safety of their riders, even if it loses power.
Editor: Hamma.