Originally Posted by
Tomm Willians
Concerning TPU tubes, are there brands to avoid ? I’m interested in trying a set on my double century bike.
I don’t think so, no. Whether talking Revloops, Aerothan, Tubolito or Pirelli, I think they’re quite similar in terms of quality. Someone referenced “valve issues” upthread, but I’ve never heard of such a thing as a common, systemic, or brand related issue, so I’d want to see more on that before believing there’s anything in it.
That said, for endurance riding, you may want to prioritize qualities other than minimal weight. Schwalbe makes claims about their Aerothan tubes outperforming other tube types, including other TPU tubes, in various categories including puncture and cut resistance, so I’d suggest looking closely at their documentation before deciding.
Sure, I don’t know if there’s any way to confirm or disprove Schwalbe’s claims, so it might get down to simply deciding to try to stack the deck in your favor, but it seems reasonable to presume that heavier TPU will be more durable than featherweights like Tubolito S or Revloop UltraRace. Certainly any advantages in weight savings or Crr reduction between regular and ultralightweight TPU will be extremely minimal and probably meaningless.