interesting looking product –
http://hucknorris.com/

or facebook page with a little more info

https://www.facebook.com/chuck2flat/

be interesting to see real world reviews – can’t see it being long before ghetto versions appear

Looks like a less faffy version of procore, looks like it could be cheap to make too if it’s just cut from some sheet material, win-win.

Good name, and I hope this bit’s a piss-take

Material specially developed for MTB use with actual scientists.

As opposed to pretend ones?

Bit of this Pipe lagging, cut into halves?

be interesting to see what that insert looks like after 2000 miles riding.

Material specially developed for MTB use with actual scientists.

not made from camping mattresses according to the website 🙂

not made from camping mattresses according to the website

yoga mats then !

I have a good few bits of old karrimat kicking around.

What stops it moving around on impact/rebound? I get that it will stay pretty much buy the tyre ‘tension’, but I think it will move over a ride…

I think that’s why it’s got a saw tooth pattern on the edge – should stop it spinning with the tyre.

What stops it moving around on impact/rebound?

2 years of research by actual scientists.

Science? pffft! I like Twisty’s idea best so far, what could possibly go wrong? 🙂

I like Twisty’s idea best so far

Yeah, I bet they didn’t think of trying bodged things first…

During past 4 years we have made prototypes from just about all the things that are light and can absorb impacts energy well.

I’m not entirely convinced. 😕
I do like the pipe lagging ghetto idea though, just so long as it’s sufficiently high density to withstand the impacts.

On the other hand, I am totally convinced by Procore. It’s working really well for me.

Kinda raises the question whether a similar system to ProCore but using a foam could be developed. Perhaps extrude sections that fit nicely into the rim/lower portion of the tyre.

Much simpler, lighter and robust than ProCore.

Any foam manufacturers out there…

…to fight off the Bruce Leaks

With Huck Norris the rocks gets the punctures when you ride!

I love them already!!!!! 😆

Hi there, I’m representing HuckNorris here as well. I personally are impressed what we managed to do. We were just racing enduro last weekend in the most harsh conditions in Finalnd where usually Tapio and me (Leo) can’t ride EXO sidewalls. Neither of us got flats this time. This hardly is proof of concept others than who have raced there. Seb Stott from Bikeradar could tell how harsh it is. Actually he punctured one of his tires without Huck Norris just one month ago.

be interesting to see what that insert looks like after 2000 miles ridin

Check it here… not 2000miles. It’s a product that wears out.

The scientist who we have is a material scientist and he has helped us along the way. I can say that our end result is too simple to come out without a patent pending design.

If you guys are interested to buy one, just holler on our Facebook page to get your pair. Also the journalists of Singletrack can holler me if they want some.

-Leo Kokkonen

After struggling to get tyres onto my carbon rims I am wondering how the hell you get this in and the tyre on. Putting the tyre on with an inner tube is hard enough.

After struggling to get tyres onto my carbon rims I am wondering how the hell you get this in and the tyre on. Putting the tyre on with an inner tube is hard enough.

Well, it actually makes it easier. Here’s how it works

It’s not a new idea by a long shot, Michelin have used a similar system in their rally tyres for over a decade. Theirs uses a foam that compresses slightly when the tyre is inflated so that it adds protection from bottom-out of the sidewalls and in the event of a puncture it expands to nearly fill the tyre allowing you to continue.

Amazed they never brought it to mtb to be honest!!

Well I’m quite interested for next year’s alps trip. How much?

Well I’m quite interested for next year’s alps trip. How much?

Here’s a webshop that sells the “OEM” version without packacing at the moment. Sorry that it’s in Finnish only but payment options should have English.

Michelin have used a similar system in their rally tyres for over a decade

Similar systems are present like Procore, Deaneasy and the Mousse. The difference is that HuckNorris doesn’t interfere to the rolling resistance or the tires “suspension” characteristics and you don’t need to modify your wheels. You can run on flats for a while with HuckNorris as well because it protects the rim.

I think you mean this “Mousse” is the similar product. I live in the city of Jyväskylä where the WRC is held every year and Toyota’s rally car’s are built at the moment. I asked about this from a guy who used to race and he said that the “mousse” are banned from WRC at the moment and it’s not nearly the same.

I think that the reason Michelin does not bring this to MTB is that it’s too heavy and increases the rolling resistance. HuckNorris weights only 75g and you can use lighter tires.

Actually we started our experiments with similar foams but the rolling resistance were so big that it was not feasible.

I wonder if the real Chuck Norris is on board? I suspect legal problems in the US if he isn’t.

I would guess the stuff forms a layer with sealant above it so it actually gets pushed against the inside the tyre by air pressure, though I think the guy on the vid said it was open-cell foam.

polebicycles – have you done experiments whacking wheels with rocks at varying force to quantify how much extra protection you get? Presumably there is a point where you whack your rim so hard it bends despite Huck’s best endeavours?

Top work fellas – real nice to see something pretty unique with some funky marketing

I might even try it out 🙂

Good luck!

I wonder if my wife will notice a bit missing from her yoga mat ?

I don’t believe for a second that something that weighs 75g will impact absorb anywhere near as well as an inner tyre inflated to 80 odd PSI.

The nice thing about procore is that it makes your tyres “spring rate” more progressive as well, causing your suspension to absorb impacts earlier on as opposed to the tyre. This foam will just deform massively under increased pressure and you won’t see anywhere near the same effect.

I wonder if the real Chuck Norris is on board? I suspect legal problems in the US if he isn’t.

It’s going to be a fight on Chuck vs. Huck then 😉 We don’t think there will be a problem.

I would guess the stuff forms a layer with sealant above it so it actually gets pushed against the inside the tyre by air pressure, though I think the guy on the vid said it was open-cell foam.

