CushCore Tire Insert [Rider Review]

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We all hate that dreadful "ding" sound when smashing rock gardens that due to the fact that it can ruin a riding day. CushCore was created in saving the day in those situations. Not only that it also has other performance benefits. See what one of our customers think!

Overview

Hello everyone, I just wanted to offer some clarification on the whole CushCore process, dispell some frustrating myths, and offer an opion on the performance of the inserts. In my experience with CushCore, the installation process was rather time consuming and, at times, incredibly frustrating. What I found that worked best for me was patience, which is not in great supply most of the time. I know most people can find a tutorial on them interwebs but that still doesn't really drive home the point of slow (at first) and meticulous installation of the CushCore.

One of the methods that I tried at first was to remove the tire completely and inspect the rim tape because not all rim tape is applied with the same, careful, grace as others. Once the rim tape was inspected I put one bead of the tire on the rim and then tried to get the CushCore installed so that I would only have to fight one tire bead instead of all both of them. This method worked but I wouldn't recommend it and I will definitely not do it again.

The best method that worked for me was, after inspecting the rim tape, install the CushCore on the rim, that way I could hold the rim down on the ground with my foot and then work the CushCore up around the rest of the rim and pull it like it weighs a ton and finally get it over the last bit of the rim.

Once the CushCore was on the rim, I slowly worked the tire onto the rim, making sure that any relevant logos line up with a valve stem, just to show the level of high quality workmanship. The slow and tedious process of working the tire bead onto the rim and UNDER the CushCore so that there's enough slack to finally get the tire bead onto the rim cannot be overstated, it really took me a while to do this part because I rushed it previously and ended up tearing the rim tape with the tire lever, a very common problem that people have run into and then they blame and curse the CushCore for being too difficult to install.

Once I got the CushCore installed, tire sealant loaded up, and air in the tire, the benefits of having CushCore FAR outweigh the weight penalty and inconvenience of installation.

I have never even tried any of the other brands of tire inserts but I am completely sold on CushCore, they have already saved my tire from shredding to bits while I was riding and my sealant ran dry, I kind of count the CushCore as a runflat even tho it's not marketed that way. My rim has also been saved from rocks and curbs, so that's an added benefit, and the extra traction that's available as a result of the lower air pressure is also pretty rad!

Final Thoughts

Overall, I will continue to use CushCore and talk them up to anyone and everyone who will listen. Like I mentioned before, the benefits of using CushCore far outweigh the inconveniences of the added weight and the installation process.