So, I’m thinking of running cushcore in my tyres basically due to the fact i go through some amount of rims. Im forever getting dinks and this looks like it could be a decent solution. I’ve had a look at the Hucknorris which looks ok but I’m not convinced it will be as good to stop the dinks. I’ve also looked at procore but prefer the look of the cushcore. My biggest concern after reading that it is a nightmare to install and take off again is, what if I do get a flat on the trail. Is it an easy fix to take it out and get a tube in there or will I be wishing I had never bothered putting it in there!!??

If anyone has run it and has had this issue let me know your thoughts/experiences!!

Cheers

Cushcore looks overkill to me (and heavy). I presume you only dink the rear wheel, as it’s unlikely you’ll need to add a protection strip for a front wheel. I run a Huck Norris in the back of my Whyte hardtail and it copes with all I can throw at it trail riding. Inspecting one after a few months of use and you can see lots of small tears in the foam where it has hit the rim, but the rim (WTB i35) has held up well. I run a Maxxis Rekon 2.8″ tyre with pressure at 19psi just to be on the safe side. So far, this setup has eliminated all pinches and dents, which used to be the bain of my life.

The HN is easy to set up (as long as you push the tyre beads into the centre drop channel of the rim when fitting and if I ever do need to put a tube in on the trails, I’ll probably be able to fold the HN up and tuck it somewhere (I don’t ride with a backpack).

is the vittoria airliner not lighter than cushcore?  I have hucknorris in the rear of my FS and HT.  Was a piece of piss to fit.

Thanks for the info Jim. I have the whyte 905 as well with same rear tyre! However Im looking to run the cushcore on my big bike. I had seen a review online where they had used the Hucknorris and found yes it was good for stopping the flats like you say however when it came to reducing rim damage it didn’t quite cut it. Im a pretty heavy rider, about 13 stone, and im often riding rocky trails where square edge hits are inevitable. This is why I like the sound of the cushcore for the  dense foam (could be getting sucked in by marketing a bit though)

But yeah the Hucknorris looks good for like you say the easier fitting process and if it came to it and a flat occurred on the trail I have a feeling this would be easier to mend than if I was running the cushcore…

I’ll check out the vittoria airliner as well, hadn’t heard of this one. Cheers

<i>Airliner ! worked for me, I had a puncture as soon as I dropped into S3 at this years ArdRock and I still pinned it to finish the stage, quite easy to fit and not heavy and doesn’t soak up the juice  </i>

got a good deal on an airliner and tryes at ard rock. only had a couple of rides on it so far so bit early to judge but seems to ride nicely at 22psi, used to have to run a heavy tyre at 28psi before. mate’s been using one for a while and rates it, said it stops the squirming he used to get at the very low pressures he likes and he’s never heard his rim hit anything since fitting it.

not cheaper just to put a bit more psi in your tyre?

This ^^^^^^

Running my rear tyre usually near the 30 psi mark when I know I’m going to be hitting the rocky stuff. If I start going higher traction starts to suffer!

backer rod £2 ish  job jobbed

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/source-for-closed-cell-foam-for-homemade-huck-norris/page/4/

I have cushcore in my rallon. If you have rims less than 25mm wide don’t bother, 25-30 maybe and 30mm+ isn’t too bad to fit/get off. It will develop your grip strength for sure! Weight doesn’t concern me but it is noticeable – depends how sensitive to the you are if you will mind it or not. As they take up a lot of volume you can run lower pressures but do not think they are indestructible. I’m a rim/wheel/tyre killer and have dinged two Halo Vortex rear rims on rocks with them in and Magic Mary Super Gravity tyres and pumped up reasonably firm (30psi). First had to be replaced as it was that bad. BUT it didn’t flat/break the seal both times and I continued my ride fine (Ard rock once, a local ride another). In Finale I snapped a spoke on a heavy landing which punctured the rim strip on my old Mavic wheel (25mm ish internal) it was a F@CKING nightmare to get it off on the trail to put  a tube in without metal levers, the guide was not amused… The park ones are the best I found for it without scratching rims and I pack them in my seat pack now so permanently on the bike! I considered Huck Norris which my mates use but have seen those fail too, and they dont seem to last that long. Also other friends have had mixed results with procore. Basically not perfect but I am certainly not taking them out anytime soon I’ve gone from roughly 1 puncture every few months to one puncture caused by a broken spoke in 2 years riding the same stuff. If you are in the Northeast/Newcastle way welcome to have a look.

I have a Mr Wolf Banger in the rear of my 2.8 plus tyre which i find very good. Taking the tyre on and off is only marginally more tricky than normal, it was definitely doing its job down some bike park wales trails, rim dinger in particular and it also provides support to the tyre which takes away the horrible wishy washy feeling you get with 2.8s at lower pressures which is 18 psi for me.

The Panzer ones that Whyte are doing look good – I like the shape of them. It looks easier to fit that some of the others.

