Cush Core Tire Insert Review at Fanatikbike.com

Cush Core Tire Insert Review

Initial skeptics to tire inserts in general, Cush Core has made us into converts. These are tire inserts done right.

Constructed from closed cell foam to avoid soaking up tire sealant, Cush Core offers a myriad of benefits for your tubeless mountain bike tire set-up. You can run lower air pressures, thereby increasing traction, without increasing the likelihood of rolling or burping your tire. It also has the unique effect of drastically reducing overall vibrations, as well as dramatically reducing the chances of a bent or cracked rim. This means less money spent replacing dented alloy rims or expensive cracked carbon.

NOT COMPATIBLE with the following rims:
ENVE - the valve stem isn't long enough

[TheDirthound]

Got my first ride on these and all I have to say is that it’s a bike upgrade worth the $$$ and totally confidence inspiring, gave my enduro bike a DH feel.

[FanatikBikeCo]

Ok guys,
I will be the first to admit $150 is a lot of money for "foam" inserts, and I was very, very skeptical when they first came into the shop. After seeing a couple of the guys at the shop put them in on their hardtails and ride down some of the gnarliest rock gardens I have seen, with only 17psi, and having no issues I have got to say I am very interested now. The way I see it, if you can take a bit of a weight penalty but gain a ton of performance and protection for your rims that may have cost $2000, why wouldn't you?

-Brian at Fanatik

[germi]

So this simple piece of foam costs more than a set of high performance tires? Nuts. Say it costs $30 for a set of two I would consider it ok, but for $150, never.

[BryantKHill]

I have a set and I haven't made up my mind on them so far. They do help with grip and I like having rim protection. My caveats are that the stems are a little too short for my NOX Farlow rims and I fear that it doesn't seem like it will be fun if I get a flat on the trail and need to install a tube.

Great review as always! Keep up the great work!!!

[stevenmullins]

I'm destroyed from installing a pair of CushCore inserts into some i9 Enduro rims with Bontrager XR4s yesterday. Literally the hardest install of anything on a bike in decades of wrenching.

BUT, on two pretty techy rides so far, holy crap they ride well. The cornering and drops feel distinctly different. Really curious to see how much these improvements outweigh the weight penalty. I have a couple enduro races in the next month so I'm hoping these will really help with squirm in the cornering and control coming off of jumps and drops.

[ryanforsyth]

These things are awesome, they're way better than all the other inserts on the market. The actually put pressure on the entire bead and the foam is sealed so they absorb way less sealent. I know there expensive but there is a lot of r&d in these and they transform the ride.

[johnderby]

I remember when people were skeptical of Stans, and I won a bunch of races on Stan's because i ride bad lines and got a lot of pinch flats before switching. Then legit tubeless tires--everyone was skeptical. Disk brakes. Carbon fiber. Droppers. If this product keeps rising in popularity, a big company will buy them out and make the product way better, lighter, and cheaper. Just the way the industry is.

[zyoungson]

Just use swimming pool noodles, slice em down the middle, join with zip ties, makes a huge difference to grip and handling and only $4. Thanks for the idea cush core !

[derekmckee]

$150 to protect my rims from the super rocky terrain, you bet i'll order a pair.

[johnchiangi]

SMH, people crying over $150 when many of us are riding $7+k bikes, with wheel sets over $1+k. Bought them, installed them and love them, have recommended to everyone I know.

[mikethomson]

As someone who's broken 2 rims this season and 1 last season I'll be ordering a set dispite the steep price, this looks like the best thought out of the options available but half the price would be reasonable.
I'll comment more after testing

[MTNcorps]

I just got these. They are outstanding

[GoodGuyBiker]

just installing my cushcore on my emtb right now. When you coming to slam my new secret single track in stanley park i've been working on ?

[iiTsHawk]

can you use muc-off sealant with cushcore?

[Gkuljian]

150 bucks for 99 cents of foam. This industry is fantastic, and yet has begun to rip us off. This really is a stupid price.

[slugzkea]

To be honest, I like the concept...The price would be worth it if the material was lighter. You're adding half a pound of weight to each wheel, a total of 1lbs to your bike. It almost defeats the purpose of being tubeless. For the really narly DH guys I can understand this being an advantage..but for a mtber who also climbs, I think this is a no-go.

[miafuller]

Throw in some extra cush and I'll pay the $150

[iguanabartola]

Great review. Have you experienced any flats as yet? Thinking on the process to actually remove these on the trail and having to install a tube!

[davenicholson]

Can they be used in more than one tire? Sealant becomes like glue after a while, will they get stuck to the tire? So when the tire wears out can it be taken out and used in another tire or do u have to buy a new core for every new tire? Cheers 🤙

[chrisp]

Does the cushcore absorb any sealant? Adding more weight once saturated? I'm interested but do some longer rides with my stumpy