We here at Kenda often get questions about the compatibility of Kenda tires with hookless rims. We actually do all of our lab testing on machined, non-compressible, hookless wheels.
In the real world, there are many wheel manufacturers making hookless rims and each of them may have several hookless models. In addition, the market is constantly evolving. It’s impossible for us to test Kenda tires on every rim from every maker. Actual production wheels vary from maker to maker, and they compress under inflation and spoke tension. They actually shrink in circumference. The amount of shrinkage depends on the materials used and the design of the rim. Our lab test wheels comply with ETRTO and the ISO 5775-2 standard and have extremely tight tolerances. Both ETRTO and ISO standards has a 1.0mm tolerance for the rim diameter and we have a 0.1mm tolerance for our lab test wheels to minimize test variation.
Wheel makers are in a better position to test tire/rim compatibility as most tire manufacturers are happy to ship them free tires for wheel validation testing. When they contact us, we will send them production tires and encourage them to run both the ISO 4210-7 Wheel/Tire assembly - Overpressure test and a water burst test using built wheels for both.
We suggest checking with the wheel manufacturer for tire compatibility. If they’ve not tested Kenda tires on their wheels, have them contact us at support@kendabicycle.zendesk.com or call 614-729-7880.
Note:
If the wheel has a maximum tire inflation pressure lower than that of the tire, the wheel inflation pressure must be followed.