Sweet article Andrew. The topic of tire inserts is always a fun one to discuss, and your review of the CushCore Trail setup certainly did it justice.
Stans rims generally play well with Schwalbe tires (which meets etrto sizing spec), so that is interesting to hear it caused you so much difficulty.
For insert installs, bead clips like the Bead Pro, or the clip end of [Schwalbe Tire Levers](https://www.schwalbetires.com/Tire-Levers-1847), have saved my ass more times then I can count. I like that it gives you the ability to move the mounted parts of the tire so that the mounted bead is fully in the rim channel, releasing any tension you may be working against.
Finishing at the valve when mounting the second bead also greatly helps.
Regarding the difficulties you had mounting the Betty Super Trail, i'd be curious to hear what tape was used (and what the layup procedure was). High quality and thin tape, like that from DT Swiss, is what I've found generally works best.
Hope your experience with the Betty has been solid otherwise!
July 31, 2023, 10:57 a.m. - schwalbai
Sweet article Andrew. The topic of tire inserts is always a fun one to discuss, and your review of the CushCore Trail setup certainly did it justice. Stans rims generally play well with Schwalbe tires (which meets etrto sizing spec), so that is interesting to hear it caused you so much difficulty. For insert installs, bead clips like the Bead Pro, or the clip end of [Schwalbe Tire Levers](https://www.schwalbetires.com/Tire-Levers-1847), have saved my ass more times then I can count. I like that it gives you the ability to move the mounted parts of the tire so that the mounted bead is fully in the rim channel, releasing any tension you may be working against. Finishing at the valve when mounting the second bead also greatly helps. Regarding the difficulties you had mounting the Betty Super Trail, i'd be curious to hear what tape was used (and what the layup procedure was). High quality and thin tape, like that from DT Swiss, is what I've found generally works best. Hope your experience with the Betty has been solid otherwise!