Why foam tire inserts are one of the best upgrades for your gravel bike
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Nothing is more important to your bike’s performance than literally where the rubber meets the road. When when all is said and done, it’s all about the tires. Foam tire inserts are already very popular in the MTB world, but they have almost more benefit for gravel, where there’s even less traction and way less air volume to play with, and fewer downsides in terms of weight or installation headaches.
Yes, an actual pool noodle will sort of work - but nowhere near as well as the real thing.
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Cushcore is a total game changer for all bikes. I’ve been banging the Cushcore drum for a little while and it’s great to hear the big players saying it too.
I run the Vitoria gravel liners and I completely agree with everything you guys said. I had one instance were I got a huge screw in my tire that scratched the rim tape and it wouldn’t seal. It really didn’t take any significant extra time to remove the liner than it would without a liner, other than a sloppy mess in my back pocket
James adjusting the mic @ 3:43 is pretty great
I can see your next video... Solid rubber tires are great for gravel !
I just rode a road insert home. 10 miles they definitely work.
Ild have to say another thing you will need with inserts is to use (much) more sealant as there's a lot more surface to coat the inners of your tube. I use a vittoria on my gravel/cross/road bike and love it, rear only though.
Rear only, good call!
Rear only? Interesting. I would think front only if you're going with only one (to keep handling if you puncture (particularly at speed)).
@@DavidWard14 Yeah, same on MTB - you can pick and place and direct the front better to avoid obstacles (imo) than the rear and your weight is further back normally when descending where I found/ i find rim strikes and potential punctures more common.
@DavidWard14 rear do to hitting stuff harder. And keep bike wieght low. But thats dumb just do both at least on mtb and gravel
Having ripped a side wall on my gravel bike tyre last year, it’s no fun fixing that to ride home, so I am going buy this upgrade this year. I agree the foam inserts appear expensive, however so are tyres and if they save a tyre from damage that’s a good thing. I am going to upgrade my road bike first as that’s more at risk given the poor roads in the UK.
I think your missing the point. Cush core is primarily a suspension upgrade. It was designed to help suspension. 50 % decrease in fork travel and 12% decrease force on the rider. Listen to the podcast on Cush Core website. I run Cushcore on 2 mtb and thinking about running it on my gravel. You do need to decrease the tire air pressure get the gains.
Tubolight Gravel 33g each. Totally worth it.
I’d love to hear you discuss the pros and cons of using flat bars vs drops on a gravel bike. My old, tired wrists don’t like drop bars so much anymore…!
Nice summary!
How much are you able to drop the tyre pressure by with the inserts versus without?
Love to hear it. Great take on bike tire inserts. Well said! Cheers
I bet it would turn into a sponge with the sealant, do you have to use more sealant due to that?
Shame you didn't compare against Vittoria for ease of fit, price, rideability when flatted est
I have been using RhinoDillos for gravel and road. I find them to be enough for the terrain I ride.
Running tannus here and love them. Rim impacts and sidewall dents eliminated, lower psi more comfort, easier tubeless punp up as inserts compress tire to rim giving better sealing, easy to install and lighter; riding home with flat is possible without rim on road damage.
BUT.... If you flat and need to add a tube, do you need to remove the insert and wear it on your chest? I don't see how you can avoid that....
They keep saying Cushcore but keep showing the Rimpact. Rimpact gravel inserts only weigh 55 grams! Rimpact are also MUCH easier to install than Cushcore and much cheaper. About $100,00 delivered get's you a pair. They are factory direct from England and I've been running their 95 gram MTB version for a couple years now. They're great. I highly recommend them. Very disappointing that you don't reference the product verbally once throughout the whole video. Just kept flashing Cushcore not Rimpact in print but still threw out the Cushcore specs.
Rimpact makes great MTB inserts, but advised NOT to use their CX insert for rims 23mm+ or for tires 38mm+, as it wouldn't provide protection. Wait for their gravel specific product they said.
Made me wonder about the supposed independence of the CT crew. Could be a bit of cash for comment going on here. But why no footage of the CC product?
@@davidshim7027 well, their website tells me nothing about that. They state the CX version is good for 17-25mm inner width and 33c to 45c tires.
Yeah, I know, their website is misleading. I was going to use their insert for a gravel race and had a question, and they told me via email that the CX is made for the narrow CX tires (33mm) and would not provide sidewall support and vibration damping. More or less, they said wait for the gravel insert of the proper width.
