One of the most interesting new tubeless insert products at the Sea Otter Classic is being pioneered by a brand synonymous with BMX. The Odyssey Optis Tubeless Tire Insert is the product of 10 years of work by Design Engineer George French, and it’s way more than your typical foam tire insert.
Instead, Optis uses a reinforced TPU bladder that is inflated with a dedicated pressure valve. There’s also a valve to inflate the air chamber inside the tire, which gives the rider the option of tuning both the tire air chamber and the bladder air chamber. That tuning is what French says sets the Optis apart from other systems that have used an air-based insert like the Schwalbe Pro Core. Pro Core runs much higher pressure in the insert, and French states that it acts more like a bump-stop, while the Optis system is designed to make the tire “suspension” progressive.
You can run lower pressures in the outer tire chamber, and then once the impact reaches the Optis insert, the slightly higher pressures of the insert still allow your tire to compress without damaging the rim. The insert also acts as a beadlock, securing the tire to the rim and allowing riders to get away with lighter-weight casings without burping. This also helps to make tubeless tire setup easier since the beads are sealed and locked in place.
Even better, the system is fairly light with the whole thing weighing in at 97g for a 29″ insert. When you consider that you’d still have a run a valve core without it, the added weight is even less.
French went on to talk about the material and the construction of the bladder itself, stating that manufacturing it was one of the hardest parts of the project. Key to the design is the patented arrangement of the structure of the threads for the reinforcement, which causes the insert to be ‘sucked’ into the rim when you inflate it. Apparently he was told repeatedly that it couldn’t be done, so French ended up making his own machines to figure out a way to manufacture the insert.
Unlike some inserts, the Optis will not absorb tire sealant, and while extremely durable, it can be replaced if you do manage to puncture it, with replacements estimated at $39.99.
The valve itself is designed to fit in a standard presta hole, and it has a gold valve for the insert and a black valve for the tire. The black valve can be rotated to make it easier to access with a pump, but French mentioned he runs 32-spoke wheels, and doesn’t have to move it to air up.
Available now with a standard valve, Optis will be sold in 27.5 or 29″ versions meant for internal rim widths of 28-40mm. A version with a longer valve for deeper rims is coming, and the Odyssey crew plans to experiment with versions for wider rims in the future. Currently, the system is priced at $89.99 per wheel.
