List your experience with Tannus Armour

[pmcdonald]

I've been running Armour in my Marathon Plus 28 x 1.5 tires for about 6 months / 3,000 kms. I'm a commuter with a typical day having appointments both ends of the ride (work meetings, school pickups) so reducing the odds of a flat and the ability to limp the path home was a big appeal.

Installation wasn't as hard as I feared. I used baby powder to help. They do add weight. All up my ride is about 29 kg with pannier.

The wheels feel a little 'denser', less 'springy'. It's a hard sensation to describe. Totally acceptable for me. I don't notice much difference in rolling resistance or change in energy efficiency. I still ride on occasion with the motor and don't notice a difference before and after. I run the tubes at about 70 psi.

So far I've had zero flats. That includes riding over a lot of glass and road debris, but I can see them being pictured by steel wire or screws. Previously I got two flats in about 2k with the same tyres.

I'm very happy with them, and Armours will be a staple on any and all future ebikes I own. For commuters or high milage users I think the Marathon + Tannus Armour combo is perfect.

Nothing solution short of solid tyres is bulletproof (and even then you could break a spoke or rim), but if you wanted to pair these with slime and tyre liners you've dramatically reduced your odds of a flat.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I can tell you with my Haibike Full FatSix, in the exact riding configuration in the picture above, cannot be ridden for any long distance with a flattened tube. Just too much a risk of bending the rim with all that weight bearing down. As I caught a flat (small thorn that went through the liner in nicked a hole in the tube; that advice by TA did occur to me. As the rear tire went flat, I realized in about 100 feet or less of riding, that to go any further would have resulted in a trashed rear rim.

That's what folks with a 4.0 inch tire, 80mm rim can expect, especially with those undersized tubes that TA supplies the fat tire kits with.....

plus how much work would it be to ride on that tire?

 

[Ebiker33]

I've pretty much tried every tire flat prevention technology on the market with my fatbikes, starting with Mr Tuffy tire liners, moving on from them to Tubeless featuring Orange Seal Sub Zero; moving from that back to Mr Tuffy's and Slime and now, the latest, Tannus Armour.

Haibike Full FatSix. Schwalbe Jumbo Jim 26 x 4.0 tires. 80mm rims.

Riding terrain: Mostly roadside asphalt, secondary towpath trails or NJ Pine Barrens sugar sand roads.

Notes: The tubes originally advertised on their site were a bit bigger then what I recieved. I emailed TA and got an immediate response back, saying it will work fine. Still, I have reservations about a 2.8 inch tube in a 4.0 fat tire not exposing my valuable rim to damage in certain riding situations involving shock loading the tire. (I don't ride off curbs or hit rocks on the trails and now, with these smallish tubes, I am more aware to be extra careful, especially if I have the tire aired down for say, riding in snow or sand)..............The tube sizes they listed on their site for the fatbike armour simply are not available on the market and I will venture a guess that it may be covid related. Or maybe not..........I did source a wee bit larger tube from Bontrager via REI. An added plus is the Bontragers have a removable Presta Core. The TA supplied Kendas do not.........Installation was simple........The ride initially felt sluggish compared to the Tuffy's or Tubeless, but now, I am acclimated to the ride feel..........My riding pressure on asphalt or hard towpath trails run at 22 to 25 psi..........They are not bulletproof as I caught a flat a few months ago, a trail side thorn picked up, about a quarter inch in length...........Now, onto the pixtures:

View attachment 76053
Yep, it does fit! It's just a matter of tucking everything in nice and so, ensuring the liner is within the tire bead. These Schwalbe tire beads pop with a loud bang. And they stick.

View attachment 76054
So this is what TA sent me to fit a fat bike tire. Jumping like Evel Knievel is out with these tubes as you will most likely crush your rim like a pretzel nailing that landing....

View attachment 76055
This is what I've been running, pre TA. And yes, I did try to fit these with the TA's, but no go, just not enough room in the TA liner to accept a traditional sized fat bike tube.

View attachment 76056
Here is what my TA's replaced, the Mr Tuffy liners I've been running since determining tubeless wasn't working as great for me as it does for others. This pic does have me wondering about trying to fit the Tuffy in with the TA, for added protection. Talk about a weight penalty, though.

View attachment 76057
So for anyone wondering what a 2.8 inch wide tube looks like in a fat tire TA, here you go. I still have serious reservations about this, but the bigger Bontragers are on standby.

View attachment 76058
Finished product, looking no different then it did, pre-TA. I have not noticed any squirrely ride feel as the OP reported above, then again, a 26 X 4.0 120tpi Schwalbe Jumbo Jim fat bike tire is in an entirely different zip code compared to the more narrower tires found on most bikes.....

That must be a very comfortable riding Ebike, comfy saddle, 26 X 4" Tires, Tannus armour, full suspension.

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

That must be a very comfortable riding Ebike, comfy saddle, 26 X 4" Tires, Tannus armour, full suspension.

Yes, pretty much dialed in for maximum comfort. No more fine tuning saddle height or angle, it's locked in as it stands. Saddles are such an objective topic with one saddle working for one person, yet failing somebody else miserably.

