Weighing a feathery 90g (29in diameter), the Tubolight EVO HD is the latest bit of rim protection we’ve been dabbling with over the past few months.
Tubolight makes inserts for road, gravel, XC and trail/gravity riding, with the main difference being the shape of the foam. The EVO HD insert we have is designed to suit rims between 26mm and 46mm, and tyres from 2.35in to 2.80in. Tubolight makes claims about the level of protection offered by the profile of the insert, and performance gains that come thanks to the air channel on the underside. We have no way to test these claims, so they aren’t worth repeating here.
On the trail, the Tubolight insert damps a boatload of vibration. The foam is considerably softer than CushCore and makes for an almost wooden ride feel. On a full-suspension bike, you forget about it after the second ride, but we expect this will play a more significant factor on a hardtail. The insert also provides a surprising amount of sidewall support. Colin has been running 22psi in a 2.4in Goodyear Newton MTR Enduro rear tyre and was able to drop down to 18psi before things got squirrely. Even at such low pressures, both tyre and rim have come out unscathed.
With CushCore installation nightmares fresh in our memory, fitting the Tubolight was a dream. Honestly, we’ve had bigger battles trying to mount tight-fitting tyres, and the process didn’t even require a tyre lever. You don’t need insert specific valves — though Tubolight sells them — but we’d recommend adding sealant before fitting the second bead. If you inject it through the valve, it pools in the air channel and then explodes out the sides when you try to seat the tyre — learn from our mistake.
