TPU Inner Tubes

davidof · April 23

Has anyone had time to test them? I'm thinking of migrating my road tubeless to TPU tubes but they remain quite expensive.

daniel_b · April 23

There are a few recent threads on this one - a few of us have them on at least one of our bikes, and to the best of my knowledge have had no issues.

Admittedly mine are the expensive Pirelli ones, as they were for my best bike, and it was before I was aware of Ridenow tubes on Aliexpress I think it is - they worked out at the time when I ordered a batch, at about £4 each only, so exactly the same cost as a butyl tube.

Instead of me keeping prattling on on here, let me see if I can find the thread for you.

*You'll have to excuse the ramblings of a forum member on there who doesn't read any of the replies properly.

super_davo · April 23

There is another thread on them here - the search function isn't working well but it is called "Latex or Tubolito".

Summary - everyone who has tried them loves them. They are not that expensive if you buy RideNow TPU from AliExpress (about £20 for four). They weigh nothing, pack down tiny, and don't leak anything like as much as Latex whilst offering a similar ride. And there is one loon on the thread that hasn't used them, but thinks they are really expensive and will decompose after a couple of years use.

daniel_b · April 23

Here we go, took a bit of finding!

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/13120291/latex-or-tubolito

*I was evidently paging through the forum whilst you posted @super_davo 🤪

Don't forget the chaps inability to manage basic maths as well.

This has reminded me actually, I do need to place an order for some more, and of different widths.

davidof · April 23

Thanks for the tip about RideNow, you've answered my question. I will order some and report back later. Sorry about the thread dupe, since the site had another revision I find it a bit confusing (must be age!).

MidlandsGrimpeur2 · April 23

This reminded me to actually order some, I have been meaning to since the last thread!

@davidof if you have a mooch around aliexpress there are various welcome deals for first time buyers. I have just ordered a 4 pack of 700c tubes and a 4 x 29er mtb tubes. Total cost was £36, so about £4.50 per tube which isn't too bad.

It does look as though the standard price has jumped up a bit though in the last year.

veronese68 · April 23

Thanks Davidof, reminded me too

vincesummerskRoxcBTr · April 23

I am using some Tubolito ones on the road bike, handy as they pack small (fairly easy to patch) I bought a couple of Ridenow ones as spares, they are very thin and I managed to wreck one putting in the tyre. Personally wouldn't bother with the Ride now ones again.

super_davo · April 23

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21062642#Comment_21062642

Just remember there are lots of different weights of RideNow - the original 36g, the 24g, and 19g ultralight.

I've only ever used the 36g, which I find are still crazy light and pack down tiny, and I've had no issues with fragility. I've even patched one successfully after getting a pinch flat recently (though not at the side of the road).

Webboo2 · April 23

What did you patch it with. There was something on BR about patching them with insulation tape, I tried it on the one I punctured and it stayed inflated but I wasn’t sure about using it again.

super_davo · April 23

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21062662#Comment_21062662

The patches that came with the tubes. Seems to hold fine.

pblakeney · April 23

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21062662#Comment_21062662

That was me. Said tyre has now done hundreds of miles and is performing as new. 😎

I wouldn't inflate the tube outside of a tyre though.

Webboo2 · April 23

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21062667#Comment_21062667

First of all I put a gaffer tape patch on before I remembered it was insulation tape. I blew it up and left it for an hour to see if it held which it did but the tube developed a strange bulge in a different place.

pblakeney · April 23

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21062672#Comment_21062672

Yeah, I read somewhere that they will deform if inflated outside of a tyre.

daniel_b · April 24

Agreed, all the write ups I have seen state not to inflate to any discernible degree outside of the tyre, otherwise they bulge, and I believe become unusable.

davebradswmb · April 24

I started using RideNow tubes (36g) about 8 weeks ago. The one at the front has held up fine, but the one at the back started losing pressure fairly quickly so that after 3 days, when the front had dropped from 6 to 5 bar, the rear had dropped from 6 to 1 bar. This was after it had been on the bike for about 4 weeks and included a cyling holiday in Gran Canaria which has some pretty poor road surfaces. I did a biggish ride and although the pressure felt good when we left the cafe I lost all pressure about half and hour later. When I examined the tube at home it had pinch punctured, which I expect happened when I noticed that I had a flat as I hadn't hit anything before that. I had managed to lose the only repair kit that I had bought so I couldn't fix the pinch puncture and find out what else was going on to cause the initial loss of pressure.

