PRESS RELEASE
Tannus Launches New Tire Inserts For MTB
Most known for their airless tire technology, Tannus has officially thrown their hat into the tire insert ring. Unlike most other inserts, Tannus Armour utilizes an inner tube as part of the system, with Tannus claiming that it will offer 360º protection, and better feel. Catch all the details after the break.
Tannus, developer of airless tire technologies, has officially launched a tire insert for mountain and gravel riding, called Tannus Armour.
Tannus America CEO Dave Ballard said, “We are here to challenge the perception of what is possible in terms of protection, traction and vibration damping in mountain tires. These inserts, together with a traditional tube, make riding feel different -- even better -- than any tire setup out there.”
Armour uses Aither 1.1 technology, a proprietary material derived from Tannus’s airless road tires, in conjunction with a traditional tube. Though using tubes may sound like a step backwards, tubes allow the Aither foam to sit directly under the tire casing, something virtually no other insert offers. It’s what gives Armour its nearly 360 degrees of flat protection and its unique planted and confident feel.
Pros and testers are finding that they can run lower pressures than they do with tubeless without their tires rolling in corners.
Armour is priced to be accessible at $40 per insert -- about half the price of many competitors. It is available at www.tannusarmour.com.
Comments
Todd Hellinga
4 years, 9 months ago
yeah, na....I'll just keep running DH casings and not dealing with all this extra complexity
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Cr4w
4 years, 9 months ago
At some point can't we just add extra rim protection to the tire?
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cyclotoine
4 years, 9 months ago
yeah, like incorporating closed cell foam into the sidewall to create damping and protect the rim? Great idea, I wonder how many tire companies are already working on it?
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Perry Schebel
4 years, 9 months ago
this. (though i'm not a heavy smasher, & perfectly happy with just super gravity / double down thickness sidewalls & air, so).
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IslandLife
4 years, 9 months ago
Yep. Heavier duty casing and no inserts > light duty casing with inserts.
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Cr4w
4 years, 9 months ago
Me too. I tried adding a Huck Norris to EXO tires and didn't get much out of it. Then I committed to the DD casing and it's been smooth sailing ever since. Good support, even at slightly lower pressures (which is a big deal for 220lb me), and no rim strikes or sidewall tears. Though I suspect DD is still a bit overkill. I'm hoping EXO+ will provide the sweet spot at lower weight.
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IslandLife
4 years, 9 months ago
Yep... but Maxxis needs to get their heads out of their asses when it comes to casings. They have the lighter EXO casing, which is fine for some, it is what it is. Then they have double down (DD), and DH. But instead of making DD an nice halfway between EXO and DH, they made it pretty much a DH casing. There's just not much difference between the DD and DH casings except for a tiny bit of weight. (huge 230 gram difference between EXO and DD and then only a 95 gram difference between DD and DH??)
Then EXO+ was launched. I've chatted with a few bike shops about it and though they don't have much time on it yet, they don't hold out much hope and are basically saying it's an EXO casing with a bit more puncture protection but doesn't have the support of a heavier casing... it only adds a tiny bit of weight (70 grams).
DD or EXO+ should be right at about 1170 grams.
Maxxis needs to rework either the DD or the EXO+ and make it a true middle ground between DH and EXO.
It's a big reason I switched to Schwalbe. Now using their Super Gravity casings which are a true middle ground between their light (snakeskin) casing and their DH casing. Great support and sidewall robustness at a lighter weight than Maxxis DD.
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slyfink
4 years, 9 months ago
650b 2.3 Aggressor DD = 1050g
650b 2.35 Hans Dampf SG = 1065g
Not sure where you're seeing such a large weight discrepancy? My experience with Schwalbe was with knobs ripping off. That was a long time ago, but I've also not really found a compelling tread pattern from them either. Magic Mary is grippy as heck, but I wasn't happy with rolling resistance.
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Doug Hamilton
4 years, 8 months ago
Try some Vittorias. The Martello in particular. The G+ tread compound and extremely durable casing are rather impressive.
Shoreboy
4 years, 9 months ago
I guess you could do that, but tires wear out and already cost north of $100ea. Adding extra features is just going to drive up that cost. At least inserts are re-usable.
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IslandLife
4 years, 9 months ago
This is what most people don't realize... inserts wear out, get cut up, break down and are generally not re-usable. Depending on how often and how hard you ride... something more expensive like Cushcore will last a couple years. Cheaper versions, like a huck norris, maybe a year.
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Shoreboy
4 years, 9 months ago
I dont have experience using either of them, but I do understand they wear out pretty quickly as well. I was thinking (hoping) they would last longer than a set of tires? Maybe not. If they dont, they make even less sense than I thought they did before.
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cyclotoine
4 years, 9 months ago
Exactly, that's why I'd happily pay $20 more a tire for some kind of damping technology in the sidewall. All this talk of DD and DH casings... yes added support is a feature of tire inserts and yes rim and flat protection is a feature of tire inserts, but to me, the point of tire inserts is first and foremost damping. Though I am sure heavier casings are somewhat damper by virtue of it taking more energy to deform them and the added stiffness mean they return to shape more slowly.
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Jerry Willows
4 years, 9 months ago
The main issue I had with Cushcore was taking the tire on and off. If you can't plug a hole on a trail, you are out of luck as well. Better off running thicker casing tires imo....
the NukeProof ARD does look interesting as something additional.
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cyclotoine
4 years, 9 months ago
Skeptical. With all that foam right under the outer tread, one would expect a negative effect on traction and the supple feel of a tubeless tire, which is the reason other inserts are based around the rim and exert tension on the sidewall. However, at that price, it's worth a try.
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Cam McRae
4 years, 9 months ago
Coleman and Sterling from Tannus paid me a visit the other day and we installed a set - so I'll be able to let you know.
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Shoreboy
4 years, 9 months ago
Weight? Sealant required?
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cyclotoine
4 years, 9 months ago
Looking forward to it. I presume they do not provide a tube with it? I.e. it's not included in the weight? That would make this a pretty heavy set-up when you add a tube to the mix. They are saying 320g for the 29" armor, add 120 grams for a super light tube and you are at 440g (~$30 or more per tire). Cushcore is 260g plus valve stem and sealant, so this represents a significant weight increase over Cushcore and with the cost of the tubes... I think I just talked myself out of it.
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Brigham_Rupp
4 years, 9 months ago
Me too. Looks good from a flat protection standpoint, but also looks extra heavy and I question a positive effect on ride quality. On their press release on Pinkbike, I told Tannus that I wasn’t interested in flat protection, only ride quality, and asked them to explain why I should do Tannus over Cush Core. They basically gave me a non answer. After listening to the Downtime podcast with the Cush Core inventor, I’ve ordered some Cush Core. That said, I’m open to this being awesome and fully support anyone trying to eliminate flat tires while improving ride quality.
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Dan
4 years, 9 months ago
I'll stay tuned for a long term review but color my skeptical. Relying on tubes sounds like a step backwards. Then add more mass? Meh....
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