Stan’s NoTubes adds fifth tubeless rim patent, Velocity granted licence

Stan’s NoTubes has announced a new patent which builds on Stan’s original Bead Socket Technology (BST) design first patented in 2004. 

Now registered as U.S. Patent 9,649,878, the new design provides additional details about the interior rim shape and sidewall height of Stan’s influential tubeless rim design.

The announcement comes in tandem with news that the design will be licensed to Velocity, who will produce their popular Blunt rims as an officially licensed Stan’s BST product. Changes will be made to other Velocity products to remove them from any conflict with Stan’s protected design. Velocity’s A23, A23OC, Aileron, Cliffhanger and Quill rims will be altered to fall outside the scope of Stan’s intellectual property.

Velocity’s General Manager Matt Ruiter was happy to find a resolution that worked for both companies, stating: “Velocity is pleased to feature Stan’s Bead Socket Technology on our Blunt SS model rims, providing superior strength, weight, and tubeless performance to traditional rim designs.”

Stan’s NoTubes President Mike Bush added: “Stan’s rim designs have had a clear influence on the development of tubeless technology. Obviously, we need to protect investments in time and money that helped create our rims, but we also want to see tubeless development continue to improve. Tubeless technology has made bikes faster, more reliable and better handling for everyone, and we think more tubeless in the world is a good thing. We don’t want to jeopardize the ongoing development of the tubeless technology, and we look forward to creating positive partnerships with anyone currently using or looking to license our proven designs.”

Stan’s portfolio of rim design patents describes lower rim sidewalls and how a rim’s interior shape relates to sidewall height. They also detail a specific range of dimensions for rim shape and how it interacts with a tire during inflation. Stan’s patented rim shape was designed to work with a wide variety of tubeless road and mountain bike tires.