The replacement also pinch punctured on a rough patch on the corner of the road where I live when I was returning from a club ride. That was a bit of a surprise, the road is not that bad and I ride over it several times a week so I wonder if this tube had also lost pressure.

I am a bit nervous of using the RideNow tubes, I bought 4 initially from a UK ebay source and I am on my last 2. I have ordered another 5 from AliExpress though so I haven't given up yet, maybe I've just been unlucky.

mr.b-campag · April 24

On fixing punctures I've read elsewhere that the pre-glued Park patches work really well - which is handy as I have some and they are useless on normal tubes.

Are people using these on bikes with rim brakes or discs? Seems some manufacturers suggest they should only be used with discs. Anyone any experience using them with rim brakes? I've got them fitted on a bike with rim brakes but haven't got 'round to using it yet.

feelgoodlost · April 24

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21062719#Comment_21062719

I've been using them on my carbon & alloy rims. I posted on another thread that I probably wouldn't trust using them somewhere like the Alps or GC where you're probably braking a lot more on long descents. I've used them for TTs/Hill Climbs and they're ideal. I've been using them for general riding and I notice that unless you have them at around 80-85psi they can feel a bit spongy/sticky.

davebradswmb · April 24

I'm using them with rim brakes. It's the thinner and lighter ones which aren't recommended with rim brakes. I used them in GC and enjoyed myself on the descents (apart from the descent to San Bartolome because of the crap road surface) and didn't have any problems.

pblakeney · April 24

I’ve been using them for a year (thousands of miles) without issue on alloy rim brakes. I did have one puncture that no tube would have withstood and it was easily fixed, at home I should add.

mr.b-campag · April 24

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21062764#Comment_21062764

They're all pretty thin and light! 😃 Do you mean the 36g or 24g ones as being light?

davidof · April 24

I've ordered 4 of the 36g ones. I'm not too bothered about weight. I'll keep with the tubeless setup as long as it works but tubeless tires have got too expensive for me (I used to find them for 20 euros in the sales but no more).

davebradswmb · April 25

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21062791#Comment_21062791

The 36 g ones can be used with rim brakes, the lighter ones can't, at least according to the surprisingly detailed leaflet that comes with the tubes.

pblakeney · April 25

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21062770#Comment_21062770

For clarity, I use the 36g version for reasons above. They are also much lighter than butyl.

mr.b-campag · April 26

Thanks both, glad I have the 36g ones! Like others here this thread's a good reminder to order some more...

veronese68 · April 26

The reminder worked and I ordered some this week 👍

pangolin · April 28

Are you guys just picking any of the ride now offers on AliExpress? Are they all the same, as long as you pick the same weight?

MidlandsGrimpeur2 · April 28

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21063480#Comment_21063480

Don't hold me to it, but yes, as far as I could see the ride now are all the same tubes, just the weight difference as you say. I just picked the offer that looked to be best value having done a few sums for each of them.

davidof · May 8

4 tubes arrived in about a week. Cost around 20 quid. Will probably not try them until I convert from tubeless back to tubes when the current tires wear out.

ugo.santalucia · May 12

patched my first Ridenow inner tube, using their kit… no dramas

pblakeney · June 7

A bit of a real world test of TPU inner tubes with rim brakes and proper descents. Don’t!

I had a double blowout on the steep section of the Angliru today. Thankfully on a straight section and perfectly controlled. 😉

I will say that they have performed impeccably up until then but obviously the cutoff is somewhere between 15% and 25% on a sustained descent.

TPU Inner Tubes

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