# How many of you run inserts?



## cookieMonster (Feb 23, 2004)

So I’m getting a new rear wheel for my ESD this week, and I’m paying quite a bit (for me) for it. I9 1-1 hub and a DT Swiss alloy rim.

I was thinking about maybe finally trying an insert in the rear. I normally run 2.5s or 2.6s, with at least an EXO casing. I really don’t abuse my wheels, despite riding pretty fast on technical terrain. I’ve been hesitant to take the weight penalty, but maybe I’m missing out.

I was looking at the Tannus tubeless insert. Am I overthinking this?


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## fire_lantern (Jan 9, 2012)

That's what I'm running in the rear with a light and supple Teravail Honcho 2.4 and I'm quite happy with it. I see it as a nice insurance policy and nice to know it's there when I nail some rocks or case a jump. Or forget to check tire pressure... This is my first hardtail in a while, so it's mostly peace of mind. I don't see going back. 

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## Little_twin (Feb 23, 2016)

Do it and don’t look back. I run inserts at least in the rear on every bike I own from gravel bikes to my fs bikes and everything in between. 

I was hesitant to take the weight penalty as well, I don’t notice it anymore. I’m very hard on wheels and have still destroyed plenty of rear rims even with inserts, but the reduced squirm at lower pressures is worth it alone. 


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

One year with Rimpact on the rear wheel on my ht. I wish I'd done this earlier, my rim would have stayed ding free. Allowed me to get away with a plain EXO casing instead of DD. Have used it as a run flat when my valve decided to lose all air at some point. 

They make sense for all mountain bikes, but hardtails more so.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

I have Cush Core Pro inserts in my DH wheels, Cush Core XC in my enduro wheels, and Tannus Tubeless in my spare enduro wheels. All are F/R.

I like the feel of the Tannus best but they create a pronounced side to side visible wobble in the tire and it messes with me. I avoid using those wheels because of the wobble. It bums me out actually.


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## DGUSMC (Jan 29, 2021)

cookieMonster said:


> So I’m getting a new rear wheel for my ESD this week, and I’m paying quite a bit (for me) for it. I9 1-1 hub and a DT Swiss alloy rim.
> 
> I was thinking about maybe finally trying an insert in the rear. I normally run 2.5s or 2.6s, with at least an EXO casing. I really don’t abuse my wheels, despite riding pretty fast on technical terrain. I’ve been hesitant to take the weight penalty, but maybe I’m missing out.
> 
> I was looking at the Tannus tubeless insert. Am I overthinking this?


I swap my wheels depending on terrain - 305s with EXO+ for the rough stuff and Trail S with EXO for the not so rough. I have Cush Core Pro in the rear on the 305 set. My ESD likes to get rowdy so with lighter set I air up the pressure. 

The i9 rims are tough as hell but you can see the marks on the Cush core at each tire change. Have to imagine they have kept things in line.

The peace of mind of being able to let it rip with lower pressure is well worth the weight. If I only had one set, would definitely have CC so I wasn’t sweating it on the nasty stuff.


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## dsciulli19 (Apr 14, 2014)

I have CushCore front and rear on my hardtail. I'm approximately 200lbs geared up and am _not_ gentle on bikes. The terrain I ride most frequently is quite rocky and rooty so having the extra insurance especially in the rear is well worth the weight penalty for me. Also, if I were worried about weight I would not be riding a steel bike so there's that.


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## Crockpot2001 (Nov 2, 2004)

Cush core on the rear of my AM and XC wheelsets, as well as the rear of my gravel bike.


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## A. Rider (Jul 25, 2017)

Tubolight Evo SL inserts for the rear of my AM and XC wheelsets. They're only 60 grams. The HD version is only 90 grams as well, but the SL seems to be all I need.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I use Huck Norris in the rear tire on my hardtail. I do rim strike on the rocks occasionally and it's a nice dull thud. Only marks on my rims are from looks rocks that flip/bounce up and hit the rim. Nada from the rim strikes. I haven't needed an insert up front, so I haven't installed one.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

cookieMonster said:


> I was looking at the Tannus tubeless insert. Am I overthinking this?


I was anti-insert. But, I started riding my HT harder on techy trails and damaging the rim so then I rode to protect the rear rim. Decided to try a rear Tannus Tubeless and loved it. I can ride the bike as hard as I have the skill for and have zero worries for the rear wheel now. The TT inserts are relatively light and easy to install so they get rid of most of the downsides of inserts. They also seem to last forever. 

I haven't bothered with an insert in my FS bike [might for a Moab trip, but not for Coastal BC riding], but wouldn't build a shreddy trail HT without one in the rear. I haven't put an insert in the front of my HTs. I don't see a need.

In your case I would try a TT. Worst case you can sell it and get back most of your $$.


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## chase2wheels (Oct 16, 2003)

I haven’t used them on my hard tails (Epic, Fuse, Spot Rocker) and am not sure they’re worth it for me. I‘m generally pretty smooth and am not hard on equipment. If I was getting rim strikes, then I would consider it, but I don’t like the weight penalty for my trail/XC riding. Though I do ride in some rocky terrain in Southern AZ, our biggest threats are thorns. I have thought about them for my sons ride though as he’s more of a charger on terrain.


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## MudderNutter (Oct 23, 2014)

I run rimpact on the rear of my bigger bike, and on my XC singlespeed that has chinese carbon rims. I put it on the XC bike just to protect the cheap carbon. On the trail bike I kept blowing beads at the bike park on berms no matter the pressure. The inserts have helped keep things solid back there.

I'll also be running inserts in at least the rear on my new carbon i9's!


