Tubeless Foam Inserts - Worth the effort?

I think TPU inner tubes and a normal wheel are the way to go. It's a reliable and well proven system. Worrying about tyre sizes and pressures in hookless is an accident waiting to happen.

Road tubeless to me seems to be a solution in search of a problem. Especially if you're adding these things AND sealant, you're definitely not going to be lighter than just running lightweight tubes, and with correct tire choice you shouldn't have many problems with punctures on tubes either. Videos like these just make me more certain that tubeless just isn't for me - seems to be more trouble than it's worth.

One thing about foam inserts - I actually cracked and ruined a carbon wheel, trying to get my tire off. Yeah, I really enjoyed having the foam insert, and one time I was even able to ride home like 12 miles with absolutely 0 psi. This was on a road bike, 700x28c tires. It's INSANELY difficult to get the tire off, and I had even purchased the special Vittoria tool that they sell in order to help you get the tire off. Well, the insert made it too difficult to take off my tire, and while attempting to take off my tire using the tool, heard a good crack and crinkle. Yup, cracked my carbon wheels. Stopped using inserts after that, back to tubes for road. Might be fine for a gravel or MTB, but for road, no thanks. It's probably about 4 times as hard to take off a tire than it is to install them.

it took me some time to figure out the technique for getting the vittoria inserts on and off (getting the tires off is a similar challenge to putting them on). it did get easier with practice and I do like having them. its nice having the extra security. I've seen hella people running (on their road cleats) to the wheel pit in a crit and thought "if you had inserts you would have got there a lot faster and saved a lot of energy"😅

I use tubeless and love them on my road and gravel bikes. Inserts in big gravel tires is a no-brainer, but getting them on and off the much narrower road tires(30c) is very tricky and hard to decide weather or not it's worth the effort.

I had the Vitoria version of the liners and got rid of them. With them installed (great difficulty) it’s hard to check sealant level and if you do need to dismount the tyre for a puncture that won’t seal or to unclog a valve then you’re in a whole world of pain. Dismounting is much harder than installing as they push the bead onto the rim.

I saw a trick for tire inserts. Use the very thin zip ties around the tire and insert at about every 30 degrees, but leave a wider space between ties 180 out from the final mounting spot. Then cut the zip ties off. Seemed to work well for minimize the insert and force the 2 tire beads close together.

I have all my wheels tubeless and at the right pressure there's definitely a benefit/s. HOWEVER I now own several bikes like uou so they get ridden once a month so thinking TPU is the way forward.

I use CushCore on my gravel and mountain bike wheels. I have used the spongy inserts from Rimpact and they are ok. Just know that they absorb a lot of your sealant.

I use the Tubolight EVO Road inserts for tyre retention security and the run-flat capability but they are only 19 grams each. Although the RideNow inserts are 'only' 45 grams you have to remember that you're also adding around 50 grams of sealant to that... sure, they're all small numbers but it's added mass at the rim.

Love tubeless on my MTB, a real game changer. On my road bikes, why bother? Some top notch clinchers with TPU tubes provides a quality ride on my ancient wheelset. If I want to run lower pressures without the fear of pinch flats I just go up a size in tires.

Could we have a look at these after one season of use? For instance it would be good to know if indeed they still have their form or if they're permanently compressed and how they interacted with the sealant. I noticed when you unpackaged them that one section was compressed around the corner. How long did it take to regain it's shape? Thanks again for the great reviews!

Tpu all day every day. Bugger the faf of tubeless , sealant, valves . I’ve seen a lot of vids on setting up tubeless and it looks like a pain even though they say it’s not . I’m a old school rider . If I get a pinch out on the road it’s a five minute job especially with the co2 cartridge.

I really like having an insert in the rear on my mountain bike. It does take longer and it makes installing the tire harder. I find if you fully install the tire and let it sit over night at 50 or 60 psi. The tire will stretch out just a little and you can take off one bead and install the insert a little easier. I also went with tannest armer insert because it looked like it would be easier to install compared to the others.

A friend of mine had a tubeless blowout on a downhill in Colorado, ended up with a broken collar bone. He has these in all his tires.

About Serk bike, I would like to know which chains are compatible with these Incolor chainrings. I don't think this crucial information is on pandapodium and I like how it looks. Too bad you can't buy them separately. As for video topic, on road I prefer TPU tubes with some lighter tyres.

what size of foam inserts do i need for my 40mm gravel tires?

The insert doesn't "disappear" when the tire is pumped up. The insert is not airtight, so the pressure around it will be the same as "inside" it.

Can this be used as an alternative for tubes? If so, what near pressure does it provide?

I use tubeless on my 28mm road tyres and haven't seen the need for inserts. Just easier to carry a ridenow TPU with me and thankfully haven't needed to use in the last 3 years. On my gravel bike I have ghetto inserts - 30mm PU backer rod off ebay, using a zip tie to join - on 43mm tyres. There it has come in useful when it slow puncture / valve leak on a group ride. I could keep going through the muddy stuff til we got back on tarmac then pump it back up. It's taken me a while to adjust to lower and lower pressures on gravel setups so the insert gives a bit of peace of mind when I'm going down a rocky descent on 28psi - I might only have aluminium rims but I still don't want them dinged.