I've been using Tannus inserts on my gravel bike since January. There is a little bit of a "deadening" quality to the feel on pavement. A little bit like power steering. But it also deadens the jolts and bumps. Off road though the lower pressure is all good.
Yup. I absolutely
hate them when climbing on pavement. They completely change the pneumatic trail. I also dislike the installation but that's a different story.
Descending, especially on steep gravel, they are
sweet. And the mud performance is super weird - in a good way.
You mean
such inserts? No, I haven't and I'd think they would take away air volume for a more a supple ride. Definitely not looking back to the use of tubes except when puncture is too big for the sealant to mend.
I have not used the Vittoria ones - yet - but Tannus and Cushcore yes. Yes, those would be included in what I mean.
FWIW, they are not at all like using tubes - more like switching a linear car shock to a multisegment progressive one.
On a 42 wide tire I go down to 2 bars in the front and 2.2 in the rear at my 165-170 lbs. The 37 width I run 0.2 bars higher. Really good on-trail experience so far and it didn't take away from the steering, but maybe I am not riding and cornering hard enough .....
With the Tannus, I am riding lower than that. 23psi/1.6 bar in front, 2 rear, WTB 37s under 220lbs. And weirdly, they steer better in mud because the sidewalls stay firm while the center section inverts. Almost like having dual rudder. Or a railed ski in deep powder.