First ride on CushCore XC

Got it. So you’re saying it performed better. I thought you were saying that it slipped in places where it didn’t slip in the past.

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In their description, Competitive Cyclist points out that the Cushcore Pro model weights the same as a traditional butyl tube.

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someone save me from research. Does the cushcore replace sealant or do you run both? 2 oz of sealant is about 55 grams so the penalty is only about 100 grams per wheel if you don’t need the sealant anymore.

  • You should still run sealant. You need it for puncture protection and sealing with some tire/rim combos.
  • The tire insert allows for lower tire pressures while reducing risk of damage to the rim & tire that would come from low pressure without an insert.
  • That lower pressure tends to improve tire traction and rollover on rough surfaces for a smoother and faster ride.
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Ordered Pepi’s after Jonathan mentioned them a few podcasts ago. Went with the pink r-evolution lightest version for 27.5 2.2 tires for XC on a Yeti SB5 with suspension sag on max plushness. I am 180 pounds, and ran 13/16psi front/rear on a rooty xc trails. Frik’n amazing! Totally sold, so much less bounce and fatigue and climbing traction for days. Not as noticeable on smooth fast corners but I did not get too many of those to experience. I slammed the tires into corners onto roots and landed sideways on small airs, no burps, no fold-over. One slight downside(but adaptable) is the slower rebound when pre-loading the front tire to hop over a log. I almost bit it when the front wheel only came up half the distance and smacked the top of the log. You just half to pull a little sooner and harder weight shift back.

Pepi’s is working on cx prototypes but trying to stay in the 33mm uci rule has the project going on 2 years. Ordered cushcore cx/gravel in the short term and 38mm cx tires to run in the next few local cx races. Twice the weight though, but the general insert experience was too good not to try for cx right now.

Jonathan, thanks for the recommendation!

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I noticed this too, with Pepi’s. It was on hardpack and only happed when I had the bike really leaned over at moderate speed. I got the sense it was the edge knobs folding slightly due to the low pressure(13psi in this case), under a higher load. But it was so minimal, and hooked back up before you could even get nervous. On smooth flow trails with higher corner forces I think a touch more pressure would solve this.

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I’ve been using Cush CX but have ordered PTN. I went with the lightest cx version. I look forward to the comparison. I didn’t notice the pre load delay on Cush but the profile is different and that may be reason.

Round inserts make more sense to me in my head and the weight savings is a plus with PTN.

Ps I have a set of 27.5 PTN small if anyone is interested. I ordered by mistake

I have been riding and even raced on the Cushcore cx for about 2 weeks now. The advantages are not as pronounced but still very worth it. The cush core was way, way easier to install, I went with 22/29psi with 38c tires for a very fast dry cx course, and they were great. I rode a set of Belgian stairs multiple times with many hard rim hits on the edges, and no burps whatsoever. I did not notice any pre-load effects either, but much lower volume tires, and as you said a very different design.

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Cushcore XC on my Canyon Lux. Really liking all the benefits! I did a hill repeats test with and without Cushcore XC. Here is the results: Roughly a 1.5% speed penalty w/Cushcore XC during steady hill climbing efforts. I will take this penalty given all the other benefits. I have also tried the foam noodles before Cushcore. Cushcore is far more intelligent design and a higher quality material.

~5 - 7% grade
90 sec efforts
Very similar weather conditions

Without: (Front tire was tubeless and back tire had a tube in it)
9.16mph
396.2 watts

With Cushcore:
9.04mph (-1.3% slower)
398.4 watts (+0.5% higher)

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Can I ask a stupid question, as I’m interested for my gravel bike… What’s the plan if you need to tube the tyre (split too big to sealant/ fill by plugs)? I carry tubes and boots for that eventuality, but that wouldn’t work with inserts?

I carry plugs only. If I needed a tube I would be SOL! Ha… I guess you could remove the insert but that would be a Herculean effort roadside!

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That’s the one aspect that puts me off. Some of my spins are solo and while not that far from home, I can get pretty remote (remote enough that I decided against some trails while solo at the weekend). Would there be enough cushioning to nurse it home on the foam?

Even if you’re on the fence about the weight, I think they’re worthwhile to at least put on the rear to protect your rim and thus your hub.

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You still need sealant with inserts, though some say you can run less sealant compared to normal tubeless setup.

I’m really interested in the option for CX racing - especially since I dented a rim slightly last season hitting an unseen root.

I think you’d completely trash the tyre and cushcore, and probably rim depending on conditions and rim.

I think pulling it out would be easier than installing. It’d be a pain to get the tyre off the bead of course, but you’re reducing the likelihood by having the cushcore in there.

I don’t know if I would nurse the XC version home? The larger size maybe

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You would probably destroy the tires and risk damaging the wheel. I wouldn’t ride it home

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Huh. So the consensus is basically that it’s not a good idea for a serious backcountry ride? Probably ok for me, I can walk out from most places, but could be useful info for others. It also makes me wary for marathon racing where I’d expect to be able to fix a serious issue in the field with tube and boot.

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No, on the contrary. I think personally it’s an excellent idea. You are reducing your chances greatly of flatting in the first place, and you can still install a tube just as normal, it’ll just be slightly more physically taxing to remove the cushcore from the tyre, but far from impossible.

If I were doing back country riding of that nature I’d be looking at running a heavy casing to further reduce the risks, but that’s just me.

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