There are three options for Supermoto conversions.
A) Spoked wheels that run tubes,
B) Spoked wheels that use a proprietary sealant and “tape” (for lack of a better term) to seal the spoke nipples and create an airtight chamber thus eliminating the need for tubes, or
C) Forged, solid, one-piece wheels (not spoked wheels)
The main difference in these three options is obviously how the wheels will hold air, but why choose one over the other?
First comes cost; tubed wheels will be the least expensive, followed by spoked tubeless wheels, and finally forged tubeless wheels. If cost is a concern stick with tubes, if it’s not concern forged tubeless wheels have the best ability to hold air and they come with interchangeable inner hubs meaning if you change bikes down the road, you can just change the hubs out and keep your wheels. Tubeless spoked wheels are somewhat newer (as I write this 1/26/2023) they’ve been around a few years and are an awesome set-up but have been known to leak air. Fortunately, the manufacturers will fix this issue at no cost to you, but obviously you’re without your wheels while they do.
They can also handle punctures better. When a tubed tire takes a nail at 90 mph, the tube can deflate instantly, collapsing the tire with it. A tubeless tire can capture the nail (screw, or pointy road debris of your choice) in the tire’s thick main layer, sealing around the intruder to keep the air inside. Can being the important word here. It doesn’t always work out that way, but a tubeless tire gives you better odds of experiencing a slow deflation that gives you a chance to get off the road safely, instead of sudden and total deflation.
The other aspect of flat tires that matters here is repairing them. If you're standing alongside a busy highway with a nail in your tire, it's a lot easier to make a temporary repair on a tubeless tire. With a plug kit and a way to reinflate the tire, you can usually get back on your way. With a tube-type tire, you must remove the wheel from the motorcycle so you can take the tube out of the tire, patch the hole (or replace the tube, if you're carrying a spare), then reassemble everything and reinflate the tire. It's still doable, but a bit more work.
In conclusion, only you will know what options are most important to you when it comes to these options. Tubed Supermoto conversion have been around for a long time and work just fine for the everyday street rider. If you’re racing your Sumo, you might want to upgrade to one of the tubeless options as the tires are best off without tubes in these situations and you’ll lose some unsprung weight. Hopefully this information will help you make an informed choice on your new wheels! Still have questions? Contact Us. We’re here to help!
Side Note: KTM ADV bikes come tubeless from the factory. Warp 9's OEM ADV wheel sizes do not have the option of being tubeless (they only have the tubeless option for 17” Supermoto wheels for the time being). So, if you order Warp 9 wheels, they will require the use of tubes! However, we do offer Excel wheels that tubeless can be added to to keep them like the stock wheels. Visit our Adventure Wheels section of the store for details.