I tend to run lighter tires than most people for trail riding, so inserts would work well with them.
That said, I’m pretty careful/precise with my line choice, so don’t often impact my rims. And have only had 2 pinch flats in years of riding MTB - both that I deserved because I wasn’t paying attention.
Also, I don’t often do drops like in the pic above, and if I do, I make sure the landing is good first.
I’ll probably be a holdout until the day I flat, and then I’ll become a convert😆
I held out because I knew the install would be a bit of a pain. Benefits go beyond rim protection, I run as little as 19-20 PSI out back with a XC Cush and it’s nice. I need more when I visit a bike park but for general trail riding it’s so grippy. The Cush version supports the sidewalls enough to get pretty low PSI sans folding etc. long story short, give em a try.
I can’t believe I just paid ~$130 to have some fancy pool noodles shipped to me from Italy…
I keep holding out for USA noodles 
Not a ton of info, but they look promising. More rim protection than tire tuning maybe? There’s a US eBay seller.
I’m not sure what you are looking at in the pic, but the rear suspension bottomed out on that drop.
I don’t do a lot of drops like this, so not a frequent occurrence. That’s why I can get away running Trail/XC tires instead of heavier tires. I’m also pretty careful with my line choice, and generally avoid taking big hits on front and rear.
There’s only a few times a season when I notice a rim strike, and I’ve pinch flatted only twice in almost 10 years of MTB.
I rode in Sedona this past weekend. That’s a lot rockier than my normal riding, and I increased pressure in both tires by 2psi to compensate. 23 and 21. I’m 160 lbs.
Oh - and FWIW, my technique going off the drop in the pic above wasn’t the best. It was a slow speed drop after a right angle left turn, so couldn’t just use momentum to clear. I hopped off the ledge which meant my center of gravity was higher. I should’ve just pushed the bike off/manualed. That would’ve meant less impact on landing.
On this bike, the shaft of the shock is longer than the stroke. So looks like there is travel left, even though the shock is at full compression.
I’ve been running the Rimpact Inserts on my 26" Hardtail this season. My HT is more of an “enduro” HT, with 170mm fork & 64.8 degrees HA. The inserts have totally transformed how it rides! Not getting rim strikes or pinch flat is only part of it. What I appreciate more is:
Agreed. No way you can use all the stroke on that shock. I have the same. There is quite a bit of shaft left when bottomed out.
Does anyone here have experience with multiple brands of tire inserts or good comparisons/tests?
This is all I could find, but it’s really more a marketing bit for each of the companies (which is nice because it at least gives you a list of options).
I’m leaning towards the CushCore XC set (getting 20% off through local bike shop), since they seem to come out to a similar price as shipping pool noodles from Italy. What’s your go-to brand here?
I’ve ridden Cushcore and Rimpacts (for MTB, not racing XC) but I’ve stayed with the Rimpacts. Cheaper, lighter and feel incredibly similar/the same as the Cushcores.
I really like my XC Cush Core but they’re not light at all. I’m down to 19.5 PSI in the rear with the XC CC, for what that’s worth. I’m 165lbs and only moderately aggressive rider. If I was targeting a pure XC course, I’d opt for something lighter.
I’ve ridden Cushcore XC, Tubolights, and Pepi’s Tire Noodle pink version (I think it’s their lightest). I think their is a misconception about what they do - for me it’s not about protecting the rims, it’s about protecting from impacts that lead to pinching the tire between a rock/root and the rim, leading to a “snake bite,” or sidewall, puncture at low psi. They all perform this function fine. They also have a lot of vibration damping qualities.
I have pondered what the actual effect of the increased weight is. Every informed opinion I have read concludes that weight savings on this scale have negligible effects in terms of “spin-up” and climbing weight, but then everyone constantly talks about heavy they feel. IMHO this is the classic fast “feeling” you get from a more jarring ride experience similar to the discussion of larger vs smaller tire width and the sensation of speed; correlating the effect of inserts on ride quality, they would certainly “feel” heavier/slower.
Rolling resistance is something altogether different, which I believe is improved with inserts + low PSI on rough terrain
I weigh 173 lbs without gear and and I run 18 front and 19 rear without tire inserts. If the course is wet or extra sandy then I run them even lower. So 19.5 with CC is quite high.
Which rims? I was able to happily run 17-18psi on my Stan’s Arch rims with Cushcore on my Anthem. Now I don’t seem to be able to confidently run less than 20-21psi on my Hunt XC wheels on the Spark without burping when pushing the fast descents.
Part of that I think is the Spark is so much more confident that I’m riding significantly faster/more aggressively. That’s also not factoring in trail conditions I guess.
I’m on a Spark RC 900 racing XCO/XCM/MTB 100s on Synthesis XCT 11 Carbon Wheelset (26.5 & 24.5 id, f/r).
Nah, it’s a nice balance of support in high speed situations and still supple enough to soak up some of the small bump. Wet days, sure - I’ll get wild and drop to 19. You know this is a personal preference thing 100% - so I was just sharing what works for me, and my preferred terrain.
Would you be able to continue riding when having a flat with a tyre insert? Not smashing it ofcourse, but just riding back to the car.
Depends on the insert and tire casing. Something thick like Cushcore, probably. If it’s thin like Huck Norris, maybe not. A Maxxis Double Down casing will be better than a less robust EXO casing.
so did you notice any difference b/w them? What do you run now?