Has anyone else had trouble with Rene Herse TPU tubes?

[Evan Estern]

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I've tried to install 3 RH TPU tubes so far and they all failed where the valve stem meets the tube during installation.  My process is the same that I've been doing for years with butyl, latex and other brands of TPU tubes--this has never happened to me before!  

Here's what I've been doing:

I install one bead of the tire usually by hand.  I put a few pounds of pressure into the new tube, just enough to give it some shape.  

I seat the valve and working outwards position the tube in the rim.  

Working outwards from the valve I seat the bead and work the final 6" or so into place using a Kool Stop tire jack or tire lever.  

I inflate the tire until it's just barely firm and check all around to make sure no tube is trapped between rim and sidewall.

Finally I inflate the tire to the maximum pressure listed on the sidewall to seat the bead.  Here's where the tires fail.  Always in the same place: the base of the valve stem.  I've noticed that other brands of TPU tubes are reinforced in this area while RH tubes are not.  

Can it be that inflating the tire to the max pressure on the sidewall is over stressing that joint?  Today I trashed a brand new RH tube installing it into a RH Corkscrew Climb tire,  Tube failed at around 55lbs (max pressure is 60).  I'd really appreciate some help, if anyone has suggestions to offer. 

[Harry Travis]

Check the Bob list (with  somewhat overlapping membership) The principal of RH is in one or more threads on this topic of tube failure.

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Harry P Travis

Portland Ore USA

18.5

On May 25, 2025, at 12:45 PM, Evan Estern <evane...@gmail.com> wrote:

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I've tried to install 3 RH TPU tubes so far and they all failed where the valve stem meets the tube during installation.  My process is the same that I've been doing for years with butyl, latex and other brands of TPU tubes--this has never happened to me before!  

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[Cary Weitzman]

On 2025-05-25 3:45 p.m., Evan Estern wrote:

Can it be that inflating the tire to the max pressure on the sidewall is over stressing that joint?  Today I trashed a brand new RH tube installing it into a RH Corkscrew Climb tire,  Tube failed at around 55lbs (max pressure is 60).  I'd really appreciate some help, if anyone has suggestions to offer. 

This is a known issue on the first production run of RH tubes. Contact them and they'll replace them with current ones with reinforced valves.

Cary
PTBO.ON.CA

[Evan Estern]

Known issue?  Why on earth would they send them out to customers then?

[Steve Palincsar]

I think you missed the part about on the first production run.  Not an issue any longer, and covered by warranty.

-- 
Steve Palincsar
Alexandria, Virginia 
USA

[Evan Estern]

I purchased these maybe 2 months ago, and another pair (28-32mm tires) about a year ago.  I didn't install them right away, because the Tubolito tubes I had been running were doing fine (for years!).  All 4 RH tubes failed during installation.  It was very damn inconvenient because I decided to go with the "premium" tubes for my while last minute packing for my cycling trip to Columbia.  IDK, maybe someone will chime in here and say there's a special technique for RH TPU tubes, which is why I went through my procedure in the original post,

[Evan Estern]

Actually it was 3 out of 4, because I gave up on them and have not opened the 4th tube box.  Steve, the warranty is great, hope they do honor it now that I'm home, but it doesn't help much 2700 meters up in the Andes, facing a 20km descent.

[randal...@gmail.com]

>Be niche bicycle company

>Start selling a new product

>First customers discover a defect that causes instant failure

>Write a big explanation of the defect through an obscure members-only email based discussion system 

>Keep selling the defective product, don't mention the defect on your website

Do I have the order of operations correct?

Remember the scene in Fight Club? If the cost of a recall is greater than the cost of replacing the failed product on a case-by-base basis; there's no recall. There are a ton of these tubes sitting in parts bins and saddle bags just waiting to ruin someone's day.

Cary Weitzman says this is a "a known issue" and I would ask - where is this known? Certainly nothing comes up on Google or the RH website. There are 18+ TPU posts there, and at a glance no mention of this "known issue" with the "first production run" even though there's been multiple re-stocks mentioned starting 7 months ago and the tubes that failed were purchased 2 months ago. 

