Do you carry a decent tyre lever (Pedro’s or similar)?
I’ve had to whip my insert out in training a couple of times. Both times with almost as new tyres (leak caused by rim tape / insufficient sealant were the causes) and so long as you can get one bead off it’s easy peasy. It’s messy though and you’ll get sealant all over your jersey (assuming you figure of eight it behind your back/around your shoulders like I did).
I would still absolutely, unequivocally recommend inserts. Especially for stage racing/XCM.
I ditched the Cush Core in my racing bikes for this reason. Switched to more foam tube style, which keeps it very easy to remove the tire from the bead. I don’t get the cornering support of cush core but I get the flat/rim protection at a fraction of the weight too.
Cush core and similar all the way for regular MTB though, when I can ride/walk out of the trail easily enough if plugs don’t work.
I also have wondered about taking the insert out (where would I even put it?!). I’m using Rimpact inserts and I’ve mostly decided that if I get a flat, I’m just riding that tire back to the car. Racing marathon XC nationals last year, I did get a flat, but never fully realized that my rear tire was flat (Nobby Nic 2.4"). I’m sure it was slowing me down, but I finished the race before actually checking and seeing that I had cut my tire tread. So I’m still carrying a tube, but I don’t plan to use it except in some extreme situation.
I should add that I switched to inserts because of my experience at Marathon XC nationals the previous year where I:
Sailed off a [small] drop, bottomed out my 2.8" tire and cracked my carbon rim (of course flatting too)
After putting in a tube and deciding that it was holding air fine so I was gonna finish that race, I then flatted that tire again with just 1/4 of the race left.
So that was terrible. Inserts have been game changer for me.
Having messed with rear tyre pressure’s I generally prefer slightly low (<18psi) on my hardtail, if I run higher the rear feel’s “skippy” on a looser surface.
Combined with a lower pressure on a hardtail which insert would people recomend for a rear tyre (I’m 68kg not not heavy for the general public but maybe overweight for a cyclist )
I have tried CushCore and Pepi’s tyre noodle and I think that CushCore provides the most support and the smoothest “ramp up”. The weight is not negligible though.
The Tubolight SL is very light and is less solid than the noodle types.
I picked up 2 sets of the Tubolight EVO SL too for my two different wheelsets. So far, no complaints. Light (60g each), install wasn’t bad. But, don’t have a ton of time on them, so can’t really tell you how they hold up over time yet.
I think it’s another area where CushCore has an advantage. My Tubolight has lots of “bite marks” on it. The Pepi’s is worse. The CushCore is I definitely think a more durable foam.
I don’t think you’ll get much support with the noodle sitting on top of the rim. It might be better to use the 30mm and try and get it down into the rim. Doesn’t sound like an easy install though.
I suspect the 40mm sitting on top of the rim will feel super harsh. You’ll have bugger all tyre volume between the casing and the foam.
ETA: I don’t know how much of a pain it would be, but you could try cut the rim shape into one side so it has the same shape as a Pepi’s or similar.
Something to bear in mind is that any tyre inserts that are made of closed cell foam will probably compress to a smaller volume once your tyres are inflated.
Last year I tested some cheap-ish Planet X 30mm tyre inserts that I’d been using for CX/gravel, which were the pool noodle type. The compression of the tyre inserts is shown in this video:
There’s a more thorough explanation is in my blog here.
A lot of tyre insert companies tend to show action shots of their inserts mounted inside cutaway tyres, while the wheel/tyre is rolling over rocks etc. However, that’s probably not quite what the inserts look like when the tyres are inflated. In a way it doesn’t matter, because inserts obviously still work effectively nevertheless, but it’s relevant when discussing whether or not the insert sits down inside the rim well.
I’ve wanted to rig something similar up to show what happens with tubeless sealants and co2.
So many sources say that it’s the coldness of the co2 that causes weird effects with sealant, but I have a hunch that it is the acidification of the liquid causing coagulation/separation of latex suspension/solution sealants.
I’m seriously considering ditching my Vittoria Airliners this season. Last year I ditched the front insert after I flatted on Stage 1 of a 5 day stage race in May. My tires always seem to glue themselves to the inserts which makes it impossible to remove without a clamp of some sort. I also feel like the sealant isn’t able to get to the punctures as easily with an insert but I don’t know if that’s true or not. I definitely like the dampening of the insert but I’m not sure it’s worth the hassle. Maybe I’ll try another brand like a Tubolight or something. We’ll see. The season is coming fast…decisions decisions.
The only thing I don’t like about the Tubolight EVO SLs are that they seem to create a seal inside the tire so that you end up with two air chambers, one above and one below the insert (when looking at a cross section). I don’t remember off the top of my head, but I think that this happened on my 25mm inner width rims w/2.25 and possibly 2.35 tires. Effect is that when I try to inflate the tire, the air doesn’t go to the outer chamber. So I ended up drilling four holes through the inserts so that air can flow easily between the two chambers.
FWIW, I’ve also used Pepis and DIY inserts. I feel that flat top or outwardly concave inserts like Tubolight EVO SLs might be better than rounded profile inserts grip-wise when leaned over. From my totally unscientific research, I wonder whether rounded profile inserts put more ground pressure on center or transition knobs (if any) and don’t put as much ground pressure on the side knobs when leaned over. So flat or outwardly concave inserts provide better grip when leaning over? I could be totally wrong. Would like to see if others have any thoughts.
game changer for me.
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