Schwalbe upgrades their lightweight, low rolling resistance Aerothan TPU tubes with a new aluminum valve stem and an update to a more environmentally-friendly circular economy manufacturing process. The switch to an alloy stem makes these feel a bit more premium, and the threading improves compatibility. But there’s really a lot more important ecological backstory, too – with the rubber of these lightweight inner tubes now being made out of old recycled tires!

We’ve been riding with them for a quick first impressions review. And we got a unique peek inside the Schwalbe factory outside of Cologne, Germany to see some of these TPU tubes being manufactured in-house…

Improved Schwalbe Aerothan TPU tubes are more eco-friendly

(All photos/Cory Benson)

It’s been a decade since Schwalbe started producing their own lightweight TPU inner tubes – promising lower rolling resistance and improved puncture resistance. Their latest evolution got lighter and more heat-resistant five years back, but the smooth plastic valve stems weren’t compatible with all pumps, or some things like outside thread-on tire pressure sensors. Alloy valves now fix that.

What’s new?

So, from a product-in-your-hand perspective, you’ll notice that the new tubes switch from a threadless plastic valve stem to a new blue-gray anodized threaded aluminum valve. It generally is going to add a gram or two to your lightweight tube. But I personally prefer the more secure connection and rattle-free riding you get with a threaded valve. And they just feel nicer.

What is the circular economy?

At the same time as shifting to the alloy valve, the TPU of new Schwalbe Aerothan tubes is manufactured from an innovative chemical-recycling process that replaces the fossil fuel raw materials that make the thermoplastic polyurethane with recaptured pyrolysis oil from their tire recycling project. In fact, Schwalbe now confirms that “the proportion of ‘circular’ recycled materials in Aerothan tubes is 91% – with consistently high quality and robustness.“

The new tubes are still made in Germany at Schwalbe’s headquarters in Reichshof, North Rhine-Westphalia. The TPU tube is made elsewhere in Germany by global giant chemical partner BASF, but Schwalbe turns them into bicycle inner tubes in-house. Most of the magic happens at BASF, but even that started at Schwalbe.

We’ve been covering Schwalbe tire recycling for years. It essentially started as a joint research project in 2020 between the tire maker, Pyrum Innovations & the Cologne Technical University, when a student intern at Schwalbe developed a unique new thermochemical process to recycle tires, breaking them back down into reusable raw materials. The pyrolysis oil obtained from used tires by Pyrum Innovations’ patented recycling process is now fed back into BASF‘s ChemCycling program to produce the ‘Ccycled’ thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) for the new Aerothan tubes, instead of using conventional crude oil as a raw material.

Less fossil fuels to create means a more eco-friendly tube. And now Schwalbe also says that these new Aerothan tubes are 100% recyclable – although they are still working on the “take-back logistics” to separate them from tires & butyl tube in their standard bicycle tire recycling program.

So how do they work? A quick review!

I’ve been riding with the new Schwalbe Aerothan TPU tubes in my bike for just a few weeks, together with the new eco-construction Pirelli Cinturato Evo all-road tires. (Shh!! Don’t tell Schwalbe.). And the tubes do everything you’d want from TPU tubes. They are light, were easy to install without any of the mess of tubeless sealant, and don’t feel like they are slowing me down. The threaded alloy valve definitely feels like an upgrade over plastic valve stems. Plus, having a spare in my pocket only costs me 65g.

I really like that they can be bought directly with the new Clik Valves already installed, for just one euro per tire. (Or standard Presta & Shrader valves depending on size.) It’s such an easy-to-use system, and I’ve converted my mini-pump and a home Lezyne floor pump for quick click-on pressure adjustments. I guess I just need to get one of these Wolf Tooth EnCase+Clik pumps for an even more compact traveling on-the-go setup.

New Schwalbe Aerothan tubes – Pricing, options & availability

The new alloy-valved, made-in-Germany Schwalbe Aerothan TPU inner tubes effectively come in all the same sizes as before. That means you can get lower weight and lower rolling resistance for your 16″ Brompton, 20″ BMX or cargo bike, old school 26″ MTB, or up to more modern 700c road, gravel, and 27.5 or 29er mountain bikes.

Aerothan tubes generally start around 28€ for most sizes, adding just 1€ extra if you want a Clik Valve pre-installed. If you need an extra-long alloy valve, that could add up to 4€ extra, or figure on up to 8€ more for the extra-thick + tubes designed for boosted cargo & ebike puncture protection. Just FYI, Schwalbe also sells a special TPU-specific repair kit with 4 glueless Aerothan patches for 8€, since you can’t use the same patches as on old black butyl tubes.

Officially, the new Aerothan tubes will be “available in stores by the end of the year 2025” but some sizes like my Gravel/Allroad 33-47mm tubes may already be available in your local bike shop.

Schwalbe.com

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