I used the backer rod and found it way too soft, and I did dink my rear new rim within a week’ when you compare the density of the backer rod compared to the Airliner theres a huge difference

I was hoping the backer rod would work and it didn’t, I still got 6 meters of it, which I better of making a pillow out of it.

The only issue with these various inserts (Huck Norris does fold down) is when you slash your tyre badly as I found out at this years ArdRock, I had to fit a tube in the rear then I had to lug the Airliner to S4 where I gave it to the Marshall and he Kindly took it back to the expo village where I collected it later.

it was a F@CKING nightmare to get it off on the trail to put  a tube in without metal levers,

This is my biggest concern. After hearing this and having now checked out the vittoria airliner, i think I might go with the airliner instead… Looks a hell of a lot easier to install and i’m guessing easier to get off as well!

+1 for the airliner, swapped from a Mr wolf banger as it was too soft. Makes inflating tyres easier and only a tiny bit more involved to get it on the rim.

i wouldn’t say it was easy to get the tyre on with the airliner but not to bad. i ended up seating both beads fully then popping one side of to fit the airliner. that was a new tyre so may be a bit easier once its been fitted. probably depends on rims as well, mine have a very shallow bed.

Are you guys all running a rear DH tyre with these inserts? I can’t help thinking that a tubeless dual ply tyre at a reasonable pressure is an easier solution. (I’ve got no experience with inserts so am genuinely interested, not trying to be provocative!)

You can have mine, they’re  a **** nightmare! Hard to get off if in a hurry, if you like changing tyres for different conditions forget it, let alone getting a flat on the trail.

Dual ply tyres and or rims with lifetime warranty is the way to go.

Cushcore is the worst thing I’ve bought in 26 + years of Mtbing.

i’ve tried dual ply and have still dinged rims, find i have to run near 30 psi to avoid it. a lighter tyre at low pressure just feels so much nicer and gives a lot more grip. plus the ability to be able to finish a stage at a reasonable pace with a flat means its worth any hassles for me.

 The Panzer ones that Whyte are doing look good – I like the shape of them. It looks easier to fit that some of the others.

Just ordered this. Only 110 grams and because of the shape looks like it will be a doddle to fit, famous last words! Hope it does the job.

Just ordered this. Only 110 grams and because of the shape looks like it will be a doddle to fit, famous last words! Hope it does the job.

Also liked the look of the Panzer, let us know how you get on with it.

They should advertise these with 26 as well.  all you do it cut a tiny bit off.  The huck norris has marks for 26inch wheels.

50+ quid for a piece of foam, Hilarious!

How heavy are you Beano ? Did you run a full rod or were you hacking it up so it looked like provide?

Backer rod works fine for me,40mm full rod in a .2.3 tire on a 26mm internal rim, my Dt Swiss cheese rims are still as new no dinks even after coming down the larig au laoigh to glen Derry  with a flat after putting a hole through the tread with a rock .

Wasn’t hanging about either.

I’m 13 stone on an ibis mojo.

Certainly works good enough not to be spending 50 quid for sure.

Crikey since when was 13 stone considered heavy !?

Proper tyres, dual ply or wtb tough with either tubes or tubeless pumped up to 32psi & I haven’t had a puncture or dinged a rim in years despite being a fat clumsy rider.

Never been a fan of lightweight rear tyres or low psi myself & all these inserts just look like a faff for running the wrong tyres or too low pressures or weak rims

50+ quid for a piece of foam, Hilarious!

If it prolongs forking out for a new rim and wheel build, I’m all for it. Wont know till you try it i suppose…

I’m 14 stone @Trail_Rat , I used there 50mm backer rod but cut it in half and fitted onto 34mm rims’ I did find they did soak up a lot of the stans compared to the Airliner which it basically didn’t soak any.

Very impressed with the Airliner at the mo but previously sending a rim back once a month to be changed didn’t impress me much, and I’m using the new Halo Vortex rims

Ah ok

I didn’t bother cutting mine. I guess that might be why it didn’t soak up my Stan’s and does prevent dings. I know the real deal is like a backer rod cut in half but as you rightly point out the density is less so twice the thickness needed to give protection. Not ideal from a weight perspective but in terms of ££ per gram saved cushcore takes the piss  over backer rod

due to conditions dropped my rear tyre down to 20psi today for the king and queen enduro, fairly sure i wouldn’t have got away with that without the airliner in.

OP what did you settle on in the end?

I have just picked up  cushcore for my long travel 29er, although it will be annoying if I get a big slit in the tyre, which has only happened to me twice in 3 years. The cushcore website suggests you can run a tube through it with a 42mm valve so no need to remove it, just bead off on one side and put a tube in.

Think when I fit it might practise popping one bead off a few times so its not a shock to the system if it occurs out on the trail!

Dual ply tyres and or rims with lifetime warranty is the way to go.

Dual plies don’t do shit for rim protection (sidewall protection and resistance to squirm…sure) and lifetime warranties will only last so long, in terms of the number of returns before a manufacturer tells you to do one. If you kill rims, carbon is still not worth it.

The vittoria airliner looks good in terms of ease of fit.