But I can say, this Ergon Core Prime saddle is the most comfortable, shock-absorbing saddle I've ever had. https://www.ergonbike.com/en/product-details.html?a=saettel&anr=44011040&s=smemountain

 

[penserv]

I put these inserts in to 29x2.3 tires and I run them at about 20 psi. I've never considered rolling resistance, since the motor overcomes all that stuff. Mind you, I've got a GMAC hub motor that is a true 750 watts, so I have a lot of power. One thing to be aware of though, the installation instructions that come with the inserts are backwards. On the side of the insert, the installation goes as follows. 1-partially inflate tube and push into insert. 2-put insert into tire. 3-mount tire to rim. If you do that, it’s virtually impossible to stretch the tire over the rim, even on one side. The videos on YouTube are much better. They say mount the tire on one side on the rim. Push the insert into the tire. Push the tube into the insert and put the stem in place. Tuck in the edges of the insert. Tuck in the other side of the tire. If you do it this way, the installation is quite simple and you don’t need to have the strength of Samson to get the tire in place.

 

[vismund b]

I know this is an old thread but just wondering if any of you have any longer term updates? Just found out about these and they seem interesting. Got a rear flat yesterday and want to try to minimize any future flats. Thanks.

 

[EMGX]

I've gone back and forth some with the Tannus Armour, currently they are on my gravel bike with 700c x 40 Schwalbe G-one tires along with slime tubes. I had a couple flats with the Tannus alone, none so far with Tannus plus the Slime tubes. I switch to 32c high pressure street tires (that the Tannus doesn't fit) once in a while on that bike and can say that installation of the Tannus inserts is very easy. There is significant increased weight, especially with the Slime tubes, as well as increased rolling resistance. It's a compromise. Their claim of ride flat ability isn't remotely true in my experience.
FWIW I also installed one of their solid airless tires on a different bike with a geared rear hub motor that I wouldn't ever want to fix a flat while on a ride. The tire performs OK, there are some caveats/warnings included with the tire that they don't mention on their web site though and it was so difficult to install that I wouldn't consider them, ever, on any bike that I might want to switch tires on. Currently they have a half-off sale for the non-black colored versions ($40) and I'd be tempted if I had a spare set of wheels.

 

[EMGX]

PS
I'm going to Glacier NP this coming week to ride Going to the Sun road. I'm leaving the Tannus/Slime combination on the bike but bringing along a set of 32c tires to use if the road surface is good.

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

Still running on the same Tannus Armour fat tire inserts I installed several years ago. Still riding with the understanding that they are NOT 100% bulletproof against flat tires should you run over a nail or a thorn or any other object that passes through the tire and liner.

For that, you need to exercise a sharp lookout ahead of you as you are riding.

 

[6zfshdb]

Three seasons on my Marathon + tires with Tannus & Slime filled Schwalbe heavy duty downhill tubes and no flats.

My only complaint is the Tannus liners are a bear to install on my mag rims. I also had to drop the psi to 40 to compensate for the stiff ride.

 

[penserv]

I ran Tannus inserts in 29x2.3 tires last year and put 2000 km on them. I pooh poohed the notion of rolling resistance, saying that's why you have a motor. In that time I still had 3 flats, all on the back tire, of course, the hardest tire to change with a hub motor. It was because of the flats that I decided to go tubeless this year. I changed out the Purgatory tires for Schwalbe Thunder Burts and immediately grasped the concept of reduced rolling resistance. My bike is 75 lb with my toolkit and pump in the rear bag and tubeless, this bike feels nimble. Last year with tubes and Tannus inserts I rode at 400 watts of pedal assist power and 500 watts going uphill or onto a headwind. This year tubeless I can ride at 300 watts and 400 uphill, essentially a saving of 11% power (9 power levels) or presumably an extension of range by 11%. So there's going to be a set of 29" inserts for sale on Kijiji shortly. The other advantage of going tubeless is the comfort of the ride. I had the tires with inserts and tubes at 45 psi. Tubeless, I'm running 30 psi. The Tannus inserts worked pretty well, but you do pay a price for increased rolling resistance and they're not perfect in stopping flats. Since I've only ridden about 3 times this year tubeless I can't say whether this system is better at reducing flats or not. All I can say is I love the reduced rolling resistance and the comfort of the lower psi.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I would only get maybe 2 flats a year with the marathons and 8000 miles with some sealant so not worth it. so far my 2.5" tires that came on my trek I had one flat within 100 or so miles. I see such a drag from going from 1.5" and 70 psi to 2.5" and 50 psi my acceleration and cruising speed suffers.

 

[sc00ter]

I ran Tannus inserts on my RadRunner and got a flat 2 days later. So I installed Mr. Tuffy liners between the Tannus inserts and the tire and noticed the Tannus liners have flattened to almost flat. I used the supplied tubes by Tannus and ran the tires at 30psi. I rode the 'Runner everyday so I wasn't dropping the tire pressure as recommended by Tannus. I never got another flat after doing the Mr. Tuffy and Tannus combo but I recently sold the 'Runner. Never really noticed a change in the riding quality and never tested the run flat benefit. On my new ebike I'm just going to install Mr. Tuffy liners and run the thorn resistant tubes. No more Tannus for me.

On the 'Runner they weren't "that" hard to install. I used talc powder and I have good quality Pedros tire levers.