Note: The Rene Herse TPU tubes were purchased for use by Guitar Ted. Rene Herse is not aware of this review, nor do they sponsor this blog or Guitar Ted in any way. All opinions are Guitar Ted's.
In my last update I stated I wanted to do a bit more riding on these tubes to see what I was really feeling with them in my SOMA Cazadero 700 X 50mm tires. Honestly, I still don't know what it is, besides the obvious, which is that it is these tubes. They ride differently. They sound different on pavement than tubeless tires. They feel different. Not "bad" different, just not like anything else I've ridden.
I do not think these tubes are slower than tubeless. I found the coasting abilities and resistance while climbing to be pretty normal. (I am basing my opinions from a tubeless perspective here, by the way) Maybe the tires are not quite as forgiving and supple. I will say that much. But this makes sense as you have an extra layer of material in there against the casing. A butyl rubber tube would be on an order of magnitude worse, at any rate.
I ran my air pressure at the same psi as I would run the tire tubeless, by the way, so I might have tried something a touch lower to gain a bit more compliance, but I wasn't feeling the need to go lower than I was at during my final rides leading up to this review.
I found these tubes to be not as good at retaining air pressure as some of the other brands of TPU tubes which I have tried and still am running. These Rene Herse tubes are billed as "ultra-light", so this may account for their less than stellar ability to retain air pressure. This ability these tubes have to retain air pressure was definitely worse than a standard butyl rubber tube and a bit worse than most tubeless set ups I have run over the years. I had to check air pressure for every ride, and if I waited a couple of weeks between rides the air pressure was about half of what I would want to see for a ride. Considering I am using around 30psi, that's pretty telling.
Things I Liked:
- These tubes are crazy light. Definitely lighter than a tubeless set up. At 48 grams each, including the valve stem, I think this makes a strong case for using these for a hilly course.
- Aluminum valve stem: I like the aluminum valve stem. It doesn't feel as flimsy as other TPU valve stems and I feel better about putting a pump on these.
- The Ride: These ride 'okay', but this is a positive in my view. I wasn't thinking the TPU tubes made my bike ride worse, and it would ride worse with standard tubes.
Things I Did Not Like:
- Air Retention: I was a bit disappointed these did not retain air pressure like other TPU tubes I have.
- No threading on valve stem: While the aluminum valve stem is great, why not finish the job and thread the thing? Having a Presta Valve nut is eschewed in some circles, but when I stick a pump on a tube I kind of like the valve stem to remain in its position, and not poke backward into the rim cavity. This might be "just me", but I found this lack of threading on the stem to be odd.
- They Feel "Weird" To Ride: I've tried to describe this, but I think it may just come down to it being that TPU tubes have their own thing going on with ride quality, and I am not used to it yet.
- Expense: These Rene Herse tubes are very expensive. With more competition, TPU tube prices have been coming down. I will admit the aluminum valve stem TPU tubes are all about the same price, but I expect this to change somewhat with all-TPU constructed tubes getting down near 20 bucks a piece or less in some cases.
Final Verdict: Would I buy the Rene Herse Ultralight TPU tubes again? Eh....probably not. I'd go with something else next time. Maybe those Panaracer tubes with threaded valve stems. Maybe I'd just save the money and get more TPU tubes from Bike Tube, (gravel sized all-TPU tubes for right at 20 bucks each).
I think the TPU tube offerings will only increase in the future. These make a ton of sense. They are light years better than butyl rubber tubes, they are recyclable, and easily found for most bicycles in the performance sector now. They are great for the bike(s) you may have set up tubeless now which you barely use, and have to redo the tubeless set ups on without getting the benefits from before the sealant dries out. In this respect, a TPU tube has the same advantage as a butyl rubber tube: You just pump it up and ride. No ,maintenance required.
The TPU tube may not work great in places where punctures are commonplace, or to get the best performance characteristics out of a tire, if it is a tubeless ready tire. However; in a folding bead tire not meant for tubeless, the TPU tubes may be really just fine in this respect. Finally, the expense of TPU tubes should get better. In some instances, as with these Rene Herse TPU tubes, the price is prohibitive. We'll see if competition brings the prices down to Earth in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment