As I see it, the deformation isn‘t an issue per se. I have a Large Marge Lite rim (with big holes, to save weight) on my muni. While it isn‘t exactly a high pressure combo the deformation with pressures around 20PSI is quite impressive. The TPU tube coped well with that, so far.
On my new road/gravel uni I have a tire that can be inflated to 60 or 65 PSI. I only inflated it to such high a pressure to have it seated well on the tim. I ride it around 3bar / 45PSI. With owning the uni for about two weeks or so I obviously don‘t have long term experiences. But I‘m not concerned as long as there aren‘t any sharp edges the tube is exposed to. That said, I might check if the rim tape (I used self adhesive Velox) still is seated well.
Never had any issue with TPU tube and spokes on my G36er. I use any standard rim tape.
I have a First Gen Titan steel 36” rim. It doesn’t have holes for the spoke nipples, so the nipples stand proud of the rim, and even with a rubber rim strip they dig into the tube. I didn’t realize this with a butyl tube. However, when I switched to a Foss tube, the Foss tube ended up with little “divots” where every spike head was. Two of the spoke heads poked holes in the Foss tube after 5 rides, even with the rubber rim strip.
After that, I covered the rubber rim strip with three layers of black hockey/athletic tape. I switched back to the butyl rim because I couldn’t figure out a way to patch the Foss tube and have the patch hold air.
Recently, @www.einradshop.ch sent a TPU tube to review. To be overly cautious, I added vinyl electrical tape over the athletic tape. It took three loops of electrical tape to cover the full width of the athletic tape.
The TPU tube installed very easily according to the instructions that came with the tube.
While my rim tape solution may be considered overly cautious, I feel confident that it will protect the tube from spoke nipples, and that it would protect the tube from rubbing on the spoke holes on a 2-layer rim.
We have had thunderstorms all week, so I haven’t been able to ride the wheel yet. However, it seems as though the storms may have just cleared up and I am looking forward to actually ride-testing the tube today. I have been riding my butyl tube at 55psi, and am curious to see what psi the TPU tube likes.
For a traditional dual wall rim with standard spoke holes, this product probably can’t be beat for protection from spoke heads at any PSI: https://veloplug.com
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Thanks for the reminder! I intended to try the Veloplugs out, but somehow forgot about them and ended up with the usual rim tape. Might give them a go after all.
Not sure if you are still looking for input on this subject, but I can tell you that mass-produced TPU tubes are amazing. I cannot speak for bespoke solutions, but major brands in the space (Tubolito, Schwalbe Aerothan, and Pirelli SmarTUBE) are all excellent performing products. I come from the two-wheeled cycling world, and I have used tpu tubes exclusively for the last three years. I have only ever had one product failure out of thousands of miles of riding (metal wire), and one induced failure from a careless tire change. Aerothan is my personal favorite, but Tubolito has a much larger product range. I wholeheartedly recommend the TPU tubes if you are doing long distance or off-road riding. I hope this helps.
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