Does anyone run only a rear insert in their gravel tires? I ride my gravel bike on light single track pretty frequently and I feel like the rear tire takes quite a few root hits. Whereas the front tire is much easier to lift over small trail obstacles. Never really had a problem with flats, just thinking from a rim protection perspective. Thoughts?
Semi-related question: are the inserts generally priced per pair or individually? For example Vittoria is listed at about have the price of cushcore. On the Vittoria website is isn’t explicit as to whether it is for one or a pair, where on the cushcore they illustrate two. Am I over thinking this or is cushcore that much more expensive?
I just picked up a set of the Vittoria Gravel Air-Liner Lights and it is one per box.
You often hear that some of the pro’s only run them in the rear. For me, if I’m going to run them I not that concerned about the weight of running one versus two, so I’m going to put them in both tires. There are times my front wheel can take a pretty big hit. Usually it is when I hit a pothole on the road that I didn’t see coming, but on a rocky fast downhill the front can take some big hits too.
My experiences on my gravel bike and my XC mountain bike have been quite different when it comes to inserts.
On my gravel bike I have never flatted with the combination of Pathfinder Pros in 42 or 47 in combination with Tubolight inserts and either Stan’s or Silca sealant in combination with Enve G23 wheels. This includes using them during two Unbound 200’s and a lot of local mid-west gravel riding. Prior to using inserts I had flatted on Rene Herse Hurricane Ridge 42s with Endurance casing.
On XC bike I had rarely ever flatted. Once I started using inserts (both Tubolights and Vittoria Air-Liner Lights) I started getting flats. I flatted Race Kings front and rear. I also flatted a Kenda Rush SCT 2.4 with a particularly nasty puncture right near the rim. Six plugs didn’t fix it. This year I ditched the inserts on the XC bike and despite running 2.35 Thunder Burts in Super Race casing most of the year, have avoided any flats.
Just based on my own experiences I’m going to continue to run them on gravel but not XC.
Are you getting regular flats? If not, it’s a solution looking for a problem. I ride my gravel bike on rooty trails and high speed sketchy gravel however I never flat. Flatting because of roots is very rare as it’s typically because of rocks. So unless you’re looking to solve something, I would leave the inserts alone for now.