Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

Why isn't there more UST choices?

711 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  AlexRandall
Seems as though standard tube tires are a dime a dozen , where as UST type are slim pickings in size and brand .

Your Take ...
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
As Shark noted....

supply and demand. But even more so profit and loss. Making a UST tire is more expensive, note the difference in cost between most UST versions of a given tire. And it requires a significant invenstment in extra tooling and materials by a company. So most will only offer UST versions of their most popular tires. If a company made a UST version of every tire they manufacture they'd likely loose their butt financially. So sales (profit), and the market (popularity) usually drive what tires are availalbe in UST versions. It's basically the same criteria that a company uses to determine whether or not they will continue to offer a given tire model period. Just look back over the years or talk to an old timer about tires. They'll likely remember favorite tire models that don't exist anymore. Demand simply dropped to the point where it was no longer profitable to produce the tire. Reults? Discontinued model. I'm sure there is some formula that the industry uses to determine or project what tire models would be most likely to turn a profit in a UST version. What it is I don't have a clue. It'll likely be something like total sales of a given model divided by average industry UST market share or something like that. But you can bet that a only a companies strongest sellers will likely be available in UST.

Good Dirt
See less See more
The UST standard was developed by the French companies Mavic, Michelin and Hutchinson. To declare a tire "UST compatible" the tire has to pass tests by Mavic to ensure compatibility and pay for a 5 year license to use the UST logo.

Background:
Mavic holds a patent on a specific rim-bed shape and the corresponding tire-bead shape, which it licenses to other companies. To ensure compatibility across brands, however, a product must be certified before it can bear the UST label. According to Maxime Brunand, Mavic's product manager, an independent lab in Belgium is responsible for granting "technical approval" of products (tires and/or rims). Upon passing the lab's tests, Mavic grants a five-year license for that product to bear the UST logo.
More expensive and not necessarily better in all situations than cheaper sealant/rimstrip systems such as Stan's, not to mention many people who have adopted the system have trouble mounting some tires and field repairs are harder to perform.

Add it up and these reasons are why it has not been adopted across the board.
Well yes , i think a field repair will be a total PIA with a "tubeless" tire cause its better easy inflation with compressed air (shop air compresor) im sure those c02 field air units arent going to cut it .


What about those "clincher " type beads out there ? are those the same as tubeless?


And i thought UST rims / tires are the latest greatest thing out there .. Tubeless tires have been around for along time .. throw some stans sealant in and your good to go , and still lighter than running a tire with a tube ..
ust tires with sealant are significantly heavier than normal tires with tubes.. half pound heavier, easily.
What about those "clincher " type beads out there ? are those the same as tubeless?
UST refers to a type of rim hook as well as the tyre bead - they are designed to mate in a airtight fashion. Any tyre will fit on a UST rim and a UST tyre will fit on a normal rim, but only the combination of the two will hold air.

Stans tubless rims have a specially designed bead, but relies on the sealant to seal the rim/bead together. It will work quite well with either UST or NON ust tyres, but in the latter the sealant seals the porous tyre wall too.

Well yes , i think a field repair will be a total PIA with a "tubeless" tire cause its better easy inflation with compressed air (shop air compresor) im sure those c02 field air units arent going to cut it .
UST repair is called putting a spare tube in, which is just as easy to inflate as with non-ust

And i thought UST rims / tires are the latest greatest thing out there .. Tubeless tires have been around for along time .. throw some stans sealant in and your good to go , and still lighter than running a tire with a tube ..
A while ago they were (2000-2003).....no other alternatives were out there that were reliable. Stan's rims came on the scene, then the DT swiss tubless kit, then Ghetto tubeless etc. Suddenly you could take a lighter wheel and make it work tubeless as well as UST.
UST tyres are still good for rough/sharp terrain as the level of protection is greater, however tyre manufacturers are putting out 'protection' version of standard tyres which are lighter and still work well with most tubeless setups
See less See more
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top