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In
the fourth part of our mini series on tubeless tyres bossman Adil's Qualis
comes under the microscope as we factor in the reasons behind it going
the tubeless way.
 The
Qualis is the OVERDRIVE workhorse and from day one it has been called
on to serve as delivery van, taxi, goods carrier, photo accessory, etc,
averaging several hundred kilometres a week. Further it has faithfully
pilled its trade across every surface it could possibly traverse. Here
is how the tubeless tyres found its way onto the Qualis.
There were three jury categories that decided in fovour of the tubeless
tyres. The first was the OVERDRIVE accounts department, Factors instrumental
in getting the nod from the accounts department were the longevity of
tubeless tyres, as also their construction and lifespan of materials is
usually more than those of tubed tyres. The second and clinching factor
was fuel efficiency. Tubeless tyres have lesser rolling resistance, lower
weight and the ability to retain air uniformly through the tyre proved
to swing the votes in the tubeless direction. Oh, how the finance guys
loved it when they assessed the savings.
The
savings panel consisted of the women folks whose constant concern on our
getting home safe and sound at the end of the day. Their unanimous vote
(and we couldn't argue with them) in favour of the tubeless was because
of their abilities to avert blowouts so frequently occurring on the expressway.
Tubeless tyres are averse to punctures and provide sufficient traction
even after being punctured. By acting as sealant the tubeless tyre retains
air inside the tyre till you get to a repair centre. Besides, with a puncture
the bead falls inside the rimwell thus helping maintain traction in dicey
situations.
The third panel consisted of the OVERDRIVE team for whom performance swings
scales further than any other aspect. Tubeless tyres are lighter than
tubed ones. Putting on tubeless tyres means lowering the unsprung weight
of the Qualis leading to better dynamic ability allowing a few more liberties
behind the wheel. On the expressway the tyres behave splendidly as there
are fewer chances of ballooning and open splices. The long sweeping turns
of the expressway at full blast hardly elicit a squeak or loss of character
from the tyres.
Overall, I'd say the tubeless tyres won hands down.
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June 2002
