About that ruff... The WTB Nanoair TPU tubes I'm "trialing" also included a little O- ring on the stem. I was a bit stumped for a moment regarding their purpose as there was no mention of them in the included literature. IIRC they were at about the midpoint of the stems (which incidentally are black plastic on the WTBs). I finally decided exactly what Peter suggests - that they are meant to protect the stem-tube junction from direct contact with the edge of the drilled rim hole. I installed them at the base of the stem prior to inserting it through the rim. I did pump them up slowly with the RH tires popping into place on I9 rims at about 40 psi - though the tires had already seen several hundred miles of use on those rims. To my mind, the whole thing was a much simpler process than dealing with measuring and installing liquid sealant.
Fourflys, I get your' comment regarding weight savings - heck, I'm planning to try TPUs on my full fendered and front racked Platypus which tips the sales around 32 lbs. *However* - my experience has always been that reducing the rotational weight of the wheels/tires yields a noticeable dividend in performance, especially when climbing or accelerating. It's the same reason that I've long considered a primo wheel set to be a worthwhile upgrade. Steve in AVL On Monday, April 22, 2024 at 5:23:39 PM UTC-4 four...@gmail.com wrote: > seems like a lot of faff for a tube, esp to save a few grams on, mostly, > bike that are not weight weenie builds (I mean we're riding Rivs!!).. I > think I'll stick with latex if I want a fast rolling, lightish tube.. and > butyl as backup in the bar bag.. > > On Mon, Apr 22, 2024 at 2:00 PM Peter Adler <divis...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> My hunch is that the plastic (rubber?) donut is acting as a spacer for >> the valve stem, so that the tube isn't rubbing directly against the >> often-rough edge of the valve hole. On the recommendation of otherBOBs, >> i've been threading a second dork nut onto my valve stems for the last few >> years, to push the rubber outboard at an unpatchable spot. I'd bee >> wondering whether the RH valve stems were threaded all the way down; sounds >> like they've obviated the need with the rubber donut. >> >> For general knowledge, if anyone wanted to produce a similar effect >> without the extra weight of a dork nut, the little rubber donuts used to >> keep cables from rubbing against finish look like they'd work. >> >> Peter Adler >> Berkeley, California >> >> On Monday, April 22, 2024 at 11:28:06 AM UTC-7 Ted Durant wrote: >> >> Anyone else who has received RH TPU tubes … mine have a little round >> piece of plastic between the valve stem and the tube, like a cute little >> collar, that seems to be for reinforcement, but it’s not actually attached >> to the tube - it’s just floating there. If it was glued to the tube, it >> probably would have prevented the leak. Anybody else looked at their tubes >> - is that collar attached or flapping around? >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the >> Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/Y5KV2I6s9fo/unsubscribe >> . >> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to >> rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/6c18cb7c-a469-4b0d-bcf9-a34425f49fe8n%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/6c18cb7c-a469-4b0d-bcf9-a34425f49fe8n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > > > -- > Be the Reason Others Succeed! > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/370d83b2-a3f0-40c6-bd10-4a87d3d07cadn%40googlegroups.com.
