Tire inserts

Just rear.

Cost and weight are the reasoning behind this choice.

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Just rear.

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Cushcore and just the rear.

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I’ve got Huck Norris inserts front and rear in my carbon wheels. I’m thinking about putting inserts in my gravel bike as well.

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I’ve got a rear huck norris. I considered doing cush core for this coming season but I couldn’t bring myself to drop the money plus the added weight. The lightness of the huck norris is why is appealing to me. I also run higher pressures than most due to my heavier than average size and weight so I’m really just looking for rim protection.

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I have Nukeproof ARD for the rear.

Works well for me specially when riding Whopper Dropper trails

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Cush Core front and rear. Saving weight and cost would be nice, but a front tire blowout / sudden deflation is how I fractured my elbow a few years back.

Here’s an example of the inserts in action:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CC7Ns25JAku/?igshid=dspx45p6p5ju

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Short answer… Both ends.

Long answer…
I’m running the Nukeproof ARD’s front and rear on my free ride bike. Previously have used the Victoria Airliners on my old DH bike, again both ends. I only swapped brands because the ARD came with a set of wheels I picked up for the new bike (sold old bike with the liners installed). Other wise I would have gladly run the Victorias again.

Comparison between the two… ARD is easier to install and lighter. Feels more like a regular tire but with less squirm, plus extra rim protection. I haven’t had any issues (I only have limited time on the ARD so far) with tire burping. The Victoria is much more … solid and damped felling. It fills up pretty much your whole tire. More of a pain to install and remove. Again, no issues with burping. They did rattle a bit, nothing I felt riding but did notice when working on the bike. The ARD you have to buy from CRC and the Victoria you can buy local. I have no experience with CushCore so can’t comment. I did nearly pony up for the ProCore set up a few years back back but once I saw the price…nope.

I had a few ‘moments’ at my project trail last spring that prompted me to get the liners. I needed either thicker DH casing tires or liners or both. Tire stability was becoming an issue for me. There is this one corner that has a medium sized gap (something like 12-14 feet) where you land directly on a left hand berm. It’s a long/low kinda jump so speeds are fairly high. Well, I nearly went OTB into a boulder filed one day on when my tire rear tire folded, and it was much scarier when the front did the same thing a lap later! Anyway, liners fixed the problem for me. I’m sold on them. Being able to keep your pressures low for traction but not loose out on cornering stability is %100 worth the investment in my use case. Rim protection from rock strikes is nice bonus too!

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I’ve run a Vittoria Air Liner in the rear now for 2-3 yrs.

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I feel like these are a great investment! I’d love to protect my fancy i9 wheelset for as long as possible! haha

Ran vittoria airliners in the back only the last two years. Picked up a Tannus Armour tubeless this season to try out.

Air liners front and rear. Feels sooooooo nice

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Where does one get their inserts locally?

Most bike shops should be able to get their hands on the Vittoria airliners. You can also shop online for a decent selection from various manufacturers.

My research led me to the Nukeproof ARD for the best combo of protection, durability, light weight, and ease of installation. I bought them from a Canadian company but i see they stopped selling Nukeproof stuff now.

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I went with Nukeproof ARD mainly because it was paired with the wheelset I bought. Gave 1 to my brother in law and have seen & experienced the benefits specially going through Whopper trails. I no longer hear the painful sound of my rims hitting the roots and don’t bounce around as much

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I used this comparison review when making my choice for Cush Core. Most important to me were rim protection and trail dampening.

They have a reputation for being difficult to install, and I still recommended them, even before getting good at it. I now find it marginally more difficult than a typical tubeless install.

As with anything: what’s most important to you? Buy what will do that job best. :upside_down_face:

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Just providing some feedback.

Recently spent about 3 weeks with a front liner in. Vittoria.

In that time frame with 2 different wheelsets. Alu/Carbon

I run EXO, and in both cases found it notably heavier. Almost as if my front end was getting sucked into the ground. Tried a few different tweaks to mitigate with rebound and tire pressure.

Did some corner sessions on some steep, very loose switchacks and found this is where the insert shined with the alu rims.

Switched to CF wheels, the liner was insanely difficult to get in. I actually ruined a brand new tire putting it on.

Once it was installed by a patient mechanic with more skill, I put about 5-6 rides on all my regular stuff. Felt a little less heavy but the feeling of being drug into everything was not ideal. Tried some more tweaks, removed a spacer in the front, more rebound. Still it wasnt feeling right.

I did however manage to ride some wet technical rooted stuff in WW @19psi and to be honest it felt like trash.

Im still sold on the rear being crucial.

Would, however try dual tannus inserts.

Cheers

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Just ordered a Tannus for the rear and I’ll be interested to see how low I can drop my tire pressure vs no insert. Should hopefully notice a lot less squirming even if I only drop a couple psi, and ideally squeeze another year out of a rear rim that’s seen more dings than a triangle player in band camp.

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Running Tannus front and rear and have been really happy with the results. Not typically one for riding in wet conditions…but with lower tire pressure, traction has been great. Running DHF Front and DHR rear…drier riding conditions usually 21 PSI front and 23 rear. Wet 18 front and 19 rear.

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