Cush Core Single 29"- 1 Insert And No Valve

CushCore is an engineered foam insert that mounts inside a mountain bike tire.  It divides the inner volume of the tire in half, with air underneath the tread and the CushCore insert next to the rim.

The purpose of Cushcore is to improve the ride quality of your bike.  It is not just for flat protection.  CushCore absorbs shock, stops deflection off obstacles, reduces vibration, and stabilizes the tire against roll and squirm.  Think of it as suspension for your tires designed to give you a faster, smoother ride.

This system is designed to be used with tubeless-ready or tubeless converted mountain bike rims and tires.  CushCore is compatible with tubeless tire sealants.

HOW IT WORKS

• Tires are an essential part of a mountain bike's suspension system.  Tires can absorb some types of bumps much more efficiently than even the best suspension fork or shock.
• Any suspension system has two basic components: a spring and a damper.  The spring supports the load, and the damper dissipates energy.  Ideally, our tires would act more like a suspension system, helping dissipate unwanted energy to keep the wheels on the ground and under control.
• CushCore delivers that technology to tires for the first time.  It is an engineered foaminsert that mounts inside a mountain bike tire and divides the inner volume of the tire in half, with air underneath the tread patch and the CushCore insert next to the rim.  They work together as a spring and damper – in other words, an Inner-Tire Suspension System. 
• Domestic and international patents are pending.

WHY TIRES DEFLECT OFF OBSTACLES

• A bicycle tire is basically a rubber ball filled with pressurized air — very much like a basketball.  Both are highly elastic, meaning they recover their shape quickly after an impact and return a large portion of the energy received.  When we look at that in terms of rebounding off rocks and roots, it's no wonder we sometimes feel like we are bouncing all over the trail!
• As a suspension component, tires have one major weakness: they have no damping.  Tires tend to bounce and deflect off obstacles because they are a powerful spring with no damping to control compression and rebound forces.

TIRE DAMPING

• CushCore tunes tire casing flex behavior for the optimal ride characteristics.  CushCore is constantly pressing against the tire sidewalls, managing the natural elastic deformation of the tire when it encounters a bump.  CushCore material is engineered for a controlled rebound response, helping dissipate impact force instead of bouncing or deflecting the rider off-line.
• CushCore retains the supple and resilient feel of a normal tubeless tire when the casing deformation is small, as in normal rolling and conforming to the terrain.  This provides good traction and small-bump sensitivity with the lowest possible rolling resistance.  CushCore's damping effect increases in proportion to the amount of tire deformation, so impacts that generate more spring force within the tire automatically receive more damping force.

WHY TIRE SUSPENSION?

• A suspension system is made up of tires, air pressure in the tires, springs, and dampers.  This page explains the difference between springs and dampers (chassis suspension) and tires and air pressure (tire suspension).

CHASSIS SUSPENSION

• When we think of mountain bike suspension, we normally think of suspension forks and rear shocks.  This kind of suspension is designed to isolate wheel movements from the frame and rider — the wheels move up and down with the bumps and the chassis stays smooth and level.  The chassis is suspended, the wheels are not.
• One limitation of chassis suspension is the weight of the wheels, brakes, fork lowers — anything that is not supported by the suspension — has to accelerate and change directions extremely rapidly for the suspension to perform well.  
• In suspension tuning, these components are known as "unsprung weight."  Unsprung weight is bad because it delays the suspension response time.  In short, the more unsprung weight, the worse the suspension.

 TIRE SUSPENSION

• Tire suspension has virtually zero unsprung weight.  Only a tiny section of the tire deforms in response to a bump, and the mass of that portion of the tire is negligible. Because it weighs so little, it can accelerate and change directions extremely rapidly.
• On the trail, this means that tires are much more efficient than a suspension fork at absorbing fast, sharp, high frequency bumps.  The obstacles where chassis suspension components struggle are the same obstacles where tire suspension shines.

CUSHCORE TIRE SUSPENSION + CHASSIS SUSPENSION

• The ideal suspension system is CushCore Inner-Tire Suspension paired with effective chassis suspension.  With enhanced tire suspension, less compromise is required of the chassis suspension.  The fork and shock may be tuned for improved stability and optimal performance on the obstacles where they naturally work best — low frequency, high force impacts.  CushCore will deal with everything else.

FOAM TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW

• The perfect foam.
• In foam manufacturing, it is challenging to combine low weight with high durability.
• Most impact absorbing, low-density foams are sacrificial, meaning they are destroyed in a single impact.  That's how EPS helmet foam works, and that's why helmet manufacturers recommend you buy a new helmet after a single crash.
• CushCore is made from a cutting edge material that does things no other foam can do. It has both low density AND superb impact resilience.  The material is also waterproof, compatible with tubeless tire sealant, and tuned for appropriate rebound feel. Its ability to withstand repeated impacts without damage is more typical of foams that weigh twice as much.
• Each CushCore insert is born in an aluminum mold, a manufacturing process which allows us to create the unique, patent-pending shape.   The shape helps secure the tire to the rim, and extends well beyond the rim flange to protect against impacts from all angles.  CushCore's special shape also creates the lateral force against the tire sidewalls that gives CushCore the cornering stability and calm ride feel it's known for.
• A look at the competition illustrates differences between the materials.  Flat Tire Defender is 50 grams heavier than CushCore, yet it fills a much smaller volume within the tire.  Huck Norris is made from an open cell foam, which absorbs tire sealant and has only a fraction of the energy absorption capacity of CushCore.
• Manufacturing with this material is challenging and expensive compared to other methods, but there is no contest in product function and quality.  The benefits to performance and durability are well worth the investment.
• CushCore inserts are manufactured in Canada to tightly controlled quality standards.

