Are MTB Tire Inserts Relevant in 2024?

[@PeterJamison]

Thanks for watching this week's video! What other topics would you like to see me discuss in the 'Shop Talk' series?

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

What do you think about braided stainless steel brake hoses? Personally I think it's one of the most underrated brake upgrades people can do, I noticed it instantly even on the shorter front hose seems like some systems benefit greatly; you should feel my set of lowly DB8's with ceramic pads and uberbikes stainless lines, chef's kiss 🧑‍🍳

[@PeterJamison]

@@LaurentiusTriarius Interesting! I have never tried, I will look into it 🤘

[@bernhodgins8698]

Great vid, and I like the feedback you provide. I realize that inserts are not for everyone on every trail, but on my local trails, Cushcore has ENDED flats and other tire issues for me. I ride on very rocky, mostly raw terrain, and due to my weight and tendency to take most impacts with my rear wheel, I used to have a lot of problems with rim shots and tube snakebites. When I went to tubeless, I always experienced rimshots (running 30 PSI in the rear), so I decided to try out Cushcore. Problem solved. Yes, the inserts have added weight to my rear wheel, but it's worth not burping a tire or getting a snakebite (when running tubes). I only run the xc version on both of my bikes (and only in the rear), but they're more than enough to give me confidence riding trails that I'd regularly suffer flats on.

[@PeterJamison]

That is rad that inserts have been able to solve your problem!

[@MichaGajek]

I'm not sure I *need* them. Fact being, since I went heavy a couple of years ago - that is I started using "enduro/dh" tires and got the inserts - I had ZERO issues. Not a single bacon strip inserted in a tire. No major bends in a rim that would force me to go home early. The bonus is also confidence when running lower pressure. Also, looking at the insert marks/bites, they did save me some rim bends. So, I might not *need* them, but I *want* them :)

[@PeterJamison]

Glad the inserts are keeping you rollin strong! Thanks for watching!

[@paulwatt8634]

Biggest benefit for me is running much lower pressures, especially in the winter. In Squamish, a lot of trails are very steep. Grip is everything when it's wet here. I'm running 16-17 psi in the front, and 18-20 in the rear in the winter here. Zero chance my rims would survive with pressures that low without Cush Core.

[@PeterJamison]

Glad it is helping you out! Wet roots and high pressures definitely don't go well together...

[@ignaciosevil2157]

how light are you featherweight?

[@razorback_king]

Great video! I really appreciate the info!

[@PeterJamison]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@quinncolby]

My buddy ran them and had the same experience as you. He liked them but preferred to drop the weight and pick better lines.

[@PeterJamison]

🤘 Thanks for watching!

[@thinkaboutit3011]

I think i have found the sweet spot for me personally. The cush core like you said gives alot of cornering support its very noticeable as im a big guy at 240lbs. I think the only draw backs are the wieght and the install that being said i now use it but with lighter cassing tires so the weight is basically the same but i get more support plus the rim protection and less chance of a pinch flat are a plus. I swapped my dh bike from dh cassing to exo plus with cuch core and i was able to go from 35psi rear to 30 psi rear and no tire squirm in the corners so i rhink the go to is less cassing wieght with the insert

[@PeterJamison]

Glad you've found a setup you are stoked on!

[@topcat304]

I run a 2013 carbon HT race bike as my Gravel rig. I have a cushcore rear tire. Besides all the other benefits, I noticed it reduced vibration into my hands.

[@PeterJamison]

It definitely makes a difference!

[@erichbachman7363]

I bought the Kryptotals DH casing, and put the cush ultimates on, so I guess kind of overkill. But its on an ebike and i'm also 250lb. Never had any punctures either since i started on cush back in 2020.

[@PeterJamison]

Glad to hear that setup is working well for you!

[@JamesGunka]

I'm on the fence between Cushcore and Exo+ VS. Cushcore and DD. Thoughts on those combos? Have ridden Cushcore/Exo+ for 4 years. Thinking the DD might make it too heavy. Cheers for any thoughts!

[@PeterJamison]

Have you considered going to DD or DH and taking out the cush core?

[@JamesGunka]

@@PeterJamison I haven't done that yet, but I'm considering it. I heard DD without insert feels pretty good from a riding perspective, with the extra support of the heavier casing and damping it provides. I'm torn on whether the 200g increase from EXO+ to DD would be noticeable.

