The Lab: Technomousse Green Constrictor tire inserts

Tire inserts, without the mess of tubeless sealant? Sounds good, right? That’s exactly what Technomousse promise with their Green Constrictor tire insert. Developed specifically for eMTBs, the insert works in conjunction with an inner tube and supposedly offers all of the advantages of conventional inserts. But does it work?

While Italian manufacturer Technomousse is known primarily as a supplier of tire mousses for motocross bikes, they also have several mountain bike-specific tire inserts in their portfolio: the Red Poison Evo, which our sister magazine ENDURO has already put through the wringer, is a conventional tire noodle that sits between the tire and rim – and only works with tubeless tires. The Green Constrictor we tested, on the other hand, also works with inner tubes and consists of a protective foam that wraps around the tube, preventing it from puncturing even with bigger holes in the sidewall, thus allowing you to finish your ride. If you’re unlucky enough to puncture the inner tube, the Green Constrictor insert provides enough support to roll back to the car park without damaging the rim, even without any air in the tire. Furthermore, the insert is supposed to improve traction and control. It’s available both in a 27.5″ and 29″ version, and in two different widths, covering tire widths between 2.35″ and 3″. For this test, we installed the narrower version in a pair of MAXXIS 29 x 2.4″ tires, both at the front and rear. Like most tire inserts, the Green Constrictor takes some effort to install. First, you have to pull one side of the tire over the rim, and then you can push the insert between the rim and tire. Once the insert is tucked in, you can push the inner tube into the tire insert and pull the second side of the tire over the rim. Since the Green Constrictor is slimmer than a conventional insert, it tugs in snug under the tire, making the last step a lot easier. Once the insert is installed, you can pump up the tire, and since you’re using an inner tube, you don’t have to remove half a litre of tire sealant from the furniture afterwards! 🙂

With a Green Constrictor in your tires, your usual air pressures will feel a lot harder than usual, meaning that you can easily run 0.2-0.3 bar less. Even then, the tires feel hard when performing your typical squeeze test. Of course, this feeling also transfers to the trail, where the Technomousse provides a pretty firm ride. Overall, it’s totally different from conventional inserts on the trail, which have an overall softer feel and better damping qualities. In a nutshell, with the Green Constrictor the tire doesn’t hug the ground as much, passing on small vibrations and bigger impacts more directly to the rider. As a result, the wheel generates less traction and is harder to control – the opposite of what Technomousse are actually claiming! For sporty riders, there are clearly better solutions out here.

Our conclusions about the Technomousse Green Constrictor tire insert

The Technomousse Green Constrictor tire insert can be used with an inner tube, preventing you from covering your living room in tubeless sealant. On the trail, it provides a rather firm ride quality, which comes at the expense of traction and detracts from the feeling of safety, making it a better option for sedate touring. That said, the Technomousse Green Constrictor provides excellent protection against cuts and gashes, and helping to prevent smaller punctures..

More info: technomousse.com

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Words & Photos: Simon Kohler