Hey, my name is Ryan. I’ve been a mountain bike engineer for the past 8 years, working on everything from DH to XC bikes. I wanted to fix the problem of cracked rims and pinch flats. My friends and I were having the same issues, so I tried to come up with a solution.
I made my own tire insert, tested it in the lab and on the trail, and after a lot of trial and error, I started a small company to see if it could help more riders. It’s been a big learning experience. Plenty of problems left to solve but it's a start.
I just wrote about the whole process on Vital. It’s not intended to be a sales pitch, just a story about what I learned along the way to share lessons, how it works, and how it doesn't work. I hope it’s helpful for other people who like to nerd out about bike stuff.
Here’s the post: https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/hub/what-i-learned-starting-tire-insert-company
If you have any feedback or questions, I’d love to hear it.
by RyanBurney
4 Comments
Huh, i had no idea that was a VT company and that you work out of Generator! Super cool.
I don’t use inserts. I’m a light rider, but I do bang up my rims running low tire pressure. I tend to just use heavier casing tires and beefy aluminum wheels.
I recently put in a cushcore on the rear, would have considered this. Interesting article !
Hi Ryan, thought you did great on the discussion with Phil. Love to see the implementation of KISS with the rimsaver vs the earlier designs
Rim saver is very easy to get a tire on and off compared to cush core. I will use a little Irwin clamp near the valve once that area is seated to get the rest of the tire on without fighting the bungee and needing a third hand. Great stuff!