![]() I’m not sure about the two chamber system, but both sides of the insert were snapped onto the side of the bead, which would suggest that it does as it promises and would back up the sensations when riding that the air is doing the work, as opposed to riding on the material itself. It feels like it’s not to stop you from rimming out, but rather it makes that impact far more pleasant and takes the edge off. I think they all helped to a degree, and that's not to say I didn't get the feeling that some were less prone to losing air than others, but because of the constant reinstallations being such a huge variable (by the end I could fit the inserts without using levers) I would feel uncomfortable asserting anything for sure. For a relatively light tire, this is a problem I would normally encounter and I feel uncomfortable laying anything, positive or negative, at any particular inserts feet in relation to this because I would struggle to be certain. For now, it's a fool's errand to try and assert which impact would mean what in something that is so hard to repeat.īecause of the dozens of times that I refitted the EXO+ casing tires, I'm not that confident in committing my findings in the article regarding the regularity with which the tire burped when pushing hard in rough terrain. In the second part of testing, we'll look further into maximum loads for the inserts in a more controlled manner. Similarly, if something is making noise it might not be from the insert bottoming out and the rim hitting an obstacle but rather something such as the insert slapping the rim. I think it's also worth mentioning that just because something is quiet it doesn't necessarily mean that it means the rim is impervious to damage. In my mind, I quickly separated the inserts into two groups: a system that uses inserts to maximize tire performance and a device that helps cover some of the blind spots of a tubeless tire such as stability and rim protection. How different could two inserts feel from one to another? I thought it would reasonably clear, but I didn’t anticipate just how pronounced the difference in feeling would be between them. For your reference, I weigh 85kg and wouldn’t say I’m overly aggressive on the bike.Īn Insert System or Merely Rim Protection? They behaved admirably, however burping wasn’t uncommon, clangs and bangs were a running theme and I could often feel the tire roll and squirm in turns. ![]() During this comparison we have inserts from six leading brands.īefore beginning testing in earnest, I acquainted myself with the tires and wheels with no inserts in. I chose it because it’s a popular aggressive and wide tire choice, and it's also lighter than I would normally opt for. I was due to begin another test period on a new set of wheels, a set of Mavic Crossmax XL, also with 30mm width, and I didn’t want to muddy the water by adding a variable.ĭuring this extended period on the Mavics I ran Maxxis Assegais MaxxTerra 2.5" and Exo+ front and back as a control tire. This period was very brief and was largely by way of making the above video. The testing involved an initial dry run while I was in Portugal using a Trail casing Vittoria Martello 2.35” tire on some 30mm wide Silt AM 29 wheels. A more supple tire that was yet further enhanced by running lower pressures to give higher levels of grip, combined with added support from the insert in turns while also offering better rim protection. The benefits of this could be three fold. My ultimate goal was to have a tire and insert that was roughly the same total weight as a heavier duty tire. For this test I ran tires that were around two or three hundred grams lighter. Typically, I would run a rear tire weighing around 1200g or 1250g. What I’m interested in during this comparison is the idea of running a slightly lighter tire than I normally would while hopefully reaping all the benefits the insert has to offer. Some people would choose a heavy tire and no insert and some would combine the two for all out protection. How we spec our wheels, tires and even our inserts largely depends on where and how we ride. ![]() How to best keep our tires inflated? And, what’s more, is there a way that not only means we’re less likely to puncture but also includes a handful of performance benefits? Not only is it vulnerable to the possibility of burping the air out of the tire at high load or while cornering, it also needs to be a system that keeps damage and destruction at bay while withstanding a whole variety of different forces and abrasions. Tubeless tires have won-out against their tubed counterparts in mountain biking but that doesn’t mean that it’s the perfect system. The second part will feature a data led approach with impact resistance and real-world telemetry testing. First up, some visual comparisons and my initial assessment of how they feel. ![]()
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