If you can get through the hassle of mounting these babies (and happen to have a pair of tubeless rims), you couldn't ask for a sweeter ride! I'm a big guy (200 lbs) and have ridden these tires almost exclusively for the past couple of years with very very few flats (rainy Oregon). I love the way they sound and the way they ride. Tip...get the removable core valve stems, the syringe with the attachment to inject the Stan's Tire Sealant AFTER mounting...it saves a mess. Also, it's nice to have a friend with an air compressor as that first mount is a bear to get the tire to seat in the rim and a good blast of air helps. Get them all set up and mounted with the Stan's in there and then take them to your friendly bike shop for this phase. You will love the ride.
I first discovered tubeless tires (and have ONLY used these) since I ran into a set of Shimano Wheels at a good price from another online retailer. I had a cycling partner who had also been researching tubeless tires. They seemed expensive at first...but after mounting and riding the first 25 miles, I became a devotee. They ride so nicely, sing the road to you, corner beautifully at high speeds, and the flat resistance is awesome! Granted they are a bear to mount, it can be a bit messy with the liquid sealant process during mounting (get the stems and adapter so you can add the sealant after the tire is fully mounted), and you do need a compressor to get the first seal (no compressor? Go to a bike shop for help in mounting). But wow...is it worth it!
I have these on my Campy Shamal Ultras 2way fit wheels. I have the Fusion 3's and wanted to try the Intensives for some comfort. They do feel comfy and I can't tell the difference in rolling with the Fusion 3's. They aren't 25mm though. I put a micrometer to them inflated to 120 and they barely reach 23mm wtf! That aside, I like them a lot. I had my first front flat at 95 miles from a goat head thorn on the side/top. I pulled it out and the sealant worked perfectly, sealing the hole inside of 5 seconds. It went from 100 lbs to 60 lbs air durning the flat.
All in all I feel very confident on decents and cornering with these and just the thought of no pinch flats or heat flats makes me one happy guy. My experience with the air loss issue is about 10 lbs after 72 hours with sealant. I don't find that a problem though,as I usually air up before every ride. I don't know what rims the other reviewers are using who are experinceing massive air loss, perhaps it is not mounting the tires on tubless specific rims.
First foray into road tubeless. Purchased on sale- and exceeded my expectations. Great feel and comfort at 95 PSI. Would purchase again- only rationale for four stars on value is that I have only two months on this pair.
I'll never buy Hutchinson again. Bought 2 HIntensive tires and failed to convert wheels successfully to a tubeless setup. Then I just kept them in storage for a few years. Then I had a proper tubeless wheel and checked these tires and found they both had cracks on the sidewall (next to bead) almost 360 degrees around. Eventually I did mount one and found that it was too easy to cut. Definitely one of the worst tires I've used or at least tried to use.
I purchased a set of Hutchinson Intensives to go with my new Stan's Notubes Grail wheelset and was hoping to get the advantages of going tubeless on my road bike. First few hundred miles things were OK, but I hit something in the road 50 miles into a 100 mile ride and the front tire spewed sealant all over. I quickly rotated the tire puncture point to the bottom of the wheel and it eventually sealed up, but I couldn't add much more than 40 psi in the tire or the sealant would start spitting out again, but made it home, worrying the entire time that I'd roll the tire off the rim on any downhill turns.
My first thought was I just had bad luck and the puncture was bigger than the sealant could handle, so I used a Hutchinson tubeless patch on it, but that just ended up bulging and breaking through and wouldn't hold more that 40 or 45 psi either, this happened on another 100 mile ride, and I had to hobble home for 25 miles with a tire with only about 40 psi in it.
So my second thought was that the puncture was too big even for the patch, and the rear tire seemed to be holding up, so I tossed the first tire and bought another.
But, after about 1k miles the rear started getting a bump on the tread, and I could see that there was a small puncture that the sealant had sealed. Well, the sealant worked on a small puncture, but why is the tread bulging? I kept riding and the bump kept getting bigger until I could hear the bump as the tire spun around, and sealant would ooze out of the puncture, so I pulled the tire off and noticed that the tread was separating from the outer and inner layers with sealant getting pushed up into the bump. So I cleaned it all up and used another tubeless patch, but the bulge came back and the small puncture hole started to tear open and the patch started bulging through and eventually sealant started spewing out again and it couldn't seal the puncture that was now too large.
So now I've got over $270 invested in tubeless tires, one already tossed out and another on its way out, so I put another tubeless patch over the puncture and put a tube in it hoping I'd get a few miles out of it but the tube started bulging out of the tire through the patch and I flatted out on the road and had to have my wife pick me up since the tire was now irreparable. That's now two tubeless tires down.
I replaced the rear with a tubed tire from another bike, but I was training to do a double century and couldn't afford to have a puncture that wouldn't seal or hold 100 psi during the ride so I pulled off the front tire and put a tubed tire on. I did my double century with no flats. I've thrown out two tubeless tires with maybe 500 on one, and 1k miles on the other, and now have one tubeless tire that I just can't rely on to use.