[@Chretze]

For me, I'm a noob and I case jumps a lot which will beat up my rims if I'm running low pressure so I'll put a Tannus in to get some peace of mind. Now it would be ironic if the added confidence will make me commit more and send it harder and thus have more speed for the jumps and not case them anymore lol

[@PeterJamison]

That would be ideal!

[@Chretze]

@@PeterJamison rims saved one way or another lol

[@billydeewilliams8909]

I run cush core front and rear on all my bikes (gravel, trail, e-enduro, rigid XC, and even my DJ, which has Tannus tube-based inserts). Mostly this is because I weigh about 280 lbs (I'm working on it), and I do want to be able to run pressures that will allow me to have fun. Since I started running cush core (starting about 18 months ago), I've had maybe two flats across all my bikes, and both of those I attribute to the the crappy design of Bontrager tires. I dinged one rim on the e-bike, which I used as an excuse to upgrade to carbon wheels, but that was a crash. Also, I don't like super heavy tires in any event, and the heaviest casing I run these days is EXO+. And all this is with running 25-27 psi rear and 20-22 front. Not to say that I'm nearly as aggressive a rider as you, so maybe things will change as I get more experienced. So far, I've had no reason to think twice about it, and I doubt I'm going to stop using cush core even if once I make it to my goal weight of 200.

[@PeterJamison]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! Glad you are finding benefits with the inserts and that they are helping you out on the trail!

[@UJ3037]

Always providing useful information. thank you !

[@PeterJamison]

Thank you for watching!

[@kevinclark9176]

I tend to run lighter/faster tires as I think most people over-tire their bikes these days. The one time I felt like "I bet an insert would have been nice there" was a ~4' drop to rock slab at an angle and got some good tire squirm on my rear Spec. Ground Control. I'm building up a hard tail and I think that will be a good use case for an rear insert.

[@PeterJamison]

🤙🏼 Glad you've found what works best for you

[@Dark_Vader888]

My current riding style is on a turbo levo are long day out trail riding on new unknown ungroomed trails deep into the forest so Tannus inserts are simply insurance and a must. If I was at groomed single track or bike park, wouldnt bother. As you said, everyone has a different use case,

[@PeterJamison]

Different use cases for everyone no question, thanks for watching!

[@midlifeshredder]

Been using Tannus inserts for 3 years and my main reason is for rim protection and helping to deaden the chatter. Being able to drop the psi helps tremendously saving us mid-lifers from more abuse! 😜

[@PeterJamison]

🤘🤘

[@beardoweirdo3187]

Great video Pete. I think you nailed it on the head. I believe if you're only riding a few days week they're a great product if you not worried about weight and want some extra protection.

[@PeterJamison]

Totally agree!

[@gbshenanigans6952]

I ride ebike and a DH bike I only ride cushcore in the rear I’m a 240lb rider and the cushcore allows me to run super low pressure and saves me from a lot of punctures.

[@PeterJamison]

💯🤘

[@KeywordManagement]

That was crazy to see how far your rear tire folds over hitting corners that hard.

[@PeterJamison]

Definitely a cool angle to see that!

[@lukeahlman5288]

How on earth did you get that DH cashing Minion DHR on the wheel with the cushcore? I tried for hours with no luck, and eventually gave up and just put the tire on without the insert. Im a sloppy reckless weekend worrier in Big Sky looking for the most bomb proof tire/ insert combo

[@PeterJamison]

The best way to do it is to first inflate the tire without the cush core and without the sealant. Then, take off just one side of the tire and install the cushcore. The reason this helps is that bedding the tire first creates more room in the rim and makes the install go much more smoothly. You can watch me do this at 1:19 in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnXFgZ97ataca6s

[@blakekennard7700]

Any experience with the Vitoria inserts? Looking at the enduro model for my trail hard tail. I run 2.6 with a 30ID

[@PeterJamison]

I do not have any experience unfortunately!

[@ericdelchiaro9502]

Great video Peter! Could you tell much of a difference with the reduced rolling resistance with not running Cushcore?

