I’m working on a 1993 Climber that has a tubeless rear wheel. The tire I received with the bike is tube type. Can I use this tire with tube? Would probably have to use a rim lock. Or should I buy a tubeless tire and valve stem or tube?  Thanks 

Edited June 10, 20251 yr by dozerash

When I ran tubeless tires on a tube type rim they were almost impossible to bead suggesting the tubeless tire rides tighter on the rim, going the other way around you will have the opposite problem; about the only way you could do it is to glue the tire on the rim and that would both seal in the air and stop the tire from moving on the rim.

Is the tire radial or bias ply?  Best to buy the correct tire and better to run a radial.

5 hours ago, lemur said:

When I ran tubeless tires on a tube type rim they were almost impossible to bead suggesting the tubeless tire rides tighter on the rim, going the other way around you will have the opposite problem; about the only way you could do it is to glue the tire on the rim and that would both seal in the air and stop the tire from moving on the rim.

Is the tire radial or bias ply?  Best to buy the correct tire and better to run a radial.

Yeah the tubeless rim seems flatter than a tube type. I was going to use a tube. Original owner had a tube in it. Probably wouldn’t seal on the rim anymore. I have the IRC trials tires, I think they are radials and directional. Would have to drill the rim for a rim lock which I would rather not do.

If it is a radial it will have an R stamp in the tire size, and/or clearly state Radial on the tire sticker.  If it does not say Radial or R then it is not a radial tire.  Radial tires typically cost more.  You can safely run a rear trials tire in either direction on a trials bike, happens all the time.  One rim lock might not even do it, you might need two rim locks if the tire does not fit the rim tight, two rim locks on the rear was common in the days before radial tubeless tires became common.  If the tire slides on the rim it will typically shear off the valve stem leaving you with a tube that can not be patched.  All of that just to run a cheaper tire that performs less, weighs more and is far harder to install.  Tubes and rim locks are no longer cheap and you might even spend more coin to convert to tube type compared to just running the correct tire.

Tubeless rim and tires have a different bead shape compared to tube type.

On 6/10/2025 at 8:58 AM, dozerash said:

I’m working on a 1993 Climber that has a tubeless rear wheel. The tire I received with the bike is tube type. Can I use this tire with tube? Would probably have to use a rim lock. Or should I buy a tubeless tire and valve stem or tube?  Thanks 

I'm from the U.S and I don't  mean to be a smartass but, I am not familiar with the term "climber".  What does that refer to? Thanks ,

LaVen

It's just an old Aprilia model name.  Here's a pic of one: https://www.james-pratt.com/2023/01/working-on-my-very-rare-aprilia-280-climber-trials-motorcycle/

On 6/11/2025 at 2:35 PM, LaVern said:

I'm from the U.S and I don't  mean to be a smartass but, I am not familiar with the term "climber".  What does that refer to? Thanks ,

LaVen

It’s a Aprilia Climber 280R trials bike. The model Climber was made from 1989 to 1994. I had a 1992 in the 90s, was the first trials bike I competed on. 

On 6/10/2025 at 4:16 PM, lemur said:

If it is a radial it will have an R stamp in the tire size, and/or clearly state Radial on the tire sticker.  If it does not say Radial or R then it is not a radial tire.  Radial tires typically cost more.  You can safely run a rear trials tire in either direction on a trials bike, happens all the time.  One rim lock might not even do it, you might need two rim locks if the tire does not fit the rim tight, two rim locks on the rear was common in the days before radial tubeless tires became common.  If the tire slides on the rim it will typically shear off the valve stem leaving you with a tube that can not be patched.  All of that just to run a cheaper tire that performs less, weighs more and is far harder to install.  Tubes and rim locks are no longer cheap and you might even spend more coin to convert to tube type compared to just running the correct tire.

Tubeless rim and tires have a different bead shape compared to tube type.

It’s a radial tire. I did mount it on the rim, went on a lot harder than a regular rim. I had a heck of a time seating the bead. Tire looks normal on the rim. I don’t think it’s going to move!