The Case for Mousse Balls and/or Bib Mousse

TECH & HOW-TO
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I’ve been running mousse on my 500 since 2020.

Before that, I ran UHD tubes, front and rear, for years in the SoCal desert. Moved to CO and in 2020 I scored an invite to a “CO 1000” ride put on by some guys from SoCal and I had been on the waiting list for 4 years. Not the CO 1000 ride that you may have heard of, this is a different group of ~60 guys who’ve been doing this for years. 7 days of challenging singletrack.

Anway, on the first day I got a pinch flat, no worries, easy fix, but I then learned that everyone else was running mousse = not carrying any spare tubes or levers to lend to me if I got another flat. So now I’m scrambling in small towns to source backup tubes, patch kits, etc, and, of course, I flatted about 2-3 more times before the end of the ride. So I went all in on mousse, buying one for the front, one for the rear, and a Rabaconda tire stand. The stand has more than paid for itself in the $$ I’ve save from being about to mount new tires myself.

Since then, it’s been awesome to have zero concerns for flats, not having to carry any flat changing tools or bits, other than what I carry so I can help people on the trail for the standard trail labor rate of $150/hr and $5/lb PSI :slight_smile:

Here’s how mousse bibs work:

  1. You buy your first set, being very careful to read the Nitro Mousse fitment tables so you select the correct size bib for your tire.
  2. As you ride the set it will soften over time.
  3. Buy your next set but save the old set.
  4. Then, as your 2nd set softens, you simply freshen it up by cutting wedges from the 1st set and inserting them into the 2nd set.
  5. And, in my experience, if you diligent with keeping them lubed up, standard DS pavement riding isn’t an issue. I’ve ridden 50-75 mile stretches of pavement at a standard DS speed of ~55-65mph, no issues or concerns.

Mousse Balls
Last season @anichols gave me a set of 21" mousse balls and a new-ish Motoz Something front tire. This past weekend I had planned 3 days of riding in CO and UT (ride report coming soon) with @ChrisL and Chris Cooley, I needed a new front tire so I decided to mount these up, while also freshening and lubing the rear bib.

The balls take the wedge idea and make a whole set out of it. That is, the kit comes with #x identical segments. I installed all of the segments, lubing each individually very well, as well as the inside of the tire. I’d say it feels like about 12-15 psi, which would be on the low-ish side of what I’d run with a UHD tube. I have always kept the front bib setup on the mushy side, at about what feels like 9-10psi, so the difference was noticeable.

So with the balls, you can insert all of the segments, or remove one, or add one, to “tune” the tire to feel how you want it to feel.

Anyway, let’s talk about this weekend. “Frenchy” was running tubliss front and rear, and we found that he had rear flat at stop. We plugged it, aired it up, but the plug ended up coming out after a ~15 mile pavement ride back to town. We tried to double plug it but no joy, so “Coolio” went into town to buy a $30 UHD tube, which we repaired in the hotel shade with a 6 of Dales on hand.

We finished the weekend with a ~75 mile pavement ride back to the trucks at ~65-70mph. Zero issues my two flavors of mousse setup.

IMO, balls are the way to go, if this is your first investment in mousse. I’ll probably continue running the bib on the back, because I have plenty of “old” bib left to continue to cut wedges and freshen up the tire.

Keep 'em lubed and don’t go crazy on the pavement (speed = heat) and you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t hesitate to do a BDR on a DS bike with mousse balls, assuming I lubed the shit out of them before I left.

3 Likes
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Great writeup, and I can’t over state the mental relief of not worrying about punctures.

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100%

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Aside from the fact that one if these products requires one to use the word “balls” a lot, I have been interested in making the switch from UHD tubes and likely will this off-season.

Questions for @ChrisL: what pressure were you running in the tire that flatted while running Tubliss?

Question for @Rich_Strauss: what’s your take on the reported “dead” feel of running mousse compared to tubes? I imagine this is not a performance issue but just something different that one gets used to.

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Chris’ flat was a puncture. We found the hole by listening for air and watching for bubbles on the tire but we didn’t find a nail or whatever. The inner bladder was still good.

Dead feel: when I got the bibs, I went with the “normal” flavor in the front and “plush” in the rear. I’d say they equate to about 12-14psi on the front and ~8psi on the rear. Then as they wear they feel about 10 and 6. I sized the front to accommodate either a GoldenTyre or Shinko Fatty, my favorite front tire. The rear I sized to accommodate either an MT43 trials tire or a GT / Shinko Cheater (both take the same size mousse bib). The trials tire with a new or worn plush bib is magical. Thing is a damn tank tread for traction.

