The one made in Taiwan felt lighter and the material more supple. It wasn't stiff and the material felt of even thickness throughout the length of the tube.
On the other hand, the one stamped made in Thailand felt much heavier, rough, not supple and felt it was of uneven thickness throughout its entire length. Additionally, it has size markings that conflict with each other.
I put some air in each tube and it's apparent these tubes are not at all alike in quality. The Taiwan made tube is much, much better. It feels of even thickness throughout its length. The Thailand made tube feels like sections tubes of different thicknesses and materials bonded together to form one tube. When aired up, the two tubes look nothing alike.
These are so cheap I don't think I'll bother to return the one tube but will look elsewhere for tubes in the future.
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The three Avenir tubes I ordered and received looked nothing like the photograph. They are extremely thick, not appropriate for lightweight bikes that use 700x23/25. Each tube was jammed into a box in a haphazard way, probably before the rubber was completely cured, so they took a permanent twisted and tangled "set."Each tube was evidently twisted during deflation immediately after manufacture. Even if I inflated the tubes, then stretched them out, and tried deflating them flat so they could be coiled flat and carried in a under-saddle spares bag, I was unsuccessful. I wasted *far* more time in labor than the price difference between these Avenir and quality tubes such as Michelin or Continental.
After all that wasted time, any one of the Avenir tubes would not fit in a saddle bag except by itself. I gave them to a friend who wanted heavy tubes for her toss-around errand bike, warning her about my experience.
Shame on Avenir for making and packaging such poor quality product. Shame on Amazon and the partner vendor for depicting it with the deceptive photo that looks fine. But most of all, shame on me if I ever buy another Avenir tube sight unseen from Amazon.
Best Deals for Avenir Threaded Presta 48Mm Valve Tube
I received these and the packaging was fine (no damage to the box or anything). However they were kind of bulky and heavier than expected for a bike tube. They seemed old and "tough", but that was just my gut feeling (hard to tell). Not as flexible as the tubes that I am used to.Then when I started to inflate them it got bad fast. Just at low pressure ~10 PSI (these should be able to go past 30 PSI and road tubes generally run at ~120 PSI) I noticed a large bulge and tire non-uniformity. Before I could deflate the tube it exploded in my face, and quite loudly. My housemates thought I had died or something. I'm really glad that it didn't destroy my bike tire, as what happened a few years ago (the explosion can rip a hole in your tire).
I was more cautious with the second tube. At REALLY low pressure I noticed more bulging with the tire as I VERY slowly inflated it. That one looked like it was ready to pop right away, so I stopped inflating.
These tubes are going back and I don't think I'll be ordering any more online, which is a shame... the process sounded very convenient.
Honest reviews on Avenir Threaded Presta 48Mm Valve Tube
I ordered two of these tubes (700x25C), and like a previous reviewer, I got one manufactured in Taiwan and another from Thailand.The one from Taiwan seems to be of very good quality, with uniform thickness and a good feel to it. The one from Thailand is much thicker, stiffer, and was twisted in the box. I weighed the tubes on my postal scale, and the Thai tube weighs a full ounce (25%) more than the Taiwanese one. I put the heavier tube on my rear tire. Maybe it will help reduce flats, but I'm not counting on it.
That said, both fit my rims/tires, and both valve stems seem to be of reasonable quality. The longer stems fit well with my deep "aero" rims.
