The vast majority of people opt for clincher tyres – these sit in the rim using a bead, and an inner tube holds air pressure which pushes the bead against the tyre and keeps you rolling. Clincher tyres are preferable for most people, largely because a puncture simply means the inner tube needs to be removed, and fixed, or just replaced.
How to fix a puncture
Tubular tyres are used by most pro racers, and some amateurs. Tubular tyres still use an inner tube, but it is stitched into a casing, and the tyre is glued to the rim.
Tubular tyres are generally the lightest option available, and the weight is lost from the edge of the rim, where the weight matters (arguably) the most. The major drawback is that tubular tyres need to be glued – and this process is labour intensive, or expensive. It is possible to carry a pre-glued tyre, in the event of a puncture, but this takes some skill and a fair amount of strength.
The other option is to go tubeless – this isn’t that common on the road. These don’t use an inner tube, which makes pinch flats, where the tube is caught between rim and tyre, impossible, but they don’t have the same weight saving benefit of tubular tyres and are not as simple as clinchers.