Randall Daniels

Marietta, Georgia 

[Cary Weitzman]

On 2025-05-26 12:22 p.m., randal...@gmail.com wrote:

Cary Weitzman says this is a "a known issue" and I would ask - where is this known? Certainly nothing comes up on Google or the RH website. There are 18+ TPU posts there, and at a glance no mention of this "known issue" with the "first production run" even though there's been multiple re-stocks mentioned starting 7 months ago and the tubes that failed were purchased 2 months ago. 

Known as in "RH knows about this problem, acknowledges that it is a problem and will make it right without cost for affected customers".

As Harry Travis pointed out, this was an extended conversion on the BOB list, and Jan Heine weighed in there with the above. A quick search will bring up the thread. I have no idea of how broadly the message was disseminated by word of mouth or by RH.

In any case, I would always suggest people contact the company in the case of a problem like this as a first step, rather than a last. All small companies like RH live by their reputation, it's practically all they have, and although they sometimes drop the ball, that's usually the exception, not the rule.


Cary
PTBO.ON.CA

[randal...@gmail.com]

Here is what the general public sees when they go to the BOB list. 

You have to join a Google Group to receive information about your $40 bicycle inner tube, is not a reasonable expectation when the company selling the tube has a website with blog, and a magazine.

A prudent potential customer would ask, why was this not acknowledged on the René Herse website?

I guess they stopped testing every tube before they shipped out, might be time to start again: https://groups.google.com/g/internet-bob/c/WTlEp0aTWQ4/m/eJTAYYCuAAAJ

[Steve Palincsar]

Randal, your complaints are getting pretty tiresome.  You should take up your grievance with Rene Herse rather than airing it here.  We can't answer for what is and is not on the company web site.

[Jan Heine]

Evan,

First, let me apologize personally about the tube failures you've experienced. That shouldn't happen, period. And, of course, we'll cover this under warranty.

You asked the question why it happened, and that's obviously something we want to know as well. We've sold a lot of these tubes, and seen very, very few problems. We ride these tubes ourselves, whether it's me in Unbound XL or Mark during his Raid Pyreneen. So we know that our TPU tubes work well in most cases. What's different with your installation? Or with your tubes?

Let's start with the tubes: Since you bought your tubes recently, it's extremely unlikely that they are from the first production run, where the tolerances for the press-fit valves were a bit loose, and a very small number of valves weren't held as securely in the tube as they should have. Since then, we've been testing each individual tube to make sure the valve is held securely.

Technique: Thank you for describing what you do in detail. I have a few additional questions:

- Do you use a compressor to inflate the tubes?

- Do you use tubeless-compatible rims?
- How did the tube fail? Did the valve come out of the TPU material, or did the TPU material fail near the valve.

Here's why I am asking: 

Compressor: If you inflate the tube very quickly, it doesn't have time to ease into place as the tire moves outward on the rim. That can cause localized stresses, and if those happen near the valve, that might explain your failures.

Tubeless-compatible rims: On tubeless-compatible rims, the tire pops into place at relatively high pressure. That's a sudden movement of a few millimeters, rather than the gradual easing-into-place that you got with classic rims. The sudden movement stretches the tube in that location. We've seen failures from ultralight butyl tubes due to that. Those were 'mysterious' failures. No damage during installation, tube not trapped. A few seconds after the tire pops into place, all the air goes out, and there's a big gash in the tube. That's happened to me, and also to one or two customers (who blamed the Schwalbe tubes, but tubes don't just suddenly auto-destruct that way).

TPU is more slippery, so it's not stuck to the tire sidewall like a butyl tube, even at 40 or 50 psi. But it still needs to compensate for that movement. If that movement happens suddenly at the valve base, that might cause damage. There are ways to mitigate this. Ever since that ultralight butyl tube failure, I let out the air as soon as the tube pops into place. That allows the tube to relax, and when I reinflate, the tire is already seated, so no stretching of the tube.

Failure: Knowing whether the valve came loose or the tube material failed will help diagnose the failure.

Thanks for helping us to get to the bottom of this. While there will be always some customers who will have trouble with any product, when it's an experienced rider like you, there's clearly something going on. We really want to know, so we can improve our products and/or installation instructions.

