After getting a meaty snake-bite puncture on the notorious Rim Dinger trail at Bike Park Wales, my riding buddies watched in puzzlement as I pulled the Eclipse inner tube from my hip pack. I was assailed with questions and remarks of indignation and interest in equal measures – "What on earth is that?”, "Well that’s not going to survive the day!”.
So just what are these translucent little tubes? They’re claimed to be the world’s lightest inner tubes, and I’m not going to argue there, as my 29 x 2.0-2.6 version weighed in at a scant 72g! Made from TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), compared to the traditional heavy black butyl rubber, they’re all about weight saving. But are they tough and reliable?
