CushCore Inner Tyre Suspension System Parts

When CushCore debuted a handful of years ago it took the gravity side of MTBing by storm and for good reason. There are no false promises, just a solid product backed up by heaps of testing and data- lots and lots of data. As the years have passed the race results have started to add up and so has the number of riders using it.

Who’s this item for: Trail, Enduro, All Mountain, E-Biker, DH racers and riders alike. Or anyone who wants to make a marked improvement to their bike’s performance.

What widths do they come in: We stock Cushcore in 2 widths, with options to buy them individually or as a pair. Consider both the width of your tyres and the inner width of your rims before making your selection.

Pro:

• Tyre Width: 2.1-2.6″
• Inner Rim Width: 22mm-35mm

Plus:

• Tyre Width: 2.6-3.0″
• Inner Rim Width: 32mm-45mm

Tubes / Tubeless: CushCore is not intended to be used with tubes.

Materials: It’s made from a specifically designed and formulated closed-cell foam.

Theory: Ideally a tyre would act more like a suspension system with both a spring and a damper. The spring would support the load while the damper would dissipate the energy. CushCore’s ‘Inner Tyre Suspension System’ delivers this technology to tyres for the first time. The engineered foam insert mounts inside a mountain bike tyre and divides the inner volume of the tyre in half. The air underneath the tread patch and the CushCore insert next to the rim. Together they work as a spring and damper. The air is the spring, the insert is the damper.

Durability: Cushcore inserts are extremely durable. One of the early tests to determine how well the foam would ‘rebound’ back into shape was to repeatedly strike it with a hammer on a concrete floor. Agricultural yes, but it served the task. The foam is engineered to repeatedly withstand poundings without degradation. A set typically lasts a few years, although the service life depends on riding frequency, terrain, tyre pressure, and other factors.

Fitment difficulty 1 – 10 (10 being the most difficult): This is the most commonly asked question about tyre inserts. How many gorillas am I going to have to befriend to get these things installed? If you have never installed CushCore and prefer to work things out yourself rather than read instructions- all of the gorillas. If you don’t mind taking 5 minutes to read the instructions or watch the installation video it’s not too bad. You will run into difficulties if you don’t use CushCore’s installation method. Fitment difficulty = 7/10 Oh, a garbage bin will be a huge help too.

Stand out Features: This is currently the only tyre insert on the market that offers rim protection as well as a tyre suspension system.

Plush

• Motion Instruments, a data acquisition testing specialist, mounted accelerometers (“G-force” sensors) to two test bikes and ran a course with CushCore and without CushCore. The accelerometer is mounted to the head tube, which can accurately measure bump forces as they are experienced by the rider.

Test results

• Riders with CushCore experienced 11-12% less G-force from bump impacts.

Superior cornering

• In addition to Motion Instruments’ testing, CushCore conducted tests to evaluate cornering performance using an MTS Roehrig EMA-2K suspension dyno.
• Lateral Stiffness Test: The tyre sidewalls are compressed equally from both sides. This measures sidewall stiffness.
• Tyre Roll Test: The rim is fixed in position while the actuator presses against one side of the tyre and deflects it horizontally. This mimics the forces exerted on the tyre in aggressive cornering.

Test results CushCore adds lateral stability by exerting a constant outward pressure against the tyre sidewalls.

Suspension

• Motion Instruments used sensors to measure suspension travel usage with and without CushCore.

Test results

• CushCore absorbed some of the bump forces before they affected the rest of the bike. This effectively means you don’t feel the bumps or the bumps feel less abrupt/harsh.

Faster rolling

• Wheel Energy, an independent tyre and wheel testing contractor based in Finland performed rolling resistance tests for CushCore. They apply a fixed load to simulate the rider’s weight and roll the wheel on a drum. The test compares a Schwalbe Nobby Nic 2.35 tubeless tyre with and without CushCore at 25 psi.

Test results

• Standard tubeless tyre: 37.1 watts
• CushCore equipped tyre: 35.9 watts
• Energy savings: 1.2 watts (3.2%)

What’s in the box:

Single:

• 1 x CushCore insert
• 1 x CushCore tubeless valve

Pair:

• 2 x CushCore inserts
• 2 x CushCore tubeless valves

How Much Does each Insert Weigh?

• 27.5″: 250g
• 29″: 260g

Pros: All in all CushCore makes your ride more comfortable, stable and enjoyable. This is easily the cheapest, performance-driven upgrade you can do to your bike. Just think about feeling 10-12% less impact from your front wheel. How nice would that be!

Cons: Installing CushCore does add some weight to your ride. It might also make you say some naughty words until you get the hang of the installation procedure.