Adventure and dual-sport riders will be all too familiar with the dangers and hassles of getting a flat tire. Be it on the road, or on the trail, getting a puncture can not only be an expensive, time-consuming inconvenience, but also a potentially dangerous scenario, especially if it happens in the middle of nowhere, or on a busy road.
A popular solution to punctures, especially among off-road riders, is to run tire mousses. A tire mousse is basically a rim of expandable foam that’s inserted into the tire, usually a knobby dual sport one, prior to it being mounted onto the rim. It serves as a last-ditch-effort to get you to safety in the event of the blowout or puncture. It’s very popular among off-roaders, but does indeed come with its own set of drawbacks. For starters, it adds unsprung weight to the bike, affecting handling, power delivery, and agility.
Tire mousses aren’t as popular for street riders, specifically because of the added weight that directly makes itself known in the bike’s handling characteristics. On top of that, the high levels of heat generated on road tires can cause tire mousses to melt, resulting in a huge mess that can potentially ruin a motorcycle’s wheels. That being said, a certain Italian company called Risemousse claims that it has developed a next-gen tire mousse that can be used both on and off-road.
Risemousse’s B-Sure tire mousse was showcased at EICMA 2021, and is the first of its kind as a road-oriented tire mousse. While there’s no doubt that a bike’s handling characteristics will be altered by any type of mousse whatsoever, Risemousse’s tech claims to be able to withstand the numerous heat cycles of street bike tires. It’s currently in a patent-pending phase, and could stand the chance to further elevate the safety of street bikes, should it see mainstream adoption.
It employs a specially designed foam called MEPP, or Memory Expanded Plastic Polymer. A sensor built into the mousse monitors tire pressure, and sends the data to an LED monitor mounted on your handlebar. In the event of a puncture, the sudden drop in pressure sends a warning to the monitor, notifying the rider of the situation. However, instead of immediately stopping, or worse, crashing, it allows the rider to continue on with their journey, until such time it’s safe to stop and either replace or repair the damaged tire.
The B-Sure tire mousse is expected to come in several variants specific to different types of riding. Risemousse intends to release a total of five different models—Urban, for small scooters and commuters; Adventure, for on and off-road adventure-tourers; Chopper, for custom, heavyweight machines; Tourer, for sport-touring and touring bikes; and Sporty, for performance-oriented naked and sportbikes. Risemousse notes, however, that the Sporty model isn’t intended for use on track. The Adventure model is set to debut in Spring 2022, and retail for around 150 to 180 Euros, depending on the size.
