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| Image courtesy of Aeron |
Aeron TPU Tubes Announced:
TPU tubes are a newer technology applied for tubes for bicycle tires that boasts the advantage of about 1/3rd the weight of comparable butyl rubber tubes, lowered rolling resistance at the similar levels that tubeless tires would have, and being 100% recyclable and repairable.
One of the downsides to TPU is that previous to these new Aeron tubes, the valve stem attachment to the TPU has been somewhat troublesome in some cases. Also, due to the smoothness of the valve stems on most TPU tubes, pump heads had a proclivity to pop off during inflation. Aeron, a new brand under the same parent company as Ergon, has claimed to have solved these issues.
Aeron has a new way to attach the valve stems to TPU and claims it is much better than the competition. Also, they have added a textured surface to the stem to help pump heads stay on during inflation.
Aeron will have a wide range of TPU tubes for road, MTB, and gravel bikes. I am going to focus on the gravel range they will offer which should be available at the start of 2025.
Interestingly, Aeron will offer three levels of TPU with varying weights and puncture protection characteristics. They call these (from lightest/thinnest to heaviest/thickest) SuperLite Race, ExtraLite Protect, and UltraProtect. Size ranges have not been announced but given what we can see on their site now, even if you went with the heaviest UltraProtect TPU tubes for gravel use they would still only weigh 128 grams.
Comments: This TPU tube thing is heating up and I believe it will be a very popular choice amongst many riders over tubeless tires. Air retention is fabulous. You get puncture protection at a fantastic light weight, You get lowered rolling resistance on par with tubeless tires without the hassles of sealant. Plus these are 100% recyclable now. Yes, they are a bit spendy, but Aeron is posting on their site that the UltraProtect tubes, which are the most expensive option in the gravel category, are only about 27 bucks US. That's not terrible. I suspect prices will become somewhat less with more competitors in the niche as well.
I believe TPU will overtake butyl rubber tubes for high performance bikes very soon and will be a neck-and-neck competitor with tubeless soon. I base this on the promises of TPU and that one of my most popular posts of 2024 has been my review of WTB TPU tubes. That post is on pace to be - perhaps - my #1 post of 2024 and has already beaten the #1 post for hits from last year. So, there ya go! Interest is high for this technology.
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| Image courtesy of Feedback Sports |
Feedback Sports Shows New E-Bike Home Repair Stand:
This repair stand from Feedback Sports is pretty interesting as it can lift your bike for you to a height that allows you to work on it comfortably. It operates on electricity, and the telescoping mast is driven by a motor at the base of the stand. The operator of the stand needs only to press the lift switch with a foot so your hands are free to steady the bike.
The stand can lift up to 110lbs/50Kg, so those tandems, touring bikes with all the bags on, and eBikes, of course, should all go right up. When finished with the work, the light workstand (54lbs shipped) can be rolled on wheels out of the way.
The Pro E Lift repair stand will retail for $1,200.00 and will be available in January of 2025.
Comments: Powered repair stands are a smart addition for any shop and especially smart for any cycling enthusiast that owns eBikes, tandems, cargo bikes, or heavier bikes that are difficult to lift. The Feedback repair stand jaws/clamp is easy to use and well designed. I have a really old one that I use that is finally ready for replacement, but lasted many years.
It's pricey, but your back is worth it. Especially if you work in a shop that does a lot of repairs.
Wildfires Nix Crusher In The Tushar For 2024:
Ongoing wildfires in the area of the course for the Crusher in the Tushar have forced organizers to announce that the event will not happen in 2024. Rebates and deferrals on entries are being offered via the event website to current roster spot holders.
Comments: Honestly, I am surprised with how many gravel events we have located in the Rockies that we have not seen this before. It seems as though we have massive amounts of wildfires every Summer anymore, so the chances would seem great that a major event cancellation would occur at some point.
And now it has and this event is a Life Time Grand Prix event. So now the series had to rejigger things to reflect this event cancellation as well.
On August 17th, 2024, at Church Farm Cafe in Aldbury, Tring, which is Northwest of London, there will be a road or gravel sportif held.
Riders can expect about 60 miles of "rolling hills and picturesque villages of the Chilterns", according to the press release. Afterward there will be a barbecue held at the Church Farm Cafe put on by the Suave Foods team. Registration is open now and you can check out further details at the event site HERE.
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| Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles |
Cutthroat Upgraded For SRAM UDH:
Salsa Cycles announced on Tuesday of this week that its venerable Cutthroat carbon bikepacking/gravel/adventure bike has been upgraded to be SRAM UDH compatible.
This allows Cutthroat buyers to have the option for SRAM Transmission groups or to just have a more commonly available rear hangar for other derailleurs.
Salsa also upgraded the material that their protective frame plates is made from in the latest Cutthroat models. Along with this, the fork is now all carbon fiber construction going forward.
Comments: The Cutthroat has gone largely unchanged since its introduction in 2015 with a major evolution done in 2020 which saw Boost spacing introduced along with a new fork and the frame protection plates. That said, you'd be forgiven if you couldn't see the difference.
But almost a decade of the Cutthroat already? Amazing. Time flies. I'm not sure if Salsa was thinking along the same lines but this new colorway is reminiscent of the original Cutty colors which featured an orange and light aqua color as well. (The original Cutty had an all black Firestarter fork on it borrowed from the Fargo of the day..)
That's all for this week! Have a great weekend and ride those bicycles folks!
6 comments:
About the TPU tubes I'm ready to jump in. I did tubeless for a coupla years but ultimately decided it wasn't worth the mess and bother. I admit I was less than dilligent about keeping up with sealant levels. Having more than one bike set up tubeless seems to require a spreadsheet to keep up with maintenance. Silly I know but I just don't want that much organisation regarding bikes. The new tubes seem to offer most of the benefits of tubeless without all the faff.
@Phillip Cowan - You wrote: " Having more than one bike set up tubeless seems to require a spreadsheet to keep up with maintenance." That is NOT silly! Try keeping on top of seven bikes that are set up tubeless!
I'm with you. I used to have more bikes set up tubeless but then I went back to butyl tubes on several that were seasonal/low use bikes. Now with TPU tubes becoming more of a viable/reliable set up, I am going to start converting some of the fleet over to those tubes. I may even retire a couple tubeless set ups to TPU as well.
Now if someone would make a TPU fat bike tube for 26" X 4" tires.......
According to Bicycle Rollin' Resistance, TPU
is only a tiny, in the few tens of watt slower
than tubeless and one or two tenths slower than
latex tubes.
@scottg - I have seen similar data from another TPU tube manufacturer. Yeah, this is why I think TPU is set to take over a lot of the tubeless marketplace. Most recreational/semi-serious cyclists would definitely benefit and a lot of the folks running tubeless on gravel probably will switch just because it is an easier, more convenient way to go. Especially if the performance benefits are what is being claimed, and that seems to be the case now with an independent test which you referenced.
Bring that price down a bit more with competition and I think you will see a groundswell of folks changing over to TPU.
I'm thinking about switching tubeless tires on my gravel bike back to TPU. I tend to ride in big time blocks of road or gravel, and keeping the gravel tires topped up is a hassle. I also would be more likely to swap tires based on trail the conditions if it wasn't going to mean cleaning out the sealant and seating tires without a compressor.
@PStu - That's a great point concerning the tire swap idea. That would be a much more attractive option if you were using TPU tubes. Thanks for the comment!
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