@@davidshim7027 Hey thanks for your answer. I use the CX inserts on a 25mm rim with 36mm tires. I think they offer good enough rim protection, which was the main reason for the inserts. With low pressure, I hit the rim quite often. Inserts are cheaper than new carbon rims ;)
They don’t react with any of the tubeless tyre goo brands?
Consumers demand lightweight, supple race tires, but also complain bitterly when those tires aren't robust. Foam inserts seem to be a nice addition, but I wonder if the extra weight of the foam was put into the tire in the first place you might end up with a better overall balance.
Foam gives a progressive stiffness under vertical loading, while retaining supple fast rolling side walls. It does seem to make sense in that regard.
@@armadillito I agree with you on progressive resistance, but my point was about the structural properties of the sidewall and how robust it was. I used to race XC mtb and I passed a lot of riders with slashed sidewalls back in the day, where I chose stronger thicker tires. Just a question of balance, that's the beauty of having options.
The problem with heavy tire is not really the weight but the added plastic thickness that will absorb energy. With insert you can keep those thin wall and find the required toughness.
The standard cushcore guide recommends lowering tire pressure (3-5 psi) than regular tubeless….is that typically what everyone is doing especially for borderline singletrack/mtb trail
After seeing this video, I feel like there wasn't a proper wrap up to the field test videos this year.
As someone who has a single “jack of all trades” bike that does all duties primarily as an all-weather road bike but also light “gravel” riding (uk, so generally muddy tracks) are tyre inserts still something you’d consider/recommend? Puncture resistance is a very high priority for me in terms of enjoying rides without stoppages/mechanicals. How do tyre inserts affect puncture resistance, handling and rolling resistance on poor quality asphalt/tarmac and muddy tracks? And is the weight penalty more noticeable on the road? What would you advise?
I've fitted DIY inserts for the past 12 months to my gravel bike. My tyres are 30mm Schwalbe g one, and very road-focused, and for me the benefit has been puncture resistance with lower pressure. It hasnt affected the road handling at all, and given me the confidence that if I flat, then I can still carry on (carefully)
I‘m wondering if you need to add sealant too? Or does it depend on the inserts?
Yes, I'd add sealant
Sounds good 😍
Go tubeless to prevent pinch flats! Now you need inserts as well to prevent pinch flats. Maybe you should use some higher pressure to prevent pinch flats, that is cheaper.
Yeah, good man Peter - solid rubber tyres from Model T Fords never got pinch flats either, why not suggest them (or are they too modern and newfangled a technology for you ...!!???)?
Soooo, which insert is best for y'all? Seems like a lot of love for Cushcore in particular, is that your favorite?
It works great but it's damn hard to remove 😬
What's the handlebar bag on that Specialized?
What pressure?
I have purchased some filmore valves, can I use these instead of what comes with the inserts?
Yes!
What size rims on the bike
Don't these inserts soak up sealant like a sponge?
Can i use it only with tubeless or also with tubes?
Tubeless only
Next, more tire manufacturers will create tire/foam integrated systems, then soon after non-pneumatic foam tire systems (more advanced than current airless tires of course), then a new rim interface… or, lord forgive me, you just slow down around rocks.
Why not push for the largest tire you can fit? I mean, continental race kings is faster than a lot of ROAD tires! 29 in 2.2 goes with 18w for 35psi and 20.2w for 25 psi! I'ts burlier, faster and confier than gatorskins carapace or wathever. There is a reason Tom Pidcock chose those tires to his epic Gold medal in the olympics.
model 182
Just leaving a comment before some really clever people pollute this section saying things like "BuT ThATs JuSt a tUbE!!"
Is there any tangible benefit when it comes to pure puncture protection, or are tire inserts purely a contingency plan for preventing pinch-flats? Like, is this just for preventing you from bottoming out in rough chunky sections, or is it going to garner an all-around benefit, like switching to tubeless sealant from tubes would?
It limits burping or denting the rim. It won’t prevent sharp objects penetrating the tire, and might hamper the sealant.
@@armadillito Right, that was my intention in asking. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad these guys found the tire inserts useful, but I feel like they're verging on overselling their benefits. They help prevent rim strikes, but they're not a get-out-of-jail free card for flats in general.
Can confirm that pinch flats still end rides with inserts in my MTB wheels. Noting, I ride like a Muppet.
Man's got foam ns hit. You feel me?
