The Nukeproof mountain bike range is growing and it’s not just the bikes that are under development. Engineers at the brands HQ have also been working on a rim protection system, it's called ARD (Advance Rim Defence), it’ll protect your rims from damage and allow you to run lower pressures, all for just £49.99 and just a 135g weight penalty.

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Affectionately known as ‘anti rim ding’ the new ARD system from Nukeproof is their answer to the problem of damaging rims over rough, rocky or harsh terrain and one that helps prevent tyre burping. Nukeproof engineers were set on producing a reliable product that worked in terms of preventing damage, allowing rider to run lower pressures whilst also being easy to fit and not weighing an extortionate amount.

The product has been in development for two years and is due for release next week, we were lucky enough to spend a day riding some bikes from the Nukeproof range and getting the lowdown on this new product. The product started life as a round piece of foam, taking on different dimensions and shapes before the designers settled on the final shape as you can see below, the slight oval with ‘wings’. The wings protect cover the rim edges whilst the round middle creating a more progressive and ‘bottomless’ feel, absorbing energy when riding through rocks where the rim may have otherwise met the ground. The shape obtained is cut from a foam block which Nukeproof says allows them to make the product lighter when compared to injection moulding processes.

The ARD insert comes packaged as a continuous circle and slides onto the rim, fitting loosely at first, it then ‘shrinks’ to fit as pressure is increased, engineer Dale told us that this makes the system infinitely easier to fit, and to deal with after fitting, compared to competition as it leaves space between the foam and the rim on set up. This enables the tyre to be placed on the rim and therefore bead. The inserts then secure the tyre to the rim to prevent burping once it is inflated over 10PSI.

The system is available (next week) in both 29er and 27.5” versions and Nukeproof say that the set up for two wheels weighs 155g and 135g respectively which is pretty light! For reference, Cush Core weighs 250g for a 27.5" wheel size and it's 290g for the same size Flat Tyre Defender Enduro Kit. The ARD inserts are recommended for rim widths from 19 to 35mm and are not directional so can be fitted either way round.

At £49.99 for a two tyre set up with valves and considering that it is substantially lighter than the competition, we are keen to see how the setup works on our 30mm wide rims with 2.5” tyres. Check back for a review soon.

• www.nukeproof.com

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