XTR

I've ridden for a long time, raced MTBs a lot back in the 90s, and one problem I've always faced was tire pressure in a MTB. I'm 6'3"+ and even in my leanest when I was racing I weighed 193 in shorts, 200+ with a camel back and shoes. (these days it's about 210 in shorts) I've always had to run max pressures to try to keep from getting pinch flats and/or bending rim beads on rocks. My newest MTB is a full Carbon 2013 Firefly 100 full suspension 29er, so I'm limited to about 2.6 on tire sizes so even running tubeless I was running 35psi or so.

Over the last winter I installed a set of Tannus Armour inserts and OMG, it's like I've got a new bike. I ride in New England, it's a bone yard of rocks up here. It took me a while to get the confidence lowering pressure but as of now I'm running between 20 and 25 PSI. They are a PITA to get installed, but once they're in the work.


I've read the comments from the mountain bike experts that talk about losing some suppleness, or feel. Well, there isn't much of either at 40psi, my grip on sketchy climbs is better now than I've ever had. These things are the biggest change in feel to my riding since I got my first full suspension 25 yrs ago..


If you're a bigger rider I strongly recommend the inserts in tubeless setups.