CushCore works by managing tire casing deformation.  This reduces the shock and vibration transmitted to the rider, eliminates rim strikes, and makes big, sharp hits disappear.

Compared to standard tubeless tires, CushCore provides up to:

• 50% reduction in vertical impact force
• 77% reduction in lateral vibrations
• 58% reduction in longitudinal vibrations

SUPERIOR CORNERING PERFORMANCE

• CushCore adds lateral stability by exerting a constant outward pressure against the tire sidewalls.  This eliminates excessive tire roll in corners, even at tire pressures as low as 10 psi. 
• CushCore allows riders to tune tire pressure without the traditional trade-off between grip and stability.  There is no longer the need to use heavy, stiff tires to gain the casing stability required for aggressive riding. 

THREE WAYS CUSHCORE REDUCES ROLLING RESISTANCE:

1. CushCore suspension benefits help preserve forward momentum through rough terrain
2. CushCore allows riders to run tires with fast-rolling, supple casings without compromising lateral stability or impact protection
3. Tires fitted with CushCore can be run at lower pressures for floatation on sand and other soft soils

FLAT PREVENTION AND RIM PROTECTION

• CushCore prevents the tire from bottoming out against the rim in the event of a violent impact.  This greatly reduces the risk of wheel damage and helps prevent pinch flats, tire "burping," and gashes in the tire casing.

RUN-FLAT CAPABILITY

Even with the best protection against flat tires, ultimately a flat is still possible.  If a flat does strike, CushCore's superior tire stability, rim protection, and bead locking design enables you to continue charging to the finish line.  The bottom line is that CushCore's run-flat capability saves races.

Example One: Graves at Madeira

• Following the 2017 Enduro World Series event in Madeira, Spain, CushCore rider Jared Graves reported:
•  "Just some quick feedback to lets yous know (and give thanks) that CushCore definitely saved my race here in Madeira. CRAZY rocks on stage 3, managed to flat, but with the stability in the tire could limit the time loss and still manage a 20th place for the stage despite riding almost 5 minutes with the flat. There was no way I could have pushed anywhere near as hard as I still could with it, not to mention I would have for sure broken my wheel and that would have meant race over."

Fairclough managed a 19th place finish despite sustaining a rear flat midway through the course.

Example Two: Faiclough at Lourdes

• At the 2017 UCI Downhill World Cup in Lourdes, France, Scott-Velosolutions team racer Brendan Faiclough sustained a flat tire partway down the course during finals.  With CushCore installed, Fairclough was able to continue charging down the course at nearly full speed, earning him a solid 19th place finish.

CUSHCORE ALLOWS RIDERS TO RUN LIGHTER TIRES AND RIMS

• Since CushCore does not depend entirely on tire casing stiffness and air pressure to control casing flex, the tire and rim do not need to be stiffened, strengthened, or widened to control lateral stability and impact protection.
• This makes it possible to use lighter tires without experiencing the tire squirm and split casings we normally associate with more delicate tires.  In addition, CushCore's added lateral support reduces the need for oversized rims to control tire roll.  Finally, the impact protection provided by CushCore reduces the need for heavy duty rims to resist damage.

THE "TIRE PERFORMANCE COMPROMISE"

• CushCore completely eliminates the traditional tire performance compromise. It gives riders all the benefits of lightweight tires and heavy duty tires at the same time. CushCore delivers more traction, greater stability, lower rolling resistance, and superior shock absorption - all with a single tire setup.
• Even with state-of-the-art mountain bike tires, riders are forced to choose between the benefits of lightweight tires designed to roll fast, and heavy duty tires designed for aggressive riding.  Riders also have to choose between the benefits of low pressure (traction) and high pressure (stability).  Most mountain bikers are familiar with these trade-offs.
• Two recent design trends have attempted to reduce the performance trade-off problem:
• Wider rims improve lateral stability by widening the bead seat.  This approach helps, but ultimately stability still depends on tire casing stiffness and air pressure.
• Heavy duty tire construction increases lateral stability by increasing tire casing stiffness.  Unfortunately, the additional material often doubles the weight of the tire, reduces bump compliance, and increases rolling resistance.

.

CUSH CORE

CushCore is an engineered foam insert that mounts inside a mountain bike tire. It divides the inner volume of the tire in half, with air underneath the tread and the CushCore insert next to the rim. The purpose of Cushcore is to improve the ride quality of your bike. It is not just for flat protection. CushCore absorbs shock, stops deflection off obstacles, reduces vibration, and stabilizes the tire against roll and squirm. Think of it as suspension for your tires designed to give you a faster, smoother ride. This system is designed to be used with tubeless-ready or tubeless converted mountain bike rims and tires. CushCore is compatible with tubeless tire sealants. CushCore is sold as a set, and is designed for use in both front and rear wheels. Specially designed tubeless air valves are included with each set. The air valve allows air to move through the valve without becoming obstructed by the insert.