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Last year I purchased a 2022 Whyte 905 second hand, practically new following advice from a friend and I really am enjoying the ride on it. However I’m only just starting to put it through its paces following a non bike related injury. So far so good, but this is my one and only bike - I may purchase a full suspension bike next year but at present I’m going to stick with the 905. I’m starting to ride more aggressive stuff again now, steep, routy, jump lines and I’m planning on using it for a trip to BPW.
Iv been advised that getting some rimpact inserts would be a good idea but I’m wondering what’s the advantages/dis-advantages to having them - looking online for a pair seems to be around the £80-90 mark so not cheap in my eyes.
Are they a must buy now I’m starting to ride more aggressive again?
I've never used them myself and I actually don;t know anyone who does in person - my first "proper" mtb was a Trek Roscoe with 2.8s a few years back. I would probably consider it now though if I had a hardtail I was wanting to ride on quite rowdy trails but I am nearly 90Kegs and have dented rims before!
I run them on my Stanton (Cushcore). Best thing I've found is being able to still run relatively low pressures (20psi) on a 29x 2.4 tyre and not worry so much when hitting sharp edges like drainage ditches/rocks. Have ridden some pretty rough stuff with relatively little talent at times and it's happily plowed through whereas I've had dinged rims and pinch flats before.
I had a 905 before the Stanton and the plus tyres seemed to do a decent job on rough stuff, but still dinged the rim on a hard hit. Never dared to drop the pressures right down on rough rocky ground though.
If cost is a concern, I'd probably just put one in the rear as that's the rim that's going to take the brunt of the impacts. Think you can buy single Cushcores.
Negatives, well they're not light and my experiences was the plus wheelset on the 905 wasn't exactly sprightly to start with, so might make the bike feel a little sluggish on accelerations. Getting the tyres on/off is a total ballache too. On the flipside, and no experience of Plus tyres with inserts, they might support the soft sidewalls a bit more and stop them feeling quite so vague on berms etc.
I’ve never bothered with inserts and do all sorts of riding including plenty of rough stuff. I also had a 905 for a few years (great bike!) and didn’t find I was dinging the rim more than any other bike despite the plus tyres? Having said that I’m under 11 stone so not the heaviest.
As the other reply says if you are worried I’d just pop one in the back. Huge variety of inserts available as well from cheap to expensive!!
I've run inserts on lighter plus tyres (WTB light casing) and also insert-less with heavier duty tyres (WTB heavy casing and Maxxis Exo+).
Ridden on rooty and flinty singletrack + BPW and Afan, etc.
I ride quite aggressively, but I'm not too hard on my components/wheels.
I didn't get any pinch punctures on either setup, but I did get some sidewall cuts on the lighter tyres. Which, of course, the inserts can't do anything about.
Over all I preferred the heavier duty tyres without inserts - less hassle and less chance of killing tyres with sidewall damage.
Great guidance, so the tyres I’m running at the moment are Maxxis High roller 2 3C maxx terra EXO TR - are they classed as heavy duty.
Being honest I’m pretty heavy (at the moment 😂), at just under 17 stone but even at my goal weight 15 stone il never be light.
This is the first +tyre bike I have owned so just want to get it set up correctly for what I’m planning on doing, two friends have them on their bikes and they are trying to sell me the benefits, but I’m not sure at the moment.
im guessing with plus tyres if the pressures were firm then I’d have no issues with berms at speed?
Im a bit out of the game here folks but doesnt it depend how youre likely to ride? But i always thought they were for riding with fairly big hits? Surely it wont make too much difference to berms apart from if youre running really low pressures. After all youve got a 2.8 with 35mm rims there's a lot of cushions before the rim. If you're sending reasonable drops and at 17 stone might be worth it for piece of mind but if you're planning on staying mostly on the ground then surely it'll be fine? (But again, I'm a bit behind tbe curve so probably ignore me)
Being honest I’m pretty heavy (at the moment 😂), at just under 17 stone but even at my goal weight 15 stone il never be light.
I'm 14st at my heaviest (currently 13st 6lb) so it might be an insert on the rear would make sense for you.
Pressure wise I run 16psi front and 18psi rear with 2.8 tyres on 40mm rims. Not had any issues with tyres rolling on corners.
I did definitely feel the rim ping off a root the other day, but I'd misjudged a landing from a 6ft drop 😬 no damage done though.