Tyre Hack: Boost Your Roost And Get Insta-Famous

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Image is everything these days. And really, a mountain bike video without roost just doesn’t cut it anymore. If you want to get sponsors, you need Instagram followers. And to get them, you’re going to need great video and photo content. And to get great video and photo content, you need to be a certified gnarc0re-shredder.

But what if you’re not?

Well, it would appear that Roost Boost™ might just have the solution…

Even more roost! Credit: Duncan Philpott

We’d been hearing rumours about a ‘roost boost’ hack for a while, but it wasn’t until Chipps was on holiday (see the Subscriber edition of Issue 118) with an Instagram celebrity late last year that we got chance to check out the secrets of the technique.

Having seen their tyres for ourselves, we noticed something was a little different about the tread. Something unique to the tread and how it had been adapted. After studying some high-resolution photos in the office, we set about creating our own. And that’s the great thing about this hack – you can do it yourself, so even if you’ve not yet landed a tyre sponsor it’s not an issue. And if you have got a tyre sponsor, more importantly, you can stay on brand.

The Science Bit

The science behind it is that, using a siping tool (aka: “side cutters”), you can create highly specialised cuts in your tyres. The specific Roost Boost™ angle of these cuts means that as you lean around a corner, the air between the narrow space in the cuts is compressed, while the open end is not. Following us so far? The difference in pressure between the narrow and open end creates a vortex effect, which sucks up dirt as you roll through the corner, then throws it up into the air once the contact patch leaves the ground. Like magic!

tyre tread tool cut
Using a special tread siping tool, a specific cut is applied to the outer edges of the centre tread.
tyre hand cut worn tools
It’s this angled cut that creates the vortex.

We’ve been testing this on some of our videos recently, and the early signs suggest that there is at least a 57% increase in roost, even at bimble-velocities. There’s still some further analysis to be done, but so far we’re impressed, and our Instagram account is already reaping the benefits.

Let us know how you get on – link to your Roost Boost™ videos in the comments section below.

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Author Profile Picture
Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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