June 2026

Most anticipated tool - ever?

13/06/26 16:49 Filed in: Gear

I've written about CushCore before. Foam inserts in bike tyres that reduce the air volume and protect the rim from impact. CushCore the company made a fantastic tyre lever to assist the somewhat laborious process of installing tyres on a rim with the foam inside. I bought one as soon as they were announced. And it has been good - helping me get many tyres on and off rims over the years.
My last installation was proper Enduro race tyres - slightly less taxing than full-on DH tyres, but basically the same difficult job. And I managed to snap off the hook on the end of the CushCore tool. It takes a lot of wear in use and enough had worn away to expose it to breakage. I filed the end down making it a great bead pushing tool and in that guise it will contribute to tyre work for years to come.

Meanwhile, CushCore has announced a proper tyre tool - looking a lot like automotive tyre fitting tools less the rim-holding and rotating base portion. I have one on back order and will be amongst the first in Australia to check out the new, simpler method of installation and removal. One side has a roller for dropping the bead while the other side has a bead guide for removing the bead. If you want to see what they look like, CushCore has a video on their website.
It is crazy expensive for a household tool - but I am buying one anyway. A busy shop can probably justify one - but my shop said they are going to do without (at least until I get a chance to try one).
One of the aspects of installing tyres that is so tough with foam inside the tyre is that working on one end of the bead with both hands while the foam insert is pushing on the other side is that the bead just pops out over there while you work over here. The roller portion of the tool means you can securely hold one side and roll all the way around with the other hand (and yes, CushCore also make the BeadBuddy for specifically this problem but I haven't tried that tool). The roller can push the foam down into the drop centre and push the bead down into the drop centre for either installation or removal. Then for removals, you flip the tool over and use the bead guide to remove the bead in one smooth trip around the rim.

The length of a post about the prospect of a new tool should tell you how enthused I am for the new tyre tool. And I have either 8 or 10 tyres waiting installation (making 16 or 20 total tyre movements as there are tyres on those rims already).
Like the last entry about a new saddle - watch this space for an early review.

New saddle day

08/06/26 19:14 Filed in: Gear

For the past 258 hours, I have commuted on an Ergon saddle. It is good, but not great. Comfortable, but not perfect. I was buying some tyres and the shop had one of the 2 or 3 saddles I'm considering as a replacement for the Ergon, so I picked it up with the tyres. Selle Italia Flite Boost Kit Carbonio S1. Bit name. Small saddle.

It was easy to install as it uses the same size rails as the Ergon - in fact they are so similar they might well have been produced out of the same factory - maybe the same mould. The Flite Boost is pretty short, but it doesn't lack any important saddle areas - the nose is a bit shorter and the tail is a bit shorter.

My fingers are crossed that the Flite is more comfortable than the Ergon. Meanwhile, the Ergon will go on my Enduro bike when the new 200mm drop Reverb arrives. The Slash came with a 170mm drop post - the longest Reverb at the time. Now you can select even 250mm (more than any of my bikes can support). The Slash will equal the Ibis with its 200 drop.

Look for me to report back soon about the Flite.

Michael Hanslip Coaching

If you want to go faster, you have to pedal harder

Most anticipated tool - ever?

New saddle day