Puncture survey finds tubeless set ups baffle 25% of cyclists

Muc-Off has surveyed five thousand riders from 50 countries on punctures, finding that – on average – cyclists suffer one puncture every eight months.

The puncture survey shed light on the tubeless/inner tube balance of respondents, finding that only 38% were running with inner tubes on their most frequently used bike. A huge 91% of those (largely road riders) were interested in converting to tubeless.

The report also revealed an opportunity to educate riders on tubeless set ups, with 25% of respondents found to either not understand what is involved with setting up tubeless or feeling that set-up would be too difficult. Mountain bikers and gravel riders were twice more likely than roadies to understand how to set up tubeless.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, inner tube riders carried significantly more items with them on rides versus those running a tubeless setup.

Further stats found that gravel riders most at risk of a puncture, with an average of 4.52 punctures in the last three years. Road riders closely followed at 4.45 punctures every three years, while mountain bikers had 3.83 every three years, having the equivalent of an extra six weeks between flats.

Muc-Off has launched a Tubeless & Puncture Protection Hub to assist in the tubeless education challenge.

Earlier this year, Muc-Off signed a milestone fleet care contract with EAV.