I suspect that the desire to run a foam insert is a byproduct of running a rim with too wide of an internal width measurement for the tire size (measured width) you can fit in your bike AND the low pressures you want to run. In other words, the sidewall height for a given measured width of tire ends up smaller...so, one would be better off with a slightly narrower rim internal width and a larger spec'd width tire than the opposite. Or, to put it another way, a 42c labeled tire on a 19mm internal width rim will do better at warding off "bottoming" than a 38C tire on a 25mm internal width rim. Both tires will measure out nearly the same actual width when mounted and running the same pressure, but the 42C will give you 3-4mm more "height". Perhaps super-wide internal width rims aren't necessarily such a good thing for gravel purposes?...especially if the proposed solution to the bottoming (foam inserts) makes the setup heavier and slower?
Until CT gets around to replying, I will opine by observing that the wider rim provides a much more stable base of support for the squirming tire, and is to be taken as a given in this application. An insert has other side benefits such as helping hold the beads against the rim during extreme side loading, assisting in ‘run-flat’ conditions, and reducing the ‘passive’ pneumatic volume of the tire, which makes the suspension action more progressive, ramping up the resistance to compression of the tire faster than without an insert, and reducing the need for extra ride height. For those who seek out and often encounter extreme trail surfaces during a race or ride, those who use inserts will be able to more confidently traverse challenging conditions while still enjoying the benefits of very low tire pressures for the remainder of the event, such as traction and compliance, while also allowing lighter, more fragile rims. The downsides of difficulty of mounting, extra weight and expense tend to offset the advantages, so need to be balanced against the advantages depending upon on the event where they could be used.
@@jamesrosar3823 Thanks for the response...I would love to see a "blinded" (there are ways to do this without actually blindfolding riders) test of people riding the 2 combinations I mentioned above and see if folks can actually discern any "tire stability" differences between the setups. My bet would be on they can't...it's often talked about as a "benefit" for wider rims, but I'm really not seeing that being the case when the measured tire width is nearly 2X the inner rim width. Placebo is a real thing (or else it wouldn't need to be controlled for in tests) ;-) I consistently run tires in the 40-42mm measured width range, on rims with a 19-21mm internal width, at pressures as low as 25-28psi and I can't say I feel any "instability" due to the tires flexing, nor any problems with bottoming out tires...and I "underbike" that setup very often on what are basically single-track MTB trails.
@tanhalt; I agree that testing is a good idea to get specific data sets for optimization, but I believe it has become fairly accepted in the automotive world that matching tread width to rim width reduces the lateral movement between the tread and the rim to a minimum, and that it is not unreasonable to extend some of that reasoning to a bicycle tire/rim set-up. Perhaps a short search would reveal moto-cross optimum design rules for their tire/rim/pressure/traction challenges. The gravel tire parameters are a little beyond the design envelope of most motorized sport, but it shouldn’t be too hard to extend prior knowledge into this regime.
@@jamesrosar3823 I'm not sure if extrapolations from automotive and motorcycle applications to a fractional hp powered bicycle is always a good idea ;-) Pretty darned different use case...
@@tanhalt They’d probably feel the extra weight
When making a video get the drink out of your hand. Doesn't look good. Thanks for the video. Great information. 👍🏽
I get a flat I get an Uber and go to a restaurant relax 😌 😋
Why buying a mtb over a gravel bike is your best upgrade…
If you feel your gravel bike needs inserts to prevent pinch flats you are just deadass riding the wrong bike tbh, get a hardtail.
Yes and no. Some people just like riding gravel bikes and that’s valid. Clearly there’s a limit to their capabilities.
I own a hardtail, and there's no way I am going to ride 60 miles of paved/fire road grinding down the knobs on my mountain bike just because there's 2 miles of singletrack that make the route connect. I also would rather not pinch flat or rim strike 30 miles deep into the woods. Oh sorry, forgot to add "deadass", or some other such hip word that the youngsters are using in their Tic Tacs these days.
@D. W. Plug them
@@ktakashismith if there's 2 miles of single-track but 60 miles of fire road stuffing a rolling resistance increasing pool noodle which will be a detriment to your riding on 96% of your route in to your rear tyre is very silly
@@totallynotraging Right, tire inserts really balloon your rolling resistance, which I imagine is why XCO racers run them religiously. Got any data to back up how much adding 10g of foam into your tire slows you down? Especially in comparison to having to stop to chuck a tube in because you blew your tire bead off the rim? Guess we all can't do bikes quite as well as you. Lit swag dab yeet
Jeez, buy a mountain bike then. You are literally trying to reinvent the wheel here.
Complete rip off imo! Can honestly say I can count on one hand, the amount of pinch flats I've had in 30 years!