Your experience with tpu tubes?

Yes, I had these tubes specially made because I couldn’t find a supplier for 3" tubes with a metal AV valve. These are not stock items. The minimum quantity for production was 100 pieces per size.

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Good news for 2 happy 36 inch unicyclists.
The TPU tube manufacturer made 2 samples and I would like to test them first.
If you would like to test a 36" TPU tube (note, it has a car valve, so the rim must have an 8.5mm bore). Can you send me a PM and leave your complete address with email and telephone number (including international area code).
I prefer 1. drivers from Switzerland, and 2. from Europe, especially Switzerland’s neighboring countries.
2 addresses will then be selected by me and those who receive the tube will be notified by me.

In return I expect to receive feedback. You must drive with the tpu tube.

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Hey, what’s up ? I thought you thought TPU 36" tubes were so great? Doesn’t anyone really want a free tube to test? I don’t have my own 36" unicycle and am therefore dependent on testers. But I’m really surprised that no one has contacted me yet.

I would have been pleased, but I wouldn’t often ride my 36er with such a valve. It’s set up for my girlfriend and she doesn’t ride it much these times. My G36er and my futur freewheel 36er have Presta valves, not AV. Otherwise I would have been happy to give it a try.

I would love to test a 36” TPU tube. However, I live in the United States. Let me know if this is an option.

I’m in the same boat (US). Even hoping you’d ship here for less than the Italian option offered previously.

Thanks for being willing to test the tube. I have now found drivers from the USA who have contacted me via private message.

Sorry, they are unfortunately already gone. Shipping of these test tubes is of course free. Otherwise they would be CHF 10.- for Europe and CHF 13.- for the rest of the world, provided I manage the shipping weight - 250g. Up to 500g it would then be 15.-/ 18.-
I suspect that only 1 tube is duty-free, because most countries have a duty-free allowance, i.e. no duty/VAT is charged for small amounts. The post office/customs department in your country can tell you more about this.

That’s OK, I don’t ride enough to test. But I’ll be on the list to probably buy one once they’re listed.

The samples have arrived. What irritates me is the tube width, which is identical to my 3" TPU tubes. I think the manufacturer used too much material. I’m looking forward to the test results from the drivers and will talk to the manufacturer again. It’s quite possible that he will has to make it less wide.

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TPU doesn’t stretch a lot, am I correct? What is the diameter of this 36" version?

Since we’re talking about @Felixx in another thread, he might be a good candidate to test your TPU inner tube. Unlike me, he uses the stealth rim on his 36”.

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The width of the folded tube is approx. 62mm

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The orange color indicates to me this could be a Tubolito product or perhaps from the same manufacturer. Are you able to reveal any of that info?

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You probably mean it because of the orange color? Well, I could have had the tubes in other colors. It’s not a tubolito. Unless they also have production in China. I thought at least Tubolito was from Austria.

Your assumption is correct, that’s how I read it too. But I’ve been using a 24x3.0 TPU tube (also 62mm wide) for a 24x 4.0 tire for 2 months because I didn’t have a fatty tube. I’m using it I rode it a few times and always left the removed wheel in a pumped state. Surprisingly, the tube has survived so far and the air pressure loss is small. So I have absolutely no concerns about using the 27.5x 3.0 / 29x 3.0 tubes which can use 3.25 Crux tires.

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I agree. I’ve had no issues with Tubolito brand tubes 3.0 width in my 27.5 and 29 unis, both with Crux 3.25 tires. They’ve been installed for over a month now.

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I now have the first feedback for my two TPU tube samples.

The good news: Contrary to my fears, they fit easily into the 36" (x2.25) tires, even though they are the same width as my 3" tubes. Well, maybe there will be 36x 3.0 tires someday, then these tubes would be ready :slight_smile:

Driver 1 had the problem that the tube kept wanting to rotate during assembly, but managed to do it

Driver 2 was able to assemble the tube without any problems, but is still testing the air loss, he is not sure whether the valve core of the AV valve was tightened properly.

In the next few days I will get more feedback on how they ride. And if everything is OK, I will give the green light for production or make changes.

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Greetings - I am “Driver 1” and would like to offer my detailed feedback on this TPU tube. First, I want to thank @www.einradshop.ch for this opportunity, I really do appreciate it.

Overall it seems to be a quality product, at least comparable to a Tubolito product. On my scale it registers 110.7 grams.

I inflated it just to about round (about 0.1-0.2 bar) with the valve facing inwards. One thing that became apparent very quickly is it seems to have a “memory” where it wants to rotate to where the valve points outwards. I’ve experienced this with a Tubolito 29" tube as well.

I held it in my hands and rotated it so the valve faces inwards and held it like so for about 30 minutes. That seems to have erased the outward facing “memory”.

Installation is on a Nimbus Stealth2 rim with a Nightrider Lite tire. There were no issues installing it, in fact it was one of the easiest installations I’ve had. At 0.1 bar (maybe less) once I put it inside the Nightrider Lite it was narrower than the tire. Meaning the risk of pinching was minimal :slightly_smiling_face: It definitely was not too wide for that tire on a Stealth2 rim.

I installed it per instructions, inflating slowing and pausing every 10 strokes. It took about 8psi before I could feel the tube touching the sidewall. I gradually inflated to 40psi pausing as indicated in the instructions.

I’ve been on several road rides and honestly I really couldn’t tell a difference between my previous tube which is a FOSS at 213 grams (103 grams heavier). It rode no differently that I could tell. But that’s on the road with nothing too challenging for me. I do ride muni typically at around 22psi and I suspect I may notice a difference in the weight especially over challenging terrain where rapid acceleration and deceleration is needed (like over roots/rocks) but the weather has been uncooperative in my area and I’ve not had a chance for muni yet.

I do not see anything wrong with this product and would definitely purchase it.

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I’m curious what kind of rim strip tape do people favor for road riding with TPU tubes where typically the tube is inflated to higher pressures than for muni. I’m concerned about spoke holes and the tape/cloth/strip deforming into the holes under pressure (40psi or higher). Depending on the type of tape, the deformation could be significant - like 2mm-3mm. A butyl tube is unlikely to be affected by that. What about a TPU tube?