OK, IMPALA is hardly a recognised cycling tyre brand, but they sell a PAIR of TPU inners on Amazon for GBP20.95/€25.95. Thus, at GBP10 each, they are the same price as race-grade butyl inners but WAY lighter and probably a bit sturdier. This pricing, for me, changes the economics of TPU inners and effectively makes them my preferred option; some might consider them disposable at that price.
I don’t know how durable IMPALA TPU are in the long term, but I have extensively used and like TPU inners from other brands.
In my experience, they are impossible to repair. I’ve given up trying.
There are usually two grades of TPE, reflected by their weight. The lighter grade is obviously a lower weight. As they are thinner, you WILL find that rim brakes burst them as rims get hot during braking; my understanding is that this is more prone to happen with CARBON rims than ALUMINIUM, as the former is worse at dissipating the heat from braking.
The lightest grade is about 20-23g, and the ‘normal’ weight is about 35g for a road tyre.
Do NOT use the lightest grade with rim brakes, although you might get away with it in the cold or wet.
TPU inner are lighter and thus should marginally improve your acceleration
The overall weight of a tubless-ready tyre plus sealant plus valve is probably heavier than an
They are much smaller, ideal for saddle-bag spares
They are harder to find with long stems, but 100mm alternatives are available from Schwalbe
IMPALA has three stem lengths (45mm, 65mm, 85mm). You need a stem about 20mm longer than the rim depth of your wheel. If you use them as an emergency spare, you want to be 20mm longer than the rim depth of your DEEPEST wheelset. Some wheelsets have deeper rear wheel rims.
You should save at least 50g PER WHEEL compared to butyl race tubes
TPU might be BETTER when it comes to puncture resistance
DO NOT INFLATE TPU inners outside the tyre. It WILL stretch and damage the TPU
The punctures I’ve experienced with them seem to let the air out over several 10s of seconds rather than in one catastrophic burst. That’s just my experience, not a guarantee.
Seems to give a slightly nicer ride quality, perhaps not as good as LATEX.
These will not deflate overnight like LATEX. For some reason, mine do seem to deflate slowly over several days, so i do check pressures before each ride. This shouldn’t happen…but it does to me
Be mindful when tightening the valve inner after inflation. Repeatedly and forcibly tightening the valve might cause the entire valve stem to twist off the main body of the TPU inner.
The IMPALA brand seems to have thought of this with a fairly large surface area of material to bond the tube to the stem
You might have some luck with valve extenders if needed
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