[@PeterJamison]

Glad you enjoyed the video! Definitely can feel the reduced rolling resistance no question. Even just going from Cush Core in the front, to no insert is a noticeable change in my opinion (let alone switching to no inserts at all)

[@ericdelchiaro9502]

@@PeterJamisonthanks for the insight! Going to take my front one out this week and see how it goes.

[@PeterJamison]

@@ericdelchiaro9502 Heck yeah! 🤘

[@mattgolding7557]

Should I run these front and rear…or rear only ?

[@PeterJamison]

That is totally up to you✌🏼

[@scottpratico1315]

You try these for a hard tail?

[@PeterJamison]

Negative, however, I only ride a hardtail for dirt jumps and skatepark where I am trying to keep my bike as light as possible. For a trail hardtail, I could see inserts being a great thing to try though! Have you tried?

[@billydeewilliams8909]

Steve of Hardtail Party recommends cush core rear for trail HTs in general, as I recall. For myself, I absolutely need cush core front and rear on my fully rigid XC/trail bike.

[@scottpratico1315]

Im running cushcore on both ends for my Devinci eTroy. Heavy bikes are hard on wheels so it seems to make sense there. Ive ridden hardtails a lot and would definitely use them for trail riding.

[@PeterJamison]

@@scottpratico1315 Great point about the e-mtb. I found Cush Core to be super helpful with my e bike last year!

[@UncraftedPlays]

Awesome video! But man am I getting tired of people only talking about Cush Core - Sometimes I feel like people only know Maxxis tires and Cush Core for tire inserts.

[@PeterJamison]

Glad you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching!

[@justgo4033]

I found cushcore made my bike feel dead and heavy, im not a super hard rider and ride mostly trails but still ride bike parks from time to time. I found running a super gravity casing in the rear and super trail in the front works better for me .

[@PeterJamison]

The heavier casing tires can be the sweet spot no doubt!

[@justgo4033]

If i had a dh or full on enduro and rode janky trails all the time i would definitely use them .

[@hardmtnbiker]

I personally want the protection and the suspension aspects. I don’t know if I would ever be near your skill level were I would look at CushCore as a detriment.

[@PeterJamison]

🤙🏼

[@dbg3381]

What's that canyon bike in the back??🤔

[@no-hope-in-the-pope]

looks like a strive ON (e-bike) to me.

[@PeterJamison]

Ha! Just my roomates bike! But would not be opposed to trying out a Canyon in the near future!

[@barfo281]

Don't tire inserts affect the balance of the wheel negatively?

[@PeterJamison]

Balance of the wheel in regards to spoke tension?

[@barfo281]

@@PeterJamison I mean in terms of symmetry within the rim. I've seen videos of people putting inserts in and they were not continual hoops, they had open ends that had a gap within the wheel when installed.

[@PeterJamison]

I have personally not experienced that ✌🏼

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

I ran a cush core for the last year, then I switched back from maxxis dd to Michelin dh22/34 (my favs) and I just couldn't get the rear tire on. So cushcore no more 😂

[@PeterJamison]

Oh dang, that'll happen 😂

[@energ8t]

Volume spacer for your tire…. Good point.

[@PeterJamison]

🤙

[@jamlee344]

Running Cush Core in the back. Didn't like it in the front. Definitely has reduced rim damage and flats.

[@PeterJamison]

Glad it is helping you out!

[@whekin]

I can't imagine my rim living longer than 1 day without a cush core. I ride wild trails with rocks, random stones. I sometimes like to climb a staircase in the city

[@PeterJamison]

Staircases will give your rim a run for their money!

[@bikenband]

If you’re a sloppy rider, yes.

[@PeterJamison]

💯

[@growlith6969]

Well if your bike is like 50 lbs, your ass is over 200, and you have very little mechanical sympathy, the answer is: Yup.

[@PeterJamison]

🤙

[@craigmellin6217]

Sidewall support....220lb rider

[@PeterJamison]

🤙

[@patrickgibbons8353]

Very good review however you're level of riding only represents about 1/4 of the demographic.

[@PeterJamison]

✌🏼

[@patrickgibbons8353]

@PeterJamison so off the record CC aren't worth the extra weight and $$ ?

[@PeterJamison]

KZbin comments are most definitely on the record 😂

[@Jacob99174]

No

[@PeterJamison]

🤙