Maxxis's lightest-weight grade tube, the Flyweight for 700×18～25C (48mm valve length)
has been out of stock for a long time with restocking expected mid-August,
but the bag-packaged version had stock at the wholesaler so
I ordered it in.
Oops, the camera angle was off (deadpan delivery).
The tubes themselves are the same as the boxed version.
I prefer the boxed version for display purposes, but...
The only difference is that instead of the orange tape with "Flyweight" written on it,
these are held together with a black rubber band.
Until not long ago, Japan had two Maxxis wholesalers,
both of which had the bag-packaged format,
and only one of them had the box-packaged format,
so I thought the bag packaging was the global standard.
However, currently the bag-packaged version has Japanese labeling
and the wholesaler's name is also printed on the back.
In contrast, the box-packaged version only has English labeling,
so maybe the box version is actually the global standard specification.
Thicker than Flyweight (0.45mm thickness),
the Ultralight (0.6mm thickness) and Welterweight (0.8mm thickness)
come in a bulk format called the "Workshop Pack"
with 50 tubes per box packed as-is,
but Flyweight doesn't have this.
However, internally (between manufacturer and wholesaler) it exists,
and this could be bulk Flyweight tubes that the Japanese wholesaler
has repackaged themselves.
This is also from the same wholesaler—
small-batch bags of DT spokes in 4 or 10-piece units,
and besides the spoke type and length markings,
there's a code that says "SKS" something or other.
This is a code that only works within the wholesaler's system.
For a front light it's LPF (Lamp Front),
for a rear light it's LPT (Lamp Tail),
for a basket it's BKT (Basket), and so on—
with bags being BAG whether they're saddlebags or phone cases,
but bike bags are BAR, which I think means "Bag Rinko" (bike bag).
Floor pumps are PPF and portable pumps are PPM,
so this might mean "Pump/Pump Floor" and "Pump/Pump Mobile."
As for which S in SKS means spoke,
it's definitely the second one.
Because nipples are SKN.
So SKS probably means something like "Spoke Kit/Spoke" or
"Spoke-related/Spoke."
Regarding these bag-packaged DT spokes,
while I haven't made a definitive statement,
I've previously suggested they're being repackaged at the Japanese wholesaler,
and I'm pretty sure that's correct.
I've never seen this same packaging format on overseas online stores either.
What's frustrating about this is that recently
I often receive bags with just the code and no length marking.
If this were packaged by the spoke manufacturer,
there's no way they'd skip writing the length.
So afterward I have to add the length myself.
The Champion vs Competizione vs Revolution marking isn't necessary.
At our shop we only buy Champion in the longest 315mm 500-piece boxes,
and Revolution, while listed on the manufacturer's website,
isn't in the Japanese wholesaler's regular stock,
so the bag-packaged DT spokes we have are definitely Competizione.
This is totally trivial, but the code for tubes is TIT.
This doesn't mean what you think it means. Probably.
Since tires are TIR, they just changed the last letter to T for tubes.
For general-use non-folding steel-bead tires,
that type of tire is called a "city bike tire,"
so for city bikes it becomes TIS.
Wait, so "city" is SHITI not CITY?
Since we're talking about products from the same wholesaler,
I'll add this while I'm at it:
Topeak's floor pump brand "Joe Blow"—
I'm pretty sure English speakers hear it as something like "Tchiofella,"
but nobody points it out, so
I'm writing it down here.
There's no way this is accidental. They definitely did this on purpose.
Addendum: But seriously, making dirty jokes about pumps—that's pretty low! (→here)
has been out of stock for a long time with restocking expected mid-August,
but the bag-packaged version had stock at the wholesaler so
I ordered it in.
Oops, the camera angle was off (deadpan delivery).
The tubes themselves are the same as the boxed version.
I prefer the boxed version for display purposes, but...
The only difference is that instead of the orange tape with "Flyweight" written on it,
these are held together with a black rubber band.
Until not long ago, Japan had two Maxxis wholesalers,
both of which had the bag-packaged format,
and only one of them had the box-packaged format,
so I thought the bag packaging was the global standard.
However, currently the bag-packaged version has Japanese labeling
and the wholesaler's name is also printed on the back.
In contrast, the box-packaged version only has English labeling,
so maybe the box version is actually the global standard specification.
Thicker than Flyweight (0.45mm thickness),
the Ultralight (0.6mm thickness) and Welterweight (0.8mm thickness)
come in a bulk format called the "Workshop Pack"
with 50 tubes per box packed as-is,
but Flyweight doesn't have this.
However, internally (between manufacturer and wholesaler) it exists,
and this could be bulk Flyweight tubes that the Japanese wholesaler
has repackaged themselves.
This is also from the same wholesaler—
small-batch bags of DT spokes in 4 or 10-piece units,
and besides the spoke type and length markings,
there's a code that says "SKS" something or other.
This is a code that only works within the wholesaler's system.
For a front light it's LPF (Lamp Front),
for a rear light it's LPT (Lamp Tail),
for a basket it's BKT (Basket), and so on—
with bags being BAG whether they're saddlebags or phone cases,
but bike bags are BAR, which I think means "Bag Rinko" (bike bag).
Floor pumps are PPF and portable pumps are PPM,
so this might mean "Pump/Pump Floor" and "Pump/Pump Mobile."
As for which S in SKS means spoke,
it's definitely the second one.
Because nipples are SKN.
So SKS probably means something like "Spoke Kit/Spoke" or
"Spoke-related/Spoke."
Regarding these bag-packaged DT spokes,
while I haven't made a definitive statement,
I've previously suggested they're being repackaged at the Japanese wholesaler,
and I'm pretty sure that's correct.
What's frustrating about this is that recently
I often receive bags with just the code and no length marking.
If this were packaged by the spoke manufacturer,
there's no way they'd skip writing the length.
So afterward I have to add the length myself.
The Champion vs Competizione vs Revolution marking isn't necessary.
At our shop we only buy Champion in the longest 315mm 500-piece boxes,
and Revolution, while listed on the manufacturer's website,
isn't in the Japanese wholesaler's regular stock,
so the bag-packaged DT spokes we have are definitely Competizione.
This is totally trivial, but the code for tubes is TIT.
This doesn't mean what you think it means. Probably.
Since tires are TIR, they just changed the last letter to T for tubes.
For general-use non-folding steel-bead tires,
that type of tire is called a "city bike tire,"
so for city bikes it becomes TIS.
Wait, so "city" is SHITI not CITY?
Since we're talking about products from the same wholesaler,
I'll add this while I'm at it:
Topeak's floor pump brand "Joe Blow"—
I'm pretty sure English speakers hear it as something like "Tchiofella,"
but nobody points it out, so
I'm writing it down here.
There's no way this is accidental. They definitely did this on purpose.
Addendum: But seriously, making dirty jokes about pumps—that's pretty low! (→here)