Propagation bending waves are studied in a tube of steel and in a ring of aluminum. The waves are generated by the impact of a ballistic pendulum. Holographic interferometry, with a double-pulsed ruby laser as light source, is used to record the waves. A conical mirror is placed axially inside the tube. Axial illumination and axial observation directions, make it possible to view all sides of the tube simultaneously with a high sensitivity to radial deformation. The interferograms, which have an unusual perspective, are captured with a CCD-camera and then spatially transformed into an unwrapped strip of the tube wall. This makes the interpretation of the measurements simpler. The geometry of the tube causes the wave pattern to propagate with different speed and amplitude along and across the tube, even when the material itself is isotropic. A finite-element simulation of the impact is compared to the corresponding experiment. An impact on a ring with a defect is performed in order to study the effect on the wave pattern. The proposed method could be used in nondestructive testing of pipes.