I’ve never tried inserts before but have never felt the need for them for MTB (gravel is a different story). I don’t feel like the descents here are long enough to get enough speed going to rim strike on a regular basis.
You do bring about a good point on the side wall deflection. I’m guessing this is why my XC race casing has held up so well.
My own experience with inserts was not good. I went all in a few seasons back and had more flats that year than I ever did. Took them out and things have been much better. Silca has since come out and said you essentially need to double the amount of sealant you run with inserts due to the sealant coating both the tire and surface of the insert itself. I didn’t do this when I used them and found that whenever I popped the bead there was always very little sealant in the tire.
You do need more sealant, and it probably depends on your terrain and riding style.
As someone who is more prone to rolling tires and pinch flats they are worth it to me.
With respect to sidewalls, I think that depends in the insert, tire, and rim. I try to run tires that are true 2.4s so that the casing is wide and the tread is wide enough to protect the sidewall more. The round Vittoria ones in small are good if you are worried about sidewalls as they basically only help with pinch flat protection. Tires with tread that is narrower than casing and an insert makes the sidewalls weak though.
That’s helpful. I’ve had a pair of Vittoria Air Liners in the garage for a few months now. I bought them with traction in mind, thinking that the inserts would allow me to lower pressure a bit. It’s a long story, but I installed one on the rear wheel of a new wheelset, only to have to return the wheelset. It was such a hassle to install that I didn’t feel like installing it again once I received the correct wheelset and now I’m wondering if they’re just going to sit there staring at me in the garage. Bentonville seemed like a no brainer for inserts, but I’m not so sure anymore.
Once you get the hang of it, it’s a non-issue. I can install an insert in maybe an extra 60 seconds when putting on a tire now. Although, it does at times feel like you need a third hand to keep them from popping off.
I have the Cross/Race combo on one wheelset and another with Speed/Speed in 2.4". Really excellent tires in both grip and feel on the trail. The Speed feels noticeably faster than the Race so sometimes I swap out the rear wheel to ride Cross/Speed. Unfortunately no hard data yet on the RR AFAIK.
Cross, Race and Superspeed are available in 29x2.4" directly from their website
With regards to RR, would be great to get BRR members to get behind one to vote for and get it tested. I have submitted the 29x2.4 Race a couple times now but it hasn’t seen much traction
summoning @jkarrasch to ask whether the WolfPack Tires are still scheduled for testing?
I‘m really interested in the Wolfpack Superspeed which is their latest tire and claimed to be the fastest. I have them in my bike and I really like them.
How did the race go?
I’m on the verge of signing ip for next year but wanted to know how rough technical the course it. I have a 100m hardtail and did the TransAlp on it but was wondering if the Appenninica was doable on it. (I don’t realy want to buy another bike…)
Any other useful info would be great.
Thanks
Hi @UKCarl , race went pretty well overall. Firstly I was really pleased with the dubnital rapid trail tyres and had no issues with punctures.
In terms of descents, I think they would be achievable on a hard tail but would also highly depend how experienced / capable you are. Almost all the technical descents are natural tracks and many with rocks and rocky steps. It will obviously be more tiring on a hard tail. I think I maybe remember seeing 1 hard tail out of the 175 riders, so that gives a feel for what most people are using.
My biggest challenge in terms of the decents was the length of them and getting fatigued after 10 of 15 minutes. There were times where I was struggling to brake with a single finger and had to pull over to recover for a short time. There were only a couple of times when the technicality was too much for me and this was probably influenced by being fatigued.
Hope that’s useful? I was also given some great info by @Aradell who completed the race in 2024. I’m sure he will also have some good thoughts on whether a hardtail is suitable.
cheers Dave
Ps it’s a great event with a really good community vibe. The majority of riders were English speakers (either first or second languages) and we made some great acquaintances from Belgium and Netherlands. I would recommend it to anyone
Someone can send them and I’ll do it
Thats great info thanks 
I’m going to put an entry in for next year.
Anyone ride a tire that they’ve thoroughly abused while completely flat and keep riding it? Sealant must have gone bad and wouldn’t seal the tiniest of goat head holes even after putting in a plug. Ended up gently riding about 5 miles on some pretty rocky terrain with a completely flat Dubnitol RR.
Should I just replace the sealant and send it or replace the tire? Visually it looks fine, but not sure how much damage the carcass probably sustained from that.
I rode a tire on the rim with no in insert once, and after putting new sealant in it sealant bubbled from the sidewall all around the tire, and it never sealed. You could give it a try and see, but riding a tire on the rim for a while tends to be rather detrimental to it’s ability to hold air