When new, the bibs just feel “different”, then progress to a dead feel as they wear in. We all know the attention we pay to the front in rocks and the feeling we’re looking for:

  • 15-18psi – sharp hits, tire doesn’t give much at all, traction not super predictable but the confidence that you’re not going to pinch flat.
  • 12-14psi – can feel it give, better traction, still not going to pinch unless you REALLY bang rock at speed
  • 10-12psi – you feel the whack of that hard hit then you wait a bit for the feeling of the tire going flat.

The bibs operate in those last two bullets but with zero concerns for flatting. Whatever dead feeling there is is made up for in the confidence that you will NOT flat. Think bombing Switzerland or Mammoth with now flat worries.

With regards to pavement concerns, the key is to be generous with the lube. If in doubt, apply more lube (that’s what she said). This is why a Rabacondo or similar + a bucket of Murphy tire lube are required accessories.

The benefits I see with balls vs the bib is:

  • With a one time purchase of a set of balls + the set of 3 balls, you had a system that can last a LONG time, by inserting an individual ball as the system wears.
  • Can tune the setup to where you want in that PSI range above, though adding an extra ball would probably get it up north of 20psi in feeling, I would expect
  • You can lube the shit out of each individual ball as you insert them. I just sat there with my bucket o lube, gloves, lube up one ball, insert, repeat.

In short, with the full set of balls in the front, the equivalent of about 14-16psi, it felt like a normal, well-aired tire, no dead feel.

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I run 12 psi in the rear with TuBliss. The tire got sliced and I think it was getting bigger as I rode. The plugs would not hold. At least you can run a flat tire with TuBliss. Just ride slow.

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Informative, as always. Thanks.
Rabaconda essential; or tire stand, three levers, and soapy water workable?

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my .02…. I would HIGHLY recommend Rabaconda or Neutron Speed Pro with Mousse. Neutron is the Wish version, but works really well. I used the Neutron Dirt Bike changer, with 5 15in tusk levers. It makes it much easier.

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What @RC_John said. With a quality tire changer, Tusk balancing stand, a bucket of tire lube, and your neighbors air compressor you can permanently fire your local moto shop from mounting and balancing tires for you at ~$50 per

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The dead feel is exactly what you want. I genuinely do not get this line of thought, or this articulation of the experience. When 4-wheeling, you air down so that the bounce goes away, the tires wrap around rocks, create a longer contact patch, and don’t feel bouncy, aka “dead”.

The same principle applies to mousse balls. You want dead.

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Clearly a point of interest for @mulebarn :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Good perspective, happy to take it on board until I actually ride mousses and can have an opinion on the matter.

This is what I was referring to when I said that I wasn’t sure if this common and apparently unfavorable take on “dead” was because it is truly not good from a performance perspective or just because it’s just different to our collective lifetimes’ of experience on tires with air in them.

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Seems like the latter to me (used to air). Now when I ride non-mousse balls off road it feels terrible to me, like my teeth might fall out. :slight_smile:

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In my experience, you experience 3 different flavors of feel, with the front tire specifically:

  1. Too hard – jarring, deflects off rocks, can push in loose stuff, but you know you’re not going to pinch flat.
  2. Too soft – great traction but that dreaded CLANG of a hard hit and the trepidation of the next few minutes as you wonder if you’re going to flat.
  3. Just right – you can feel the tire absorbing bumps, without the jarring of too hard or the yikes of too soft.

Mousse usually is in that #3 spot but just feels a little different, until you get used to it

2 Likes
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If anyone does mtb and is not familiar to mousse… to me, Mousse feels like tubeless 29’s on 17psi. I don’t think of it as ‘dead’ at all, and that’s the ‘noob’ perspective. They feel more like Rich’s description. Like they are doing work now, absorbing things, better traction, and no pinch flats possible.

1 Like
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lol Same tendency in reverse. We know what we know.

Anyway, edifying as always, up in here.

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I’ve got the compressor covered, and do all my Beta and XR tire swaps with a stand, levers, and soapy water. Was hoping to do the same with the mousses and avoid the pricey and space-hog-looking rabaconda. Time, and the condition of the garage walls after I throw the levers around in frustration, will tell if I succeeded or not.

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Rabaconda breaks down into it’s own carry bag. Takes maybe 2min to setup / break down.

It is spendy, no doubt

1 Like
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Same with mine. Easy to pack away, comes with bag/case.