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## dysfunction (Aug 15, 2009)

I like them on my hardtail because I can run lower pressures and not get squirm. Since I swap wheels to effectively change the tires I'm also running them on my bigger bike where I like the fact that they help take square hits. Both sets of inserts show pretty clear evidence of having done their jobs (and if nothing else, I haven't heard the annoying pings  )

I have a set of wheels that have XC tires on them, and those.. they don't have inserts.

edit: I'm running cushcore


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## yzedf (Apr 22, 2014)

I run a Vittoria Airliner in the rear for my Doctahawk. I only dropped 1 or 2 psi and it’s purely for rim protection, it doesn’t help a lot with keeping the tire seated. Not very heavy, but I haven’t heard a rim ding since putting it in. My riding is rock and roots New England tech with lots of 2’-5’ drops to flat.


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## Freki (10 mo ago)

I haven't ran one but have considered it... it would be nice to use it as a run flat if I needed to and extra rim gaurd would be nice... I usually run higher tire pressure for that reason


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## Rod (Oct 17, 2007)

I'm mostly an xc rider and try to be smooth so I don't see a need for it in my riding conditions.


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## Brian Parker (Oct 14, 2021)

cookieMonster said:


> So I’m getting a new rear wheel for my ESD this week, and I’m paying quite a bit (for me) for it. I9 1-1 hub and a DT Swiss alloy rim.
> 
> I was thinking about maybe finally trying an insert in the rear. I normally run 2.5s or 2.6s, with at least an EXO casing. I really don’t abuse my wheels, despite riding pretty fast on technical terrain. I’ve been hesitant to take the weight penalty, but maybe I’m missing out.
> 
> I was looking at the Tannus tubeless insert. Am I overthinking this?


Please look into Mynesweepers. They are more affordable, easier to install, and seem to work better


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## mack_turtle (Jan 6, 2009)

Brian Parker said:


> Please look into Mynesweepers. They are more affordable, easier to install, and seem to work better


please let us know if you're affiliated with this company. it sounds interesting, but the fact that you have only a few posts on here and they are all related to this product is suspect. I could be wrong. is this you? About Us | Mynesweepers

FYI, you ought to register with MTBR as an advertiser if that's what you're here to do.


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## Brian Parker (Oct 14, 2021)

mack_turtle said:


> please let us know if you're affiliated with this company. it sounds interesting, but the fact that you have only a few posts on here and they are all related to this product is suspect. I could be wrong. is this you? About Us | Mynesweepers
> 
> FYI, you ought to register with MTBR as an advertiser if that's what you're here to do.


Hello, yes i am the founder of Mynesweepers. I will consider registering as such.


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## _CJ (May 1, 2014)

I run them front and rear on both my HT and my FS, more as run-flat protection than anything else. Using Nukeproof ARD's, and in limited testing I think I _could_ ride on them without any air, but it wouldn't be fun. I really wish somebody would come up with an insert that's primary purpose is being run flat. I've never been one to run super low pressure and damage rims.

.


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## Chris Pringle (Oct 28, 2003)

Using a Huck Norris only in the rear tire of my hardtail. It works well but I think of it mainly as a back rim insurance, especially on a HT. It doesn’t seem to affect the ride, so that’s good. I got a flat once and the ride/handling was just awful. It was a fairly slow leak, so I kept putting air in the tire every 10 minutes to get me home. Definitely not recommended as a run-flat solution.


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## cookieMonster (Feb 23, 2004)

_CJ said:


> I run them front and rear on both my HT and my FS, more as run-flat protection than anything else. Using Nukeproof ARD's, and in limited testing I think I _could_ ride on them without any air, but it wouldn't be fun. I really wish somebody would come up with an insert that's primary purpose is being run flat. I've never been one to run super low pressure and damage rims.
> 
> .


Yes. I’m going to run a CC Pro in the back of my enduro bike for this reason.

I have very limited time to ride, and like to maximize the riding in the narrow windows I have. Where I ride most often, there is no cell service, so if I get a flat and can’t fix it right away, it’s a huge bonus to be able to coast out of there and get back to civilization before my wife calls Search and Rescue…🤣


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## yzedf (Apr 22, 2014)

Back to tubes on my hardtail. If they hold up there I will switch the other bikes back. I’m pretty much done with the tubeless bs, it gets old with 3 bikes pretty quick.


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## cookieMonster (Feb 23, 2004)

yzedf said:


> Back to tubes on my hardtail. If they hold up there I will switch the other bikes back. I’m pretty much done with the tubeless bs, it gets old with 3 bikes pretty quick.


I won’t ever put a tube in a bicycle again— nor will I carry them under any circumstances.🤣🤣


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## DGUSMC (Jan 29, 2021)

yzedf said:


> Back to tubes on my hardtail. If they hold up there I will switch the other bikes back. I’m pretty much done with the tubeless bs, it gets old with 3 bikes pretty quick.


We must be enjoying different sports.


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## Chris Pringle (Oct 28, 2003)

cookieMonster said:


> I won’t ever put a tube in a bicycle again— nor will I carry them under any circumstances.🤣🤣


Totally agreed! Discovered tubeless technology for my MTB’s back around 2004 and never EVER going back to tubes. The ability to run much lower pressures and to seal thorn punctures while you roll down the trail are just a godsend.


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## yzedf (Apr 22, 2014)

DGUSMC said:


> We must be enjoying different sports.


Tired of paying for sealant. Tired of cleaning up sealant. Tired of clogged valves. Tired of clogged tire pressure gauge. 3-4 tire changes per bike per year and it all gets old 



Chris Pringle said:


> Totally agreed! Discovered tubeless technology for my MTB’s back around 2004 and never EVER going back to tubes. The ability to run much lower pressures and to seal thorn punctures while you roll down the trail are just a godsend.


Much lower? Only about 4psi for me. Modern tires and rims work better with tubes too!


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