DIY tubeless core

[Kevnevo]

Any body using one of the foam supports for tubeless set up? Are.They any good? Why can't I save a shed load of cash and just bung some pipe insulation in there?

 

[Russell]

Try it

 

[smokey_jo]

Pipe insulation is open cell foam and will absorb all of your sealant. Some people have had reasonable results with Backer Rod which is closed cell but it can disintegrate over time

 

[SwissDH]

Kevnevo, depends on what you want to achieve. If you want to achieve:
1) Better suspension performance from improved damping of the rebound characteristics of the tyre, then adding pipe insulation is very unlikely to achieve that.
2) Better tyre sidewall and contact patch control while running lower pressures, then adding pipe insulation is very unlikely to achieve that.
3) Better rim impact protection while running lower tyre pressures then adding pipe insulation may possibly help initially in some circumstances, depending on how well it is retained within the rim itself, and the structural integrity of the pipe insulation following a high impact with the rim itself. However I am doubtful that pipe insulation will work there either. Imagine repeatedly hitting the foam with a hammer in exactly the same spot (as would occur on a bike wheel in a rocky descent for example), and most non-specialist materials will just collapse, and provide no benefit, but add weight to the rotating mass (generally a bad idea).

On top of that, as SJ has mentioned, if the pipe insulation is not a closed cell structure, all you have done is pout a sponge in your sealant's environment. A very bad idea indeed!

It is a bizarre myth that all foams are the same, and all foam inserts are the same. They are not, and some have been very well engineered for their purpose. Spend thousands on a bike but save a few quid on something that affects the performance of the tyre seems nuts to me. I think it would be better to spend more on optimising suspension and tyre performance, than on pretty much anything else!

I posted a thread on here a few days ago, that had a link to a podcast on this in the very same section as you have posted this thread just last week called "Not all tyre inserts are created equal" Well worth a listen.