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So, I have bontrager carbon wheels that came on my Remedy. These are the old line pro model that don’t have the best longevity reputation. I ride light and in the Surrey hills so this isn’t usually a problem, although I still broke one on a root a few months ago.
I’m going to torridon in a few weeks with an organised group long weekend and I really don’t wanna have my holiday ruined by rocks/ water bars destroying my rims.
So what rim strip? Cushcore and get extra benefits but fight to get on or huck Norris for cheap and simple protection?
Rimpact are a good halfway house. Or the new Tannus Armour Tubeless inserts but I don’t think they’re available in the UK yet.
I use ratbites. Low cost but great gear
Rimpact fan here (have them in all my bikes), made in UK and the customer service is awesome.
Yep - Rimpact here too. Been great, taken a lot of hammering, have them in my DH bike and my trail bike. Great service too.
Rimpact - have ridden some pretty chunky peak and dartmoor descents, have definitely hit a rim more than once but no issues, no punctures - I'm on E13 carbon rims.
I also like Rimpact but would splash out on the new pro version (for the rear at least) in the hope it would be more durable
Tried rimpact, after 3 dents in the back rim, and having to cut short a day at BPW with tyre issues, i cut my losses on them and stumped up for vittoria airliners, which i had been very impressed with on my hardtail.
More recently on a new bike, i went a size up on the recomended size for the airliners, and drilled some extra holes to help with sealant flow. So far, so good.
Vittoria Airliner far better than the Nukeproof ARD in my opinion. Really does work on rougher terrain and lasts well
living and riding in the lakes and having damaged/wrecked a few rims i bought a vittoria airliner at ard rock(so must be just over 2 years old), had no issues at all since and its still not showing that much sign of damage.
Another Rimpact fan here. Running the standard one in the rear but tempted to upgrade to the pro version when its time to replace it.
Ratbite, absolutely great value
even put them back in because i prefer the feel of the bike with them in
finished a trail at Windhill on a flat front tyre that i didnt even know about until someone pointed it out to me
Do people find much difference in rolling resistance? I don't have the legs for much more drag but I like the idea.
lighter wheels with inserts > Heavier wheels to me
running low pressures but climbing the same as running sensible pressures
but descents are like having super soft pressures that don't bottom out and dont smash you about so much on the rutty rooty bits
Why would an insert increase rolling resistance?
I suppose if you're running lower pressures, but otherwise no difference.
I run 22psi on a 29x2.35 rear and 18psi on a 29x2.6 front and tbh I could probably go lower.
I don't see that it would increase rolling resistance specifically but surely the extra weight will have still have some impact on acceleration/deceleration of the wheels, especially as they are placed at the worst possible bit to impact that (the outer edge). I guess the question is whether the other benefits outweigh this?
Have you thought about getting a burlier wheelset? Torridon is pretty flippin' rocky.
yer i was trying to say, obviously the extra weight is a thing..i personally, have gut feel that rolling resistance is reduced
im a big convert thinking that the slightly extra weight and going down to lighter wheels, and lower pressures is much nicer in everyway than a tougher wheel, tyre, and pressure combo, and the icing on the cake, if you have a sudden loss of pressure, you dont die.. and your wheel stays useable, in fact you can probably ride home, but that will be draggy
I suspect that rolling resistance may be improved because they make the tyre’s air spring more progressive.
Oh, and Rimpact are really good... until you smash your wheel up anyway because you hit a square edge just a bit too hard.
As above, there are lots of rocks in Torridon, do you feel lucky, punk?:
Rimpact inserts are dead light, 95g per wheel for the original which you might notice - but the benefits far outweigh the slight weight increase for me.
ta11pau1
Subscriber
Why would an insert increase rolling resistance?
Big part of the reduced rolling resistance from tubeless is the tyre no longer rubbing against the tube, introducing an insert might mean some of that type of resistance is reintroduced.
Most insert manufacturers claim reduced resistance though.... not much science behind it.
Have you thought about getting a burlier wheelset? Torridon is pretty flippin’ rocky.
😁 this is what I suspected. Just spoke to Trek who have confirmed the whole thing has to managed by a dealer and closest are fort William and Inverness. No posting wheels out to me if I break them.
I think I’m gonna go airliners and cross fingers, they have a lot of depth to them.
As far as rolling resistance goes, I’m currently finding that the inserts increase rolling resistance. FWIW, these are Rimpact inserts, Bontrager Line Alu 29 wheels with 2.6 SE5 tyres, and they’re on my Trek ebike. I started off with 21psi rear/18.5 front, and worked down to about 18 psi rear and 16 front.
Only had one 25 mile Peak District ride on them so far, so I’m still experimenting with pressures, but on tarmac and smooth climbs, they are noticeably draggier at same pressures without inserts. 16psi front felt too soft for aggressive cornering on purpose built bermed flow trails, but good on rough rocky natural straight line type descents. I definitely noticed the bike slowing down when freewheeling on flatter sections of trail though.
A pal runs the Bonty carbon rims and he’s a regular Dark Peak rider who enjoys rough descents, and he is pretty hard on his wheels and rims. He seems to be getting on well with just a decent insert in the rear tyre.
I guess the additional rolling resistance might be the trade off for additional grip and rim protection(?)