It’s completely open and it floats inside the wheel. It doesn’t get pushed to any directions. I’m the guy by the way.

polebicycles – have you done experiments whacking wheels with rocks at varying force to quantify how much extra protection you get? Presumably there is a point where you whack your rim so hard it bends despite Huck’s best endeavours?

We made such experiments with a device that drops a weight to the wheel but nothing scientific yet to be published. The experiment was quite expensive to perform because we ended up destroying a lot of tires. We need to find a batch of cheap tires to complete the tests. The conclusion anyhow was that HuckNorris eats up the impact. Trail testing proves this right but we don’t have yet a professional study report.

I suspect trying to create a lab test will prove very time consuming and expensive and probably never end up replicating real life.

I would just go out and ride it to find out how well it works.

Well, it actually makes it easier. Here’s how it works

Ahh, I was thinking it sat down in the wheel between the beads but (a) couldnt see how you could fit a tyre and (b) couldnt see how that would protect unless it was quite thick and quite dense.

So it floats mid way up and when the tyre pinches it acts as a bumper sandwiched in the middle of the pinch to act as a buffer for the rim and stop the sidewall being fully crimped and pinched on the rim?

Does it have an effect on the tyre profile then as it must be in contact with the sidewall at normal pressure to stay in place with enough compression that it stays in place when the tyre squashes?

I saw you need to use extra sealant too as the sealant will not only coat the outside of the foam instead of being free but it will also find any holes, a bit of hydrophobic coating or using a hydrophobic material/additive in the foam would probably help reduce this.

There are additives/fillers you can put into the material too to help increase the tear/cut resistance.

Thanks polebicycles.

Not to mention the expense of bending rims, though I suppose you could just rotate the rim a few degrees and do another test. Maybe a lesa real-world test of applying a constant force with an uninflated tyre and see what force was needed to deform the rim with and without Huck in between the two bits of tyre? You could use a few different shapes of force-applying-thing.

So it floats mid way up and when the tyre pinches it acts as a bumper sandwiched in the middle of the pinch to act as a buffer for the rim and stop the sidewall being fully crimped and pinched on the rim?

Correct

Does it have an effect on the tyre profile then as it must be in contact with the sidewall at normal pressure to stay in place with enough compression that it stays in place when the tyre squashes?

The HuckNorris is barely in contact with the tire so that it would not interfere the rolling resistance. If you spin the wheel and then hit the brakes, you can hear HuckNorris still rotating inside. It barely contacts the tire and that’s why the outer shape is like shark’s dorsal fin.

I saw you need to use extra sealant too as the sealant will not only coat the outside of the foam instead of being free but it will also find any holes, a bit of hydrophobic coating or using a hydrophobic material/additive in the foam would probably help reduce this.

The extra sealant is because Hucknorris will absorb some of it because the outer shells are cut open. The product is made from a closed cell foam so the breaking or stretching of the foam cells absorbs the energy. At the moment we are cutting the foam by water but with laser we could burn the outer cells so that the foam would not absorb the sealant. The amount you need more is about 20 to 30ml so it’s not a big of a deal 🙂

There are additives/fillers you can put into the material too to help increase the tear/cut resistance.

Propably yes but the product itself now is in pretty good weight / cost / resistance balance.

I suspect trying to create a lab test will prove very time consuming and expensive and probably never end up replicating real life.

I would just go out and ride it to find out how well it works.

We ended up doing exactly like this 😀

I fitted the Huck Norris insert today and did a short loop up in the Lakes this evening. After dropping pressure to well under what I’d normally venture out with, it does seem to work. I hit a couple of rocky trails with 14 psi in front and 25 in rear and no issues. I can imagine on a wet day riding slippy bed rock the traction/grip will be excellent as tyre will deform nicely.

Interested in this. I tried the pipe lagging idea years ago – doing the maths I think it was maybe 15 years ago (for my trials bike) . Anyway, the problem with pipe lagging is that the air pressure compacted the foam and after a few days it was a flat hard sheet with very limited absorption properties. So that won’t work. A similar, but harder material might work OK I guess. The problem with foams is that the air that’s within them is usually at atmospheric pressure, and as soon as soon you put 2bar in a tyre, the foam will collapse unless there’s some sort of special structure to it (that allows the pressurised air to penetrate the foam).

Anyway, the proof of the pudding is in the testing. Hopefully my skepticism is unfounded because this could be a great product if it works.

I thought this looks like a good idea… but its is fairy pricey at the moment.

woods – Member
I fitted the Huck Norris insert today and did a short loop up in the Lakes this evening. After dropping pressure to well under what I’d normally venture out with, it does seem to work. I hit a couple of rocky trails with 14 psi in front and 25 in rear and no issues. I can imagine on a wet day riding slippy bed rock the traction/grip will be excellent as tyre will deform nicely.

Good to here that it works, but didn’t 14PSi feel absolutely shit? Or was it just for experimental purposes?

Any other peeps got any test results as I am considering these for my new rims when I build them.

Cheers!

My Huck Norris has been in my rear tyre since late September and it’s stood up to lots of abuse – 4 days in Finale Ligure (when all but 3 or 4 of us out of the group of 11 were puncturing for fun), a couple of big Lakes rides and loads of local Peak District rides – with no punctures or rim dings whatsoever.

There does seem to be some interaction going on with my home-brewed tubeless jizz that’s causing the biggest boogers on earth, but I’m about to mix up some more with ammonia included to keep the pH neutral and see if that helps.

When I replace the sealant with the new batch I’ll check the Huck Norris to see if there are any cuts/nicks that show it’s been working.

Mate tried it, still got pinch flats, reckons he wasted his money. YMMV

What about cutting up kids play mats? Anyone tried?