I spent a day trying to justify buying one of those Rabaconda mousse tire changers. I've never run a mousse, but I've thought long and hard about it. The downsides always send me back to Tubliss or plain old tubes: They don't last more than a year or two, they are hard to install without something like above, they are expensive, and you are supposed to remove and relube them regularly, so lots of tire removal and installation anyway. Maybe if I actually get something like that Rabaconda, I'll try them out. Until then...
wait for something coming out from the Hesperia Ca. zone. also df dont let the horror mousse stories kid you. once you use them......its like crack man you will be sold just in complete piece of mind alone (my outback trail kit is waaaay lighter and less complicated now too), a little tough at first just like prepping and fitting your tubeliss system (I just did a couple for the first install a few nights ago with a friend). Also the mousse "system" is the only thing all the world champ level enduro guys use...thats gotta mean something. with mousses, after a couple of times,, its just natural motion. Also truth is if you ask me Pela and his crew did not use the rabaconda to its full potentional they did alot of old school work. Watch the Fins use it.
Juha is more comfortable and easy going not alot of wasted energy and muscle fffing- typ Juha. The best thing is that the compound link pushes the bead all the way off the bottom side of the rim, my older standard mousse changer does not extend down enough to do that, so I still need to pull the assy off and knee and iron pop it off View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFidf1WqwBg
Pela not quite as down with the program as Juha. I bet Juha practiced at home, he's that kind of guy. I was very fortunate to get to see him race GNCC and at WEC USGP in NY. So smooth, he almost doesn't look fast.....
My friend got a "Wild Card" entry for '07 WEC USGP at Hancock, NY. He was the only guy running Tire Balls......
Almost forgot... Pela must be really liking that mousse and the "feel" it has right now. Usually guys just take a new tire, with another mousse preloaded.
I was thinking that same thing but figured rules would not let him swap wheels. I was just speaking With Rory Sullivan about Mooses and it was quite interesting. I guess many guys use strips of the inserts to modify the feel based on the age of the inserts and volume of the tire. Pretty interesting stuff but out of my needs. I was cracking up how he was explaining the pile of insert chucks he had to work with and how he stuff them in there. Racing at that level is different :>)
You can't swap wheels in EWC. I meant that usually he would mount a new tire and it would be loaded with another mousse. He pulls the mousse out of the old tire and has his mechanic stuff it in the new tire.... he likes that particular mousse. Until a few years ago in EWC (WEC in old speak), riders had to do all mechanical work, just like the ISDE. Now riders are responsible, only for the tire change itself. Mechanics pull and install the wheels.
note be aware of a domestic tire stand almost ready to come to market from the hesperia ca. zone. many years in the making. very nice set up. one has my name on it all ready. oh yea its yellow (for now) funny about the pieces of mousse thing zipty just told me they use 3 pieces to fill the very wide Goldentyre front tire 2 sides with wide center. I had no idea folks were using pieces. I saw the jarvis holed mousse and Chilly told me last week that many stuff a sliced hd tube over them to get more life, I used lightly wrapped stretchy rubber electrical tape spiral wrapped to get an extra month or 2 from them (the Welshman told me that one)
I tape it over on the inside and fill the outside with rtv and or tape over it. for the front I usually dont run a rim lock and fill both holes the same way. good story is my friend's shop had black rtv so it blended with the black rims!
