TPU punctures

[Alistair]

Until the QC and price for TPU tubes settles down a bit, I'm sticking to cheap butyl in my road bike and tubeless on the gravel and off-road bikes. I have some TPU spares for the mountain bikes, because weight/size, but can't imagine relying on them long-term given the horror stories I've seen here and elsewhere.

[mcteague]

Originally Posted by johnniecakes

This is my solution. Life is to short to mess with fixing tubes

I’m leaning this direction as well. Seems wasteful but I get the Cyclami tubes via Ali Express at around $4 a tube so not too concerned. Just was curious how others were dealing with it. If I paid $20-30 each, like the major players charge, I may think differently.

Tim

[Derosid]

I am also leaning towards the “toss it don’t fix it” camp. I switched to TPU tubes about 6 months ago and love them. Light, they hold air well, and I haven’t gotten a flat yet. I don’t mind replacing the tubes if the flats remain so rare for me.

Perceived quality may come down to manufacturers. I tried some of the cheap ones from China, but then stumbled upon TPUBiketubes which seem to be much higher quality and easier to maintain. So far I have no regrets about leaving butyl (heavy) or latex (puncture-prone, rapid air loss).

[ploop098]

From what I’ve gathered online any good flexible plastic glue will work pretty well for sealing TPU punctures using a TPU patch. Theres a few Loctite plastic glues that look promising. Some people cut up a TPU tube to make patches too.

[jadmt]

I have not had any issues patching my Aerothan tpu tubes. I have one tube that is on it's 3rd tire ~6000 miles without issues. the hole was fairly large, I just cleaned the area really well with an alcohol patch and held the tube firmly over my saddle and put plenty of pressure on the patch using my bump to roll over the patch..I used a schwalbe glueless patch. I have patched others with Park glueless patches with the same success. I think the secret is to clean the area really well and use something hard to roll over the patch while the tube is stretched on a firm surfaces. my SIlica tattico pump and Brooks C17works great.

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by Alistair

Until the QC and price for TPU tubes settles down a bit, I'm sticking to cheap butyl in my road bike and tubeless on the gravel and off-road bikes. I have some TPU spares for the mountain bikes, because weight/size, but can't imagine relying on them long-term given the horror stories I've seen here and elsewhere.

Are all TPU tubes the same quality? Certainly there are expensive ones and cheap ones. I would imagine that the expensive ones are better quality, but have no proof of this.

[jadmt]

Originally Posted by MikeD

Are all TPU tubes the same quality? Certainly there are expensive ones and cheap ones. I would imagine that the expensive ones are better quality, but have no proof of this.

schwalbe aerothans are great quality, not cheap tho.only issue is the valve cores tend to not be tight enough. I have learned to put a dab of super glue on the threads and that has fixed the problem of the cores coming loosen with certain air pumps.

[jadmt]

well crap I hate it when this happens....not sure what I hit but sounded like a gun shot. clean cut all the way through the tire. I won't try saving the tube

the one patch has around 7000 miles on it.

[AngryScientist]

Wow that looks like a pretty tough tire casing too. Must have run over something pretty rigid and sharp to do that.

[jadmt]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Wow that looks like a pretty tough tire casing too. Must have run over something pretty rigid and sharp to do that.

I went back and found the culprits some ass threw some razor blades in the bike lane...I am guessing the front tire went over one and kicked it up just as the rear was passing over it....at the time I did not see anything but it was also over 90F so I was sweating buckets and just went back to see if I could figure out what cut the gravel king so clean....and deep.

[donevwil]

How did you make it home, a super boot?

My wife had a similar thing happen years ago on her commute home, nails strewn across the bike path. One nail went through the tire, tube and rim, that was an expensive flat. She called me to pick her up, of course.

[jadmt]

Originally Posted by donevwil

How did you make it home, a super boot?

My wife had a similar thing happen years ago on her commute home, nails strewn across the bike path. One nail went through the tire, tube and rim, that was an expensive flat. She called me to pick her up, of course.

luckily I was finish up and only had 1/2mile to go so just walked...bike shoes don't make good walking shoes but was able to walk mostly on dirt/grass.

[Unovis]

I've had terrible luck with trying to upgrade my tubes... Tried Wheelscience tpu tubes and they lasted no time at all. Got a flat, patched it, and the next day it starts leaking from the plastic valve. Replaced it with a Vittoria latex tube and it came unglued at the stem after two weeks- luckily they replaced it under warranty.
Currently waiting to see what happens next. I'll just replace them with the butyl tubes I originally had.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by jadmt

I went back and found the culprits some ass threw some razor blades in the bike lane...I am guessing the front tire went over one and kicked it up just as the rear was passing over it....at the time I did not see anything but it was also over 90F so I was sweating buckets and just went back to see if I could figure out what cut the gravel king so clean....and deep.

Originally Posted by donevwil

How did you make it home, a super boot?

My wife had a similar thing happen years ago on her commute home, nails strewn across the bike path. One nail went through the tire, tube and rim, that was an expensive flat. She called me to pick her up, of course.

Man that’s terrible. What kind of sick jerk gets their jollies from throwing crap like that in a bike lane.

[JMT3]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Man that’s terrible. What kind of sick jerk gets their jollies from throwing crap like that in a bike lane.

The kind of jerk that throws a beer can at you when he rides by in his pick up truck. Has happened to me.