TPU Tube option from Rene Herse

[Alistair]

Originally Posted by bshell

Totally unfamiliar with polyurethane tubes and am now curious.

My jersey pocket would love a lighter/smaller spare tube.

I have some for spares/emergency use. They are much smaller/lighter than butyl or latex.

I bought some of the less expensive ones off Amazon, but the vale cores aren't removable, so they're useless to me (50mm deep rims, tubes have 40mm stem). Doh!

[CAAD]

I am a weightweenie but only carry TPU tubes as a spare. Latex tubes for me, roll faster, and smoother.

[benb]

I don't know if it'd be $50 or something but if these are 1/4 the weight of a normal tube that would be pretty compelling to carry as an emergency tube on a MTB where the spare tube is very heavy and the chance you need it is vanishingly small with tubeless. (If they actually made them that big)

[AngryScientist]

Remind me: Can these things be patched?

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by Alistair

I have some for spares/emergency use. They are much smaller/lighter than butyl or latex.

I bought some of the less expensive ones off Amazon, but the vale cores aren't removable, so they're useless to me (50mm deep rims, tubes have 40mm stem). Doh!

The problem with these cheap TPU tubes is a lot of them have leaks new/out of the box. They can't take much pressure when inflated out of the tire so leaks are really hard to find unless they're large leaks. Patching is also a problem. So where are you going to be if you have a flat and use one of these tubes that already has a leak?

[Alistair]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Remind me: Can these things be patched?

Yes, but not with the same patch/glue as butyl tubes.

[bshell]

Reading/watching some stuff online just now. ---Patching is an option and looks exceptionally easy and fast.

[Alistair]

Originally Posted by MikeD

The problem with these cheap TPU tubes is a lot of them have leaks new/out of the box. They can't take much pressure when inflated out of the tire so leaks are really hard to find unless they're large leaks. Patching is also a problem. So where are you going to be if you have a flat and use one of these tubes that already has a leak?

Yep.

The first set I bought were RideNow cheap-os, non-removable cores, can't use them, so they sit in my parts bin taking up space. If anybody in NoVA wants them, feel free to come get them, but it's not worth the hassle of shipping.

The second set I bought were name brand, have removable cores, and (hopefully) will be reliable enough. I guess we'll see.

End of the day, most of my riding is within 20 miles of home, Uber exists when I too far away for a wife/neighbor bail-out, and I doubt I flat once a year across all my bikes/disciplines.

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by bshell

Reading/watching some stuff online just now. ---Patching is an option and looks exceptionally easy and fast.

Some say the Park glueless patches work well on TPU tubes. Schwalbe recommends the Park patches and doesn't offer a specific patch kit. Lots of folks in cycling forums have not had success in patching TPU tubes. YMMV

[Hank Scorpio]

When I worked at my LBS one of the reps came by with FOSS tubes. We bought a few but being $30 a pop they never sold. Also they were limited to 18-23 right when 25's started to take off. One day my boss just gave me a pair after they had been sitting on the shelf for over a year. Then they lived for a few years in the bottom of my parts bin. Recently I installed one on my trainer front wheel. I can't comment on road feel/flat resistance but I will say it definitely seems to lose air much faster than the prior regular butyl tube. These have aluminum stems. Also I think it might have come with a patch or two in the box.

[joeminglin]

Originally Posted by MikeD

The problem with these cheap TPU tubes is a lot of them have leaks new/out of the box. They can't take much pressure when inflated out of the tire so leaks are really hard to find unless they're large leaks. Patching is also a problem. So where are you going to be if you have a flat and use one of these tubes that already has a leak?

I have about a dozen TPU tubes from Tubolito and RideNow and haven't had a dud fresh out of the box. The leaks are harder to find since the TPU doesn't stretch as much when you inflate them but still pretty easy if u dunk them in water. Patching is very easy, just use an alcohol wipe, Camplast cement (not rubber cement), and a TPU patch, wait half an hour then you are good. I have one tube with 4 or 5 patches on it. ;-)

Regarding the patch kits, the RideNow kit provided rubber cement which does not work. The Tubolito kit has the Camplast cement and are pretty inexpensive. Don't know if stick on patches work, I read various reports.

[Wunder]

Originally Posted by benb

I don't know if it'd be $50 or something but if these are 1/4 the weight of a normal tube that would be pretty compelling to carry as an emergency tube on a MTB where the spare tube is very heavy and the chance you need it is vanishingly small with tubeless. (If they actually made them that big)

Cyclami and some of the other generic ones on AliExpress come in 29er sizes. They are massively smaller/lighter than a butyl 29er tube so that's what I have on my MTB repair kit (tubeless 29x2.6). I'm also running the Cyclami road tubes (18-32mm) as primaries on my fixed gear for the past couple months and they have been good so far.

[Clean39T]

On on hand.. no idea what he's talking about with latex tubes having to be pumped up mid-ride - but then again, I don't ride for days on end, so maybe that's the thing.

On the other, I'm 100% in on TPU or Latex tubes as preferable to tubeless in pretty much every application.. I loathe dealing with tubeless gunk and just find it a ridiculous waste of time and effort for the riding I do. Others' MMV, according to their glass/tacks/needles per mile ratio I suppose.

The RH version do look nice. I'll probably try them at some point. Once I get through my backstock of Vittoria latex, which at this rate should be sometime in roughly 2028

[David Kirk]

Does anyone know how resistant these TPU tubes are to pinch flats? Better or worse than 'normal' tubes?

dave

[Xrslug]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

The RH version do look nice. I'll probably try them at some point. Once I get through my backstock of Vittoria latex, which at this rate should be sometime in roughly 2028

Slight drift, but are you running latex tubes with rim brake carbon wheels? I just recently discovered that this is one of those divides where some people insist you are risking death by blowout and others claim it’s no big deal as long as you don’t ride your brakes down the entirety of a 10,000 foot peak. And some TPU are approved by the manufacturer for rim brake and some aren’t, apparently.