Super light, extremely stable, super elastic. When you think of tuning a mountain bike, you probably think of forks, wheels, tyres or gears. The Hose is hardly on anyone's mind, but this is exactly where Schwalbe's new design wants to start. The mountain bike version of the 29-inch version of the so-called Aerothan tube is said to weigh just 87 grams. And at the same time, the lightweight tube is supposed to outshine everything known to date in terms of puncture protection.
Polyurethane hoses - problematic so far
The idea of making hoses from Polyurethane is not new, however. Bicycle inner tubes made from this material have been around for almost a decade, and Schwalbe has also had such tubes in its programme for some time. The problem so far: puncture protection. Although the thin plastic material is very resistant, manufacturing tolerances have a significant impact due to the low wall thickness and have led to leaks in places where the wall thickness is too low. Heat was also a problem in the past, which is why most lightweight inner tubes were not approved for rim brakes.
"Aerothane" - development together with BASF
This is set to change with Schwalbe's new "Aerothan" tyre. Together with the chemical giant BASF, the German tyre manufacturer has perfected the material over a development period of five years and eliminated the existing problems. Tubes made from the new material are now said to have above-average heat resistance and also perform better in terms of puncture protection than tubes made from conventional materials such as butyl, latex or plastic. Twice as much energy is required to puncture the tube in the laboratory with a standard tip (puncture). Schwalbe also speaks of "significantly greater drop heights" in the puncture test with a drop axe.
A positive side effect of the Aerothan tube, in addition to weight and puncture protection, is that tubes made from Aerothan have significantly better flexing behaviour and should therefore also perform better in terms of rolling resistance and damping. In addition, the air should escape from the tyre much more slowly in the event of a puncture because the stable material no longer tears in the event of a puncture. A sudden burst and a resulting fall could thus be avoided more often. Just like butyl inner tubes, the new Aerothane inner tubes are fully recyclable.
Schwalbe Aerothan: Variants and weights
In addition to the standard version for mountain bikes up to 2.4 inch tyres (29 inch - 87 grams, 27.5 inch - 81 grams, 27.90 euros), there will also be even lighter versions specially designed for touring (61 grams) and racing cyclists (from 41 grams). If you want, you can also choose the slightly thicker versions for mountain bikes, which are specially designed for plus-size tyres and are recommended for tyre widths from 2.4 inches (29 inches - 116 grams, 27.5 inches - 109 grams, 29.90 euros).
You can find all further information on the Website of the manufacturer.
Adrian Kaether
Editor
