This is the second installment of my look at the Rene Herse TPU tubes. My first installment can be seen HERE. I know I promised an update sooner than this, but the weather, specifically the wind, has been awful here over the past month. So, the update is here now. Let's get on with it....
I have done a few neighborhood test rides on the bike and a longer gravel ride finally happened this past weekend. I ended up going with 30 psi in each tire after fiddling around with various settings. I could go lower, and I have, down to the upper 20's. The best balance, in my opinion, between ride feel, resistance, and traction was had at the 30psi setting. This is for my weight, and your mileage will vary.
Initially I thought the tubes in the Cazadero's felt similar to tubeless, In fact, it was indistinguishable from when I ran these tubeless. Pressures were similar as well. It wasn't until I did the gravel ride that I felt something different.
I noted the Cazadero's were conforming over rocks and bumps pretty nicely. This was similar to tubeless. If anything, the TPU tubes made the ride ever so slightly less supple, which makes sense to me.
It was something else which I was picking up on though, and I still cannot quite put my finger on it. I would say now it almost sounded different at times when I was hitting bigger rocks, bumps, and the like. It was the sensation of the plastic TPU making a sound inside the casing, like it was slapping or something, but this wasn't quite what I was feeling/hearing. It also struck me later that it could be the aluminum valve banging off the rim's valve hole. Since you cannot affix a Presta valve nut, I could see this happening.
Like I say, it isn't something I've felt before, nor something I am 100% sure what it is yet. And again - It does not affect the performance aspects of these tubes. But out on the gravel, I could tell these tires were not tubeless. I'd like to try these in other tires first, but.....
I'm not sure I can reuse these with good results in a different tire once they have conformed to the size the TPU has stretched to. Maybe another 50-ish millimeter tire would be okay. And if so, I'd need to get those tires. Otherwise I would need a new pair of tubes. And here is the crazy part, a pair of Rene Herse TPU tubes cost as much or more than one good tubeless tire. So...
I'll keep these in the Cazadero's for the time being and keep rolling on to see if I can get a bead on what it is I am feeling here. Stay tuned....
Wow. That’s an interesting phenomenon you’re describing. I look forward to hearing more as you start to unravel the mystery.
ReplyDeleteDo you still have the 50mm Resolute?
ReplyDelete@shiggy person - Yes, but I am not ready to take them off the wheels I have them on at this point. Besides, I'd have to clean up the sealant in them as well. Lazy? Maybe.... I like where those tires are at now though. ;>)
DeleteWhen I was running TPUs, I noticed they just sounded different. Like the sound of a hula hoop rolling on the ground.
ReplyDeleteI stopped running them because I had a really tight set of GP 5000s that I kept ruining tubes no matter what type they were. But I plan to go back to them - they were noticeably faster, I found them to have good puncture resistance, and something I never see reported, but they seemed to lose air slowly when punctured. The first flat I had with them, I actually managed to ride home the last 1 1/2 miles of my ride.
@Barry - Thank you for these comments. Interesting feedback! I assume the TPU tubes you were using were road bike sized, no others tried?
DeleteI've been running some Cyclami TPU tubes that have fully threaded stems with a nut to tighten the stem down. Not enough gravel miles to report on that set, but the tube in my road bike is working fine, no differently than the latex tube in the other tire. I can only say no flats on the TPU tube, but the latex one hasn't flatted either.
ReplyDelete