Downhill and freeride pro Reece Wallace explains the features of the new tubeless insertPRESS RELEASE: Tannus TiresTannus has developed a tubeless insert to add to our Armour insert line, built for riders looking for the highest-performing tire and rim protection for their tubeless setups. Insights for the tubeless insert came from our original Armour insert, which uses tubes to give the insert its shape. The tubed version continues, with the tubeless insert giving a new option for more riders.
| This is the hardest project we’ve ever done. The market for tubeless inserts has serious competition, so we had to design something that we believe is truly a better solution than those currently available.— Youngki Lee, Head Engineer of Tannus Tires. |
Armour’s winged shape is designed to provide a smooth but active ride feel that’s not overly damped
InstallationArmour Tubeless’ shape blends both an in-rim and free floating design, hooking into the rim bed while arching up and into the main chamber of the tire. Since the insert doesn’t need to sit flush against the rim, Armour is easy to install, with a five-minute average install time.
Ride FeelTannus athletes said one thing they didn’t like about other inserts was the “dead” feeling that thick shapes create, so our new Armour design acts more like a spring than a punching bag. It absorbs hits, but doesn’t eliminate trail feel. The tubeless Armour’s wings also give sidewall support for optimal cornering feel, while not overly stiffening sidewalls and impeding traction.
Material and WeightArmour uses a new version of our proprietary Aither 1.1 foam technology and weighs 150 grams, lighter than many other premium tire inserts.Our development team took over two years to create a tough, impact absorbing and active substrate that can be molded into the desired shape while being light enough for downhill, all-mountain and trail riders alike.
SpeedTesting found that the tubeless Armour decreased rolling resistance and improved small bump compliance, making Armour three percent faster in the lab than a traditional tubeless system.
Specs:
• 150 grams (equivalent to a tube)
• 5-minute installation
• $50 per insert
• Two sizes available: 27.5” x 2.1 - 2.6” & 29” x 2.1 - 2.6”
• 3% faster than tubeless in rolling resistance testing
• Winged structure for sidewall support and active ride feel
• Aither 1.1 proprietary foam technology
• Tannus Armour is available at
www.tannusamerica.com.
I'm sure not everyone cares, but many do and this information is currently nonexistent.
If Tannus can support the claim of improved rolling resistance, that would be impressive and opens up a whole new marketing angle for inserts.
Thank you for considering rolling resistance and I look forward to additional information.
For trail/xc riding that isn't all about speed, you generally don't really need inserts, just run the tires at higher psi. Most of the 2.4-2.6 trail based tires at 30 psi are still plenty compliant. Hell, even tubeless is not really needed for most people out there that don't ride rocky stuff with high puncture resistance.
I'm interested to see how Tannus presents their data and whether others will perform similar experiments. It would be an exciting development in bike design if we could simultaneously improve rolling resistance, pinch flat resistance, energy management, and tire stability.
Those are good numbers from a mid-weight insert. Some thoughts:
General
• Tire width could be wider. 2.3" is rather small; most people - especially those who like new technology - are using about 2.5".
• Pressure range could be tighter.
Rolling Resistance
• What was the roughness of the test drum for the rolling resistance test?
• It's difficult to understand how rolling resistance can be less with Armour Tubeless and CushCore than no insert. Impressive result if this stands up to further investigation.
Vibration
• Inconsistent, non-linear responses warrant further investigation.
• How significant or problematic to riders are the observed vibrations and amplitudes?
Rim Off
• Seems like a reasonable test. Does it correspond strongly to observations during ride testing?
Shock Absorbtion
• A large difference is observed between the Tannus and CushCore vs. others. If this is due to the impactor “bottoming out” the other inserts and hitting the rim, it would be nice to compare the pressures at which this force spike begins to occur.
• It may be more analogous to real-world riding to increase the pressure of the other inserts until similar shock absorption values are observed and report the pressures required to achieve this.
Thanks again for the data. It appears you may have a superior product and it would be as useful to you as it would be interesting to me to further validate it via test data.
@downhillbrill: If the data are accurate, which I currently have no reason to dispute, the next two questions could be:
1. What makes it so? It seems reasonable that an insert chafing against the tire would cause friction and waste energy, but maybe other factors, such as those you suggest, dominate. It's certainly unexpected.
2. Does this effect hold true in real-world riding? Rolling resistance is difficult to accurately measure outside of a lab and we appear to be dealing with only a few percentage points.
Hopefully that makes sense, and isn't just me rambling.
-Lighter than CC
-Cheaper than CC
-Easier to install Than CC
What’s not to like?
I didn't want to even think of putting a Cushcore in for one day trips to the bike park.
@Tannus I just bought in. I hope you don't disappoint.
Crank bros synthesis with maxxis assegai / dhr 2
I’ve watched the installation video, I stretched the Armour out a bit before putting it in, used to be a mechanic too. This shit is not easy folks!
Too bad they are not available in Europe (???)
Looks really good at an acceptable weight penalty.
Wil this be made available in Europe ?
I sure hope so..
Can’t we come up with something new, like sham butter that applies itself.
Try it before you knock it.
Other than being difficult to install (Tannus addressed this) CushyCore allows a rider to push the limits. Seriously good upgrade to save crushed rims.