Eclipse tubes - do not bother

[RJKflyer]

Thought I'd try the super lightweight/free running/puncture resistant Swiss Eclipse tubes.

Had read some concerns re manufacturing defects early on (porosity etc), but allegedly fixed now.

In case you've not seen, these tubes are clear plastic, the material being similar to that of paddling pools. They have a pretty significant heat weld where the end are joined.

5 miles into first ride, front goes down. I've done 1,500 miles on Conti 4 Seasons tyres plus standard Conti tubes without a puncture, so a bit suspicious.

Tyre off - nothing found inside or outside. No apparent hole in tube. But... ...the 'weld' had developed a weeping leak.

Bought 3 - they will all be going back.

These are a waste of time since you cannot rely on them.

[megalightman]

So, you bought something, its faulty, and now everyone ever made will be faulty too? Hmmm, makes sense!

[prendrefeu]

Has anyone tried contacting the company to enquire about the hit/miss of their product?
Some have had success, some have had failures. Perhaps someone who has purchased their product should get in touch with them to hear what the company has to say - or do - about their inconsistent production?
http://www.eclipse.ch/new/Contact.html

[mattr]

I've read somewhere that crc dropped them due to high levels of returns.

And the only bricks and mortar shop I know that had them, sent the whole lot back to the importer after they'd had a 40-50% failure rate/tubes springing leaks on installation, or fairly soon after (mostly still in the shop).

[TrekUk]

So you buy 4 tubes, have issues with one of them, spit the dummy out and make no attempt to test another tube properly?

Ive seen common tubes with defects along a join numerous times.

[boolinwall]

I had the same issues with the first few Latex tubes I tried. I never got more than a week out of one. Must have just been a bad batch though, because I've been using the same two for over a year now. (Knock on wood). And yes,, I get that you're talking about something completely different, but my point is that you might have just gotten a bad example. As products push the envelope to be lighter, faster, tougher etc. The tolerances for every one of those things to be present gets pretty high. It wouldn't take much of an imperfection during manufacturing to cause an issue.

[RJKflyer]

I agree that one failure does not make them all useless, BUT:
(a) i have never had a single tube fail due to manufacturing defect in all of my life
(b) there are further details that I will share below, that, for me at this price point, mean a return of all.

Just for those who might not realise - these tubes are GBP40 EACH.

The tube held pressure whilst bike unused for two days. First ride on smooth dry roads the seam clearly developed a leak after 5 miles. The tyre is perfect, and under eyeglass examination has no damage (so I have been careful not to denounce it for an unrelated fault).

It is well known that these tubes were very subject to QC issues early on, but I thought this had been resolved - so I have already taken a balanced view on them - and not categorised them as useless without looking, reading up, buying the things and trying them out.

Also, I'd comment:
1. The weld is quite bulky, at least on two of the ones I have (including the failed one). So, if you got a puncture very close to the weld, I doubt you could patch it
2. On my heavy thick 4 Seasons tyres, you couldn't 'feel' the bulk of the weld, but I wonder on thinner racier tyres if you might. However, this is just an opinion I accept.
3. The replacement Eclipse tube I installed when fixing the failure resulted in the tyre profile having a very noticeable 'pinch' in it by the valve. On this tube, when inflated , the valve must have been distorting the shape of the tube suggesting where it was pressed into the tube it had affected the 'roundness' of the tube.

As always YMMV, but this is not an ultra-thin race tube that I'm criticising for failing when I subjected it to unreasonable demands.

Am I intolerant of product failure - yes probably more than the 'average'. However, they're VERY expensive, and so they need to work. 100%.

So, all in all, not for me.

[RJKflyer]

Oh, and FWIW, although the box claims 29g, they are 36-38g each.

[boolinwall]

40 each!!?? That's foolish. I'd be returning them as well.