Getting ready for Unbound.
Have been riding tubeless on gravel bike for a long time. The gravel where I live is fairly Vanilla, so no concerns on a day-to-day basis.
As I’m getting ready putting in a lot of miles, so will put new tires on the bike soon, ride the 42 MM pathfinder Sworks. As I do this is the right answer to also add inserts?
Going to be a long 200 miles.
I’m a bigger guy at 230 if that makes a difference. this year is north bound I have heard that is more rocky, but have no clue.
Ask yourself: why? what for?
Inserts allow you to roll at 50% of the speed, which is probably a valid option for a 5km ‘commute’ to the next station / home / car lift.
Downsides are, that they’re impossible to remove in off-road conditions, so you’d not be capable of slotting in an inner tube.
Bottom line is, that I wouldn’t. Too little benefit for too much side effects. Your line of defense should be: focus → tires → sealant → plugs → inner tube.
Ask yourself: why? what for?
Inserts allow you to roll at 50% of the speed, which is probably a valid option for a 5km ‘commute’ to the next station / home / car lift.
Downsides are, that they’re impossible to remove in off-road conditions, so you’d not be capable of slotting in an inner tube.
Bottom line is, that I wouldn’t. Too little benefit for too much side effects. Your line of defense should be: focus → tires → sealant → plugs → inner tube.
They aren’t difficult to remove…. But I still wouldn’t bother personally. They are miserable to install.
I tried inserts with my gravel and MTB and just don’t find them worth the hassle. Most flats I get are on the sidewall above where an insert would help. All other flats I’ve had usually seal up just fine without an insert. I’d just toss some extra sealant in and carry an extra tube vs using inserts for a race.
The biggest downside is that if you cannot seal a puncture with a plug then you need to take the insert out and wear it bandolier style.
Benefits: Lower tire pressure with less risk of hitting rims in rough terrain. Unbound has a lot of higher speed descents while riding in a group where you’re not always able to choose your line. You either need to be quick on your feet, run higher pressures, or risk flatting. Inserts can help that with minor increases in weight and little to no increase in rolling resistance. (https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/specials/gravel-tubeless-tire-inserts)
In my experience,
- Gravel Cushcore is over-kill, but worthwhile if you ride your gravel bike like a light-duty mountain bike.
- Vittoria Airliners do not offer enough impact protection and barely sit above the rim. They may cushion a hit that is directly on the tread, but anything at an oblique angle will likely strike the rim flange. Because
- Tubolight is the “happy-medium” Robust enough to have impact protection, light enough to not add much weight to the system. They also tend to impact putting a tire on/off the least.
If you choose to run a liner, then your first line of dealing with a puncture really ought to be a plug - in my opinion the Stans are the best, but your mileage may vary.
Technically crossed and back-brace style
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