Tannus liner tube blowout!

[Altema]

I haven't had a flat bicycle tire for decades, despite rolling right over broken glass a few times with the Kenda tires. Then I install the Tannus Armour liners and tubes, and get a flat! It happened when the bike was just sitting there, so that was fortunate. There was no tire damage, and no liner damage. I took out the tube, and found a knife-like cut on the inside surface of the tube, in addition to a stem which was not glued properly, and a molding defect in the tube.

What I think happened, is a quality inspector found the defects, and slashed the tube as a way of marking it and making sure it was pulled off the production line. However, the slash did not go all the way through, so the tube held air, and it held air for me... for about six weeks! I contacted the company, and they suggested I damaged the tube and asked for photos (I did not expect that!), so we shall see. I've lost count of the tires I've installed and repaired for other people (I was the neighborhood bike mechanic and builder). I install my tires and tubes by hand, without tools, so it's not likely my fingers made that cut!

I took the liners out and re-installed my original Rad tubes, but even though the tires are lighter and the "feel" of the bike is livelier this way, I bought another tube locally to put the liners back in. The ride with the liners is less jarring over small bumps and cracks, and the tires seem to have better contact with the road, so I think it's worth the slight loss in efficiency.

[no_whammys]

same experience here - i recently installed tannus armour w/ the included tube (purchased as a bundle from the rad site) in a set of kenda krusade sport 20x4's that replaced the stock 20x3 cst big boats on the most current model radmini & got a flat my first time out - no tire damage, no liner damage.  upon inspection, the tube was faulty & the seal failed @ the valve stem attachment point - very disappointing & frustrating considering that the purpose of the tire armour is to prevent the dreaded flat yet they provide tubes of such poor quality. luckily i had the tubes from the stock cst's i had changed out & they were clearly of better quality.  i contacted rad customer service (including a couple photos) who immediately stepped up & are sending me a replacement tube; they are def now aware of the poor quality tubes that tannus is sending w/ the armour bundles.

[vudude]

i'd love to see this work. Thanks for the update.

[reppac]

I just suffered the same failure. Purchased the combo a few months back and finally installed on the rear yesterday. Went out today and the rear failed after about 10 miles. The failure point was at the valve stem. I've sent an email to Tannus and am awaiting a reply.

[reppac]

Wow, talk about customer service! Sent an email to Tannus Customer Support right after I posted here. What follows is their reply about an hour later:

Hi:

Thanks for your message! We are happy to get you another tube.
We have heard of this happening. We have learned a few things!

Sometimes the tubes are faulty just being from a large production.
We have also learned that with these wider options that our recommendation to do 5-10 PSI less than you normally ride, doesn't really work since the pressure is already fairly low. We recommend running you regular PSI so that this can reduce the chances of the tire, Armour, and tube rotating while braking or whatever else. This rotation can cause the valve to rip when it is rotated.

The other thing we have heard is that after 24 hours after install, things seem to settle and to check your tire pressure again.

Also, do not run lower than 15 PSI.

Hope this all helps! Your new tube should ship out shortly.
Thank you!
Hillary

Customer Service

Tannusamerica.com

[Altema]

Glad to see they are being more responsible. They sent me another tube, but there was some resistance. I bought another tube on my own, and am keeping the one they sent me as a spare. Although I don't like the increased rolling resistance, they do improve tread contact with the road surface, and the bike feels more planted at high speed.