Thanks,

Jan Heine

Rene Herse Cycles

[randal...@gmail.com]

Jan's response indicates this is another live issue with René Herse TPU tubes. If the valve is separating at the valve stem/tube connection, despite the very careful and thorough inflation process outlined in the first post of this email chain AND it's not being caught by a full product inspection, that's indicative that the factory is producing tubes with the same defect as the "first production run". 

Buyer beware.

[Steve Palincsar]

On 5/26/25 9:47 PM, randal...@gmail.com wrote:
> Jan's response indicates this is another live issue with René Herse
> TPU tubes. If the valve is separating at the valve stem/tube
> connection, despite the very careful and thorough inflation process
> outlined in the first post of this email chain

Did you in fact follow that careful, thorough inflation process?

> AND it's not being caught by a full product inspection, that's
> indicative that the factory is producing tubes with the same defect as
> the "first production run".
>
> Buyer beware.
>

[Jan Heine]

Hi Randall,

Thank you for your comments on this thread. It seems that you are quite concerned about warning others with respect to TPU tube failures. You even posted a photo, so I checked our records to see when you bought your TPU tubes. However, I found no TPU tubes sold to you. Usually, I would consider your purchase history confidential, but your photo suggests a personal (and negative) experience with our TPU tubes. It may be useful at this point to clarify whether you actually have first-hand experience with Rene Herse TPU tubes.

We are still waiting for the OP to provide more information about the installation process, so we can actually figure out what is going on. While we wait for more info, I can assure you that we wouldn't be in business any longer if we had to replace a significant percentage of the many, many TPU tubes we've sold. Our TPU tubes cost the same or less than other reputable brands, even though the production cost of the metal valves is significantly higher. Our profit margins are slim, and they don't allow for sending out many replacements—which wouldn't just cost us the tubes themselves, but postage as well. The reason we continue to sell (and use) these tubes is because they've been trouble-free for the vast majority of our customers.

Thanks,
Jan Heine

Rene Herse Cycles

[randal...@gmail.com]

Check again.

[William Lindsay]

" The reason we continue to sell (and use) these tubes is because they've been trouble-free for the vast majority of our customers."

The reason I continue to purchase these tubes is because they are light as heck, pack super small, and the first 10 I've purchased (including a few from very early production runs) have all worked perfectly and are all still in use.  For what that's worth...

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[carll...@gmail.com]

My small data sample:  I have four RH tubes in use, one of which has been removed/stowed/patched/reinstalled 4 times without any issues.  None of the punctures were unique to TPU tubes and were easy to locate by sight, sound or submersion.

The riding experience/$ is high IMHO.

Carl Lind

Seattle.

[Evan Estern]

First of all, thank you Jan for stepping in here.  

More about the procedure and equipment: 

I use an '80s vintage Silca Track pump with a Hirame Yoko pump head.  If I have any doubts I double check my tire pressure with an SKS digital gauge.  I first tried the appropriate sized tubes on my road bike which runs 32mm rear (Stampede Pass) and 30mm front (Chinook Pass) RH Extralight tires  on Campagnolo non TC rims from around 2014.  I'm in the process of assembling a new gravel bike, and the wheels on that machine have Kinlin TL25RU rims which are TC.  I purchased 3 tubes in the appropriate size for that bike.  So in total I purchased 7 RH tubes.    The 6 that failed on me all failed in the exact same way.  The valve stem separated from the tub itself--see photo.  They failed when I inflated them over the pressure I typically run, but before reaching the max pressure on the tire sidewalls.  I'm pretty certain that the last tube I attempted failed at 55lbs and the Corkscrew Climb tires are 60 mx pressure.  Maybe I shouldn't inflate them over the pressure I run?  

[Brad]

How do you determine the "appropriate sized tubes?"   I ask because at one time with butyl tubes I determined that buying undersized tubes and over inflating them avoided pinch flats at or near the bead.   That was long ago and far away when both the tires and my body were skinnier.  

[Steve Palincsar]

Aren't those tubes labeled with the size they were intended for?

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[Anthony Pappalardo]

Yes, but in the case of the Rene Herse tubes there are 700c 30-32 and 700c 30-48. I think that the question is which tube for say a 32mm tire.