This is my first try with tubeless road tires and I love them. I was on my first group ride and coming out of the park I hit a pothole, POP........but no problem. The tire apparently self sealed and was fine for the 55 mile ride. With the bad roads around Maryland, these seem like just the right tire. I am an endurance rider rather than a racer, so the ride is nice and handling is good, at around 15-17 mph which is what I ride. Hope to log many miles on them.
I switched to these because the Schwalbe tires I was using were a little too much of a high-end performance tire and I was starting to puncture a lot. So far so good. I noticed the lesser ride quality at first but not anymore. They have very few of those tiny cuts that happen and I've not punctured in about 7 months. These tires are listed at 25mm width and they are absolutely not. They were actually slightly narrower than the 23mm tires that they replaced. If you want an even wider tire I really like the Secteur or whatever they are calling it now (I think they changed the name).
Great all around tubeless tires. I have ridden these about 500 miles and no flats thus far, highly recommended. These are a little heavier then some of the other Hutchinson options, but a nice smooth ride with the 25mm width. A great tubeless tire for the money.
Once their on, these tires roll extremely well. While they state that they are 25c, they look a bit narrower however they are noticeably wider than a 23c. So call them a 24.
Mounting these tires on the Dura Ace tubeless rims is not easy and after losing several layers of skin and breaking a few tire levers I finally took them down to my LBS to mount and add sealant, etc. My advice is to just have your LBS do it to begin with and you'll save yourself some pain and frustration.
I like tubeless road tires, and I like these wider tires.They have been durable and they have a good feel on the road.
Very smooth and surprisingly fast- I have ridden as low as 90 psi and they were revelatory. I installed them on two bikes. So far- wearing very well.
Used this tire on my road bike to race the Rouge Robaix. It performed perfectly over rough gravel, dirt and pot-holed pavement.
I use this on my road bike and it reminds me of when I rode tubular tires back in the mid 70's! a pleasure not to be missed!
I'm on my second set of Intensives since I published my first review on 8/8/2012. Since that review I have had no flats and that includes riding the summer roads in Portland and the winter roads in Arizona. I've learned to trust them on 38mph descents and unforeseen potholes. No surprises in the corners. I tip the scales at 220 and I've been running them at 110psi. I read recently that running at high air pressures cause them to bounce, compromising the rolling resistance. (At 110 psi they do bounce on the bumps). I'm going to try them at 100psi and see how they feel. They deserve 5 stars for trouble free reliability in all conditions. Really impressive.
I used Hutchinson Fusion tubeless for about a year getting roughly 1500 miles out of a rear tire and 2000 from a front. After switching to Hutchinson Intensive tubeless I now am getting 5000 miles on a front tire and 2500 from a rear tire. I use them with an ounce of Stan's No Tubes sealant. Pinch flats don't happen and last weekend 80 miles into a century ride I got the tell tail hiss of a puncture. I stopped and pulled out a thorn. The hissing stopped within seconds. I had no trouble finishing the last 20 miles with no added air. Checking at the end, I had lost less than 20 PSI and the leak was completely stopped. I run these on a 2008 Madone with Shimano Dura Ace tubeless compatible wheels.
Daily use - both club rides and commuting. Love the soft feel and easy roll but especially appreciate the puncture resistance and durability - no flats with over 3,000 miles on them. There is nothing I dislike about this product except the cost.
This tire is awesome. Its on older American Classic tubeless converted wheels. Its tough, provides good grip in dry or wet conditions. I always liked the idea of tubeless tires but was a little skeptical in rim converting kits. After converting the wheels and with the help of a little soapy water, the tire installation was pretty easy. I use sealant with these tires and to this day, I have not come close to a flat! Im extremely surprised by the ease of use and the ride quality of this product. It's a little expensive but the tubeless system and practically no flats to worry about out ways the cost.
My Krysium R-SYS wheel developed a crack at a spoke so I replaced the set with Easton EA90 RT tubeless rims and these tires. I've got two short rides in for 40 miles. At 90psi the tires absorb bumps like a shock absorber on a car. To me, comfortable but a little too mushy. The Krysium's with Conti GP 4000's rode harder and handled like a laser. The Hutchinson is less twitchy. Bumped the air up to 95psi. Still feels a little on the soft side and slower than the Krysiums. I'm taking them up to 105 lbs. next. I was not that unhappy with the way the Krysium's rode at 110psi. I appreciate the ride quality of the tubeless but I don't ride gravel or cobblestones so they don't need to be too soft. Hopefully the bump in psi will turn the trick although they may wear a bit quicker. No flats so far but not enough miles on them yet to comment on that.
I'm about 155 lbs. I'm going 70f80r psi wno problems. I could go lower. Excellent cornering. You will not think about bumps in the road the same way after you try tubeless.
Only issueThese babies are hell to mount.
