Hey AJ!
That's exactly my point! Everybody is talking about weight, and surely weight in general but rotational weight in particular are important. When it comes to tyres, it only tells half of the story though. Just as puncture free tyres on road bikes takes more effort to pedal, the same goes with heavier casings. When the tyre deforms energy is lost, and the heavier casing and rubber the more energy is lost (for more insight, I recommend the podcast cyclingtips ep 9 "where the rubber meets the road", form a road perspective but transferable nevertheless). On the other hand, the same thing that adds resistance also adds damping meaning that one need to strike a balance and this is where I think cushcore plays a very important role.
Furthermore, thicker casing might add damping and thus increase traction while descending but my experience is that when things go slower such as while climbing a more supple casing will better find traction due to easier being able to conform to the surface. But of course, I haven't done any back to back testing myself so it's hard to tell.
So basically, what I'd love to see is a back to back comparison between lighter casing + inserts vs thicker casings (with equal weights) on both technical climbing, descending and something in between. But yeah, maybe this is something not too relevant for most of you and the bottom line will always be that a sturdier casing is always worth it.
Nov. 3, 2020, 11:53 a.m. - Axel Ericson
Hey AJ! That's exactly my point! Everybody is talking about weight, and surely weight in general but rotational weight in particular are important. When it comes to tyres, it only tells half of the story though. Just as puncture free tyres on road bikes takes more effort to pedal, the same goes with heavier casings. When the tyre deforms energy is lost, and the heavier casing and rubber the more energy is lost (for more insight, I recommend the podcast cyclingtips ep 9 "where the rubber meets the road", form a road perspective but transferable nevertheless). On the other hand, the same thing that adds resistance also adds damping meaning that one need to strike a balance and this is where I think cushcore plays a very important role. Furthermore, thicker casing might add damping and thus increase traction while descending but my experience is that when things go slower such as while climbing a more supple casing will better find traction due to easier being able to conform to the surface. But of course, I haven't done any back to back testing myself so it's hard to tell. So basically, what I'd love to see is a back to back comparison between lighter casing + inserts vs thicker casings (with equal weights) on both technical climbing, descending and something in between. But yeah, maybe this is something not too relevant for most of you and the bottom line will always be that a sturdier casing is always worth it.