Or it could be because in the same way we see different material properties in various alloys of metals like titanium, steel, and aluminum, as well as materials property differences in carbon fiber blends and rubber compounds, that cheap, Chinese— unbranded?— TPU has different material properties than other TPUs, such as Schwalbe’s Aerothan.

I mean, I noticed a difference in feel switching from tubeless to Aerothan as well, but I wanted call it anything like harshness. Aerothan felt a little less supple or a little more stiff, but I wonder if some of that perception wasn’t down to tire pressure; I’d been having trouble holding pressure with the Herse Bon Jon Extralights tubeless, which is why switched them to TPU, so no doubt there were times where the smoothness was caused by decaying tire pressure.

Anyway, superlight TPU at 36g I’d have expected to be very supple on the presumption the material is very thin, but again, we have to recognize that different material compositions can have different performance attributes, which is a long way of saying “plastic ain’t plastic.”