Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Inner tubing: A comeback?

I recently tested inner tubing from bikes, not a very good slingshot band material. Unstretchy and slow.

But now I learned that until WW2, inner tubings were made from natural latex, until the shortages lead to using a material called butyl rubber as a substitute. That substitude was then kept to this day.

Except that some high end guys are using latex again, simply because they believe that it is lighter and has less rolling resitance.

Read about the inner tubing history here

So I bought the best stuff I could find (a whole 28" tubing set weighs less than 60 gramms =  960 gr) and it arrived today!

I immediately checked it out and it is VERY PROMISING. It stretches more far than TB Gold (about 65%) and feels more linear until the very end of the stretch. I banded a Panther up with 15cm effective draw, untapered. 5 kg draw! And fast. Probably the fastest tubular rubber I ever tested.



As soon as I have some time, I will make a tapered butterfly set and test the heck out of it.
Posted by The Slingshot Channel at 7:45 PM

30 comments:

  1. DukaTheSeptember 20, 2011 at 8:18 PM

    Realy good bandset you made there :)

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  2. Mark September 20, 2011 at 8:38 PM

    looking forward to learning more about this

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  3. WmpyrSeptember 20, 2011 at 9:19 PM

    very interesting! I like how you explore different types always studying and testing!

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  4. Kylie Sven O'possumSeptember 20, 2011 at 10:51 PM

    How much did they charge you for a latex inner tube? Are they comparable in price to TB Gold?
    Have you tried "Super-Jumbo Rubber Movers Bands." I saw them at a harbor freight store.
    http://www.harborfreight.com/6-piece-super-jumbo-rubber-mover-bands-65906.html
    They are about 18-20mm wide and come in lengths from 29"-45" inches. They are basically giant office bands.?

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  5. Tosh TogoSeptember 20, 2011 at 10:58 PM

    Seems I've heard sunlight is an unforgiving enemy of this rubber, but your first report is very encouraging. The search for the fastest rebounding rubber continues! :)

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  6. coolhandcarlSeptember 20, 2011 at 11:06 PM

    Looks like those balloons that clowns carry around and shape into animals for little kids. Did you do any testing or comparison of your condom bands to theraband, they are latex too. I can't wait to see the numbers on this stuff. Good work!

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  7. DudeNumberOnePlusSeptember 20, 2011 at 11:42 PM

    Hello Jöerg. The "inner tubing" is quite wide term today, i bought some cheap tubes recently, and theyre made of some plasticky crappy material, that does stretch some 20-30% and then tears without much effort, real bummer. I remember the good ol' brick red tubings that were still sometimes available in early 80's. These were great.

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  8. GregSeptember 21, 2011 at 12:02 AM

    Cool! Could this be a cheap alternative to Thera band?

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  9. ryanslumanSeptember 21, 2011 at 12:34 AM

    im curious about the prices compared to performance

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  10. bj666September 21, 2011 at 2:10 AM

    unbelievable . gotta get my hands on some .. are the prices worth it?

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  11. LeftySeptember 21, 2011 at 2:55 AM

    Interesting, where did you get that from?

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  12. lucasjhaydenSeptember 21, 2011 at 3:37 AM

    did you order them online

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  13. Jord the RedSeptember 21, 2011 at 3:52 AM

    Are they bike tubes?

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  14. BeanflipSeptember 21, 2011 at 6:14 AM

    That is exciting. I wonder how they would compare to Tex latex bands? ........... And ok I still want to win a panther. Nice job as usual on your new design

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  15. AnonymousSeptember 21, 2011 at 12:15 PM

    Yellow :)
    Wow, I have never seen a tubes like this.
    Normal black are weak an slow as you have mentioned.
    Best inner “tubes” I had in my hands came out of the football bals – my nephews little orange shooter:
    http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/3392/img0688ak.jpg
    In my opinion faster that TBGold, but not so durable especially exposed to the sunlight.

    Waiting fore some tests of that tubes :)
    Cheers
    Rafal

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  16. PHIL-ROKSeptember 21, 2011 at 12:45 PM

    Have you ever used the red truck inner tube

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  17. AndreasSeptember 21, 2011 at 1:54 PM

    Probably not cheaper than theraband, in absolute terms. But theraband is only sheaper in bulk, so for me as a not very frequent shooter it could be a good alternative. There's a specialized runners bike store in my neighborhood, so if the test turn out good I definitely give it a try.

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  18. AnonymousSeptember 21, 2011 at 4:00 PM

    Sounds like a nice band :)

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  19. never that coolSeptember 21, 2011 at 5:10 PM

    Interesting. That's all we used as kids when we made slingshots.

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  20. Lloyd781September 21, 2011 at 7:52 PM

    Is there the possibility to win such a slingshot?

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  21. sunny dumayasSeptember 22, 2011 at 4:41 AM

    hi jorg, i'm new here. just found your videos on youtube a few days ago when i was searching for instructions on how to make slingshots. i used to shoot homemade slingshots when i was a kid growing up here in the philippines, i was a crack shot, if i may say so myself! now i'm rekindling my interest and hoping i can get my kids interested in slingshots as well.

    today, i will look for latex inner tubes in the local bicycle shops. hopefully, they have it and i can build a slingshot patterned after one of yours. it's nice to have found your blog! keep building those slingshots!

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  22. ToyfarerSeptember 22, 2011 at 5:01 AM

    Good to know!!! I can get that A LOT easier... Thanks!

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  23. RyanSeptember 22, 2011 at 5:22 AM

    Interesting stuff! have you ever tried Alliance #107's ??? real good easy bands! love to see a comparison of that and other elastics!

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  24. erikSeptember 22, 2011 at 8:26 PM

    interesting to see how it works!

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  25. Axel LafortuneSeptember 23, 2011 at 5:03 AM

    what is the best bands set up for long range precision shooting with the panther ?
    Thanks

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  26. DJ'sSeptember 23, 2011 at 8:19 AM

    very interesting, sir! i will try and buy some off ebay if they have any.

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  27. MarkuslinSeptember 27, 2012 at 9:26 PM

    can u give the link of the yt video?

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  28. UnknownMarch 31, 2015 at 12:53 PM

    very interesting your blog
    Passenger Cars Tubes

    ReplyDelete
  29. UnknownApril 14, 2015 at 11:27 AM

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    Motorcycle tube manufacturer india

    ReplyDelete
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