I've had good luck with the 30-32's in 32mm tires, but what about the 30-48's in said tires?

TonyP 

EP.Il

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From: 65...@googlegroups.com <65...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Steve Palincsar <pali...@his.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2025 7:34 AM
To: 65...@googlegroups.com <65...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [650B] Has anyone else had trouble with Rene Herse TPU tubes?

 

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[Jan Heine]

Evan,

Thank you for the detailed response. That's very helpful. Before we go into details... I talked to our customer service. They suggested that they will reach out and offer you to either replace your tubes or refund them. (We don't want you to be stuck with a product if you don't have confidence in it.)

Technique: We've been experimenting with installation processes for a while now. We're working on an install video, since there are a few tricks that help with superlight tubes (of any material). The main one we've found, that eliminates any issues with valve stems getting pulled out of alignment, is this: Install the first tire bead (as usual). Insert the tube _without_ air. Totally flat. Put the valve in the hole in the rim. Lay the tube so it's inside the circle of the tire. It'll be too small, but that's OK. Now inflate it so it holds its shape and fits inside the tire.

What this does is avoid any sideways pull on the valve stem. If you do it the 'traditional' way, by first inflating the tube and then inserting it, depending on your technique, the tube can be stretched more on one side of the valve than on the other. And when you inflate it, that only gets worse...

Back to the installation. Proceed as usual: Place the tube onto the rim, so it's out of the way when you install the second bead. Install the second bead, starting opposite of the valve. Finish at the valve. Push the valve upward to make sure the tube isn't trapped between rim and tire bead where you lifted the last part of the bead over the rim. Go around and double-check that the tube isn't trapped anywhere else. Inflate. (If with a compressor, in small steps, so the tire seats slowly and the tube can slide around inside the tire as it expands.) If you want to be fastidious, deflate so the tube can relax its shape after the tire has seated. Then reinflate. (I do this before big events, since I really don't want any issues in the middle of Paris-Brest-Paris or Unbound XL.)

A few more pointers:

- Why finish the installation at the valve? The valve is in the rim well, so there's no space for the beads at that spot. Especially with modern tubeless-compatible rims, you really need to have the bead in the rim well all around the tire, to create enough slack, so you can lift the last bit over the sidewall. If you finish the installation at the valve, your bead can be in the rim well all the way around.

- Undersize tubes: That was a trick many of us used. It worked fine with high-quality tubes. You stretched the rubber a bit thinner, essentially creating your own budget extralight tubes. It also helped with the issue that most tubes were too large in diameter. (They were exactly the right diameter, but tubes stretch with use, and after a flat, it was almost impossible to get the tube back in without folds.) Rene Herse tubes are sized so they go into the tire with ease. Basically, rather than just look at nominal diameters, we've factored in the stretch.

- Overlapping sizes: The tube sizes overlap a bit. You can use either size at that point. If you run wide rims, go with the larger size, since your 32 mm tire may end up being 33 or 34 mm wide. If you run narrow rims, go with the smaller size. It doesn't really matter too much.

All this will be much easier to visualize once we have a video... Which brings up the next question: When will the video be available? That really depends on everything else. The constantly changing tariff situation has created a huge amount of extra work. Used to be, we just projected when we needed something, factored in the lead times of our suppliers, placed the order, paid for it, had it shipped, and that was it. Now we rush shipments before new tariffs go in effect, only to have them (the tariffs or the shipments, or sometimes both) delayed, then new tariffs added on top, then... 

It feels like the old cross-state races in Eastern Washington, where I could see three thunderstorms move across the plains, and I plotted my path so I could pass in between. And more than once, I huddled next to a railroad embankment hoping the lightning would strike elsewhere, before making a mad dash to the next town and arriving at the only diner just as the lightning started to hit the grain elevator across the street, and the lights went out. Twenty minutes later, the sun came out, and only the wet and steaming roads were a reminder of what just had happened. Let's hope that analogy holds...

Jan Heine
Rene Herse Cycles

Seattle, WA, USA

[John Dewey]

Your last paragraph is classic…and so true. 

And thanks for y’alls good work. I had some trouble with RH tpu in the distant past but now ready to try again.  

Jock

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