Posted by: RAHrider
Posted by: Sethimus
Posted by: RAHrider
I wasn't too keen on inserts until a friend of mine tried cushcore and told me that he liked them so much that if he had to give up something on his bike, the dropper would go before his inserts. I put off buying the $250 experiment for a month or two but after reading more, took the plunge.
These stupid inserts are going to cost me a fortune by the time I upgrade all my bikes! They are so good I think I like The ride of my hardtail that has them better than my full sus without.
So this thread is for people to sing the praises of cushcore and bemoan the cost. I have to say cushcore made my bike ride the way I've been trying to tune my suspension to feel for a decade!
do i need these on my gravel bike?
Probably for the gravel bike?
In regards to the weight, before cc I kept getting Heavier and heavier tires for the sidewall support, not the traction. I think I am going to try lighter tires with the cushcore as I suspect this will still ride well. When you are running 2.5 Dd minions, it's pretty easy to find a 250 g lighter tire with equivalent traction. The lighter sidewalls will have far less rolling resistance and the bike will be the same weight with less rolling resistance. That's the theory at least....
Not sure why your friend tore out the cushcore on the trail. It's rare you can't plug a hole on the trail and it not, just ride the flat home. That's what cc is for.
For the record, I've been running EXO sidewalls with CC's for the better part of a year now with zero issues (and zero flats - knocks on wood). There is no way I could get away with EXO sidewalls without the CC's. For the most part, the CC hype is real. They do everything they claim to do. I sometimes have a hard time reconciling the weight penalty, but I would pretty much be running DH casings otherwise, so it's probably pretty close weight either way(?)
Also, after doing the install/removal a couple times, it's not that hard - so long as you have a really good set of tire levers and a trash can to support the wheel (as per the CC video). I carry a good assortment of tire plugs on my rides, in case of a flat, as I don't think I have the mental or physical strength to attempt a trailside removal of these things!