I just finished reading the new Cycle World magazine article about Harley introducing a new 1200 Sportster with Michelin Radial Tires standard. They loved the tires and hated the bike (they were following a construction truck around curves and grinding off the pegs; very dangerous in their opinion). The Sportster has solid wheels and I'm wondering if tubes can be used in Radials or whether, because of my spoked wheels, I'd have to upgrade them too.
Thanks,
Varooom
There are radial tire TUBES. Tire manufacturers indicate you should only use these radial tire tubes in radial tires.
Usually, radial tires require a wider rim than rims designed for use with bias ply tires.
People do both of the above and never have a problem. For me, as a safety guy, I usually follow the recommendations of the tire manufacturer - and choose to err on the side of safety. So if it were me... I'd get new rims designed for tubeless radial tires and go with tubeless radials. I'd keep the spoke wheels and tires until I knew I liked the new stuff and then sell them.