TPU Tube option from Rene Herse

[pdonk]

Originally Posted by David Kirk

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

dave

I'll be the dissenting voice. I had bad luck with pirelli tpu tubes multiple pinch flats doing regular road riding on roads that not too bad with tires pumped to a reasonable pressure for my weight. Could be user error, but never had that number of flats in a short period of time with butyl or latex.

Also curious what light weight butyl people are riding

[lorenbike]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

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.:

Same here, I've tried road tubeless and found it was way more hassle than it's worth.

I've stuck with regular butyl tubes though and rarely flat, especially with modern road tires. I'm tempted to try these RH tubes though as I've also had positive experiences with their tires. Any suggestions from PL for someone who hasn't ventured to TPU or latex before? Particularly for road side repairs (ie patches, etc).

[sasquatch16v]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

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

this 100% with not going tubeless UNLESS its a majority offroad bike. Tubeless is fine, right up until the moment it isn't.....

and FWIW I have some aliexpress TPU tubes with metal valve stems.... soooo everyone save yourselves money and just get those.

I also have the Ridenow "gravel" TPU tube which is wider to start with, so that's nice for the wide tire bikes.

I've had the worst luck with Tubolitos, bought 2 got 2 as warranties... everyone one of them leaked air from the valve stem no matter what i did. But I've had better luck with any other TPU tube at 1/2 to 1/3 the price.

RH is cool and all... buuutttttt...

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by lorenbike

Same here, I've tried road tubeless and found it was way more hassle than it's worth.

I've stuck with regular butyl tubes though and rarely flat, especially with modern road tires. I'm tempted to try these RH tubes though as I've also had positive experiences with their tires. Any suggestions from PL for someone who hasn't ventured to TPU or latex before? Particularly for road side repairs (ie patches, etc).

Go with latex from Michelin or Vitoria. Can be patched like a regular tube using a peel and stick patch or a glue on patch. I have some that are over 10 years old with lots of patches on them and they are still being used. Silca also sells latex but they are more expensive.

[CTracer]

Bike Closet is blowing out some Pirelli Smartubes. I picked a few up but no real world experience yet. I'm using them mainly as spares but may go to PU/TPU full time as I have too may wheels that get intermittent use and topping up sealant all the time is annoying. For gravel/MTB I will stick to tubeless.

https://bikecloset.com/product/1601198/

[54ny77]

Tubes for the Gentleman.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

Go with latex from Michelin or Vitoria. Can be patched like a regular tube using a peel and stick patch or a glue on patch. I have some that are over 10 years old with lots of patches on them and they are still being used. Silca also sells latex but they are more expensive.

On a group ride once, a guy was patching a latex tube @the start. Had flatted just as arriving , as he rode to start.

His tube had more patches than I could count, i mean like +20. I wondered and wanted to weigh that tube so badly.

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by robt57

On a group ride once, a guy was patching a latex tube @the start. Had flatted just as arriving , as he rode to start.

His tube had more patches than I could count, i mean like +20. I wondered and wanted to weigh that tube so badly.

My rule of thumb is 5 patches max.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by MikeD

My rule of thumb is 5 patches max.

I am less. . But I wish I had grabbed a pic.

[NoMoreParagon]

I repaired several TPU tubes.
Self adhesive patches wont last. I am surprised RH supplying those as repair kits for his tubes.

The updated Tubolito repair kit with glue and TPU patches works like a charm.
Its essential to let the glue cure overnight with some small clips on.
It works on all the other brand TPU tubes.

Then it will last forever.

[Waldo62]

Damn, between RH tires and TPU tubes, their prices on the rubber are now over $100 per wheel.

[Erikg]

I recently decided to try TPU tubes with the understanding that CO2 inflators will not work, as the cold air can crack the tubes. To combat this, I purchased one of the Cycplus mini electric pumps to use as an emergency inflator. When item arrived the instruction manual warned against using on plastic stem TPU tubes, as the heat from pump can melt the plastic stem. ....Great.

Glad to hear RH came out with these metal stem tubes. I'll give them a try if my plastic ones melt after an emergency inflation with the Cycplus.

[litcrazy]

My experience with Tubolito tubes is they are no better than butyl when it comes to goat heads. When they were introducing them and promoting their resistance to flats, I emailed them and asked how they did when it comes to goatheads. They kindly sent me some to try, saying they hadn't had a chance to test them.

Unfortunately, fine point of the goat head penetrated them just as it goes right through virtually every puncture resistant tire I've tried.

That's unfortunate since living in the Southwest, it means carrying these kind of tubes as ultralight spares won't work for me, because when a tubeless tire fails, it usually has innumerable goatheads that have sealed spread throughout the carcass that would immeditiately cause a flat.

As I result, I will continue to carry a spare sealant filled tube and hope that a plug is all I need.

[mattscq]

There's also a whole bunch of "cheap" keyboard-mash letter salad brands on Amazon and Aliexpress who'll sell a TPU tube for as low as $12+/-. I assume they all come from the same few factories, Tubolitos and RHs included. Is there a way to tell which ones might be ok? I won't ever run one full time as I run tubeless but I'd like to carry a tube for emergencies and if I can cut the weight and volume down, I'd gladly pay $12 (but not $40) for a rarely used parachute.

[NoMoreParagon]

Originally Posted by mattscq

There's also a whole bunch of "cheap" keyboard-mash letter salad brands on Amazon and Aliexpress who'll sell a TPU tube for as low as $12+/-. I assume they all come from the same few factories, Tubolitos and RHs included. Is there a way to tell which ones might be ok? I won't ever run one full time as I run tubeless but I'd like to carry a tube for emergencies and if I can cut the weight and volume down, I'd gladly pay $12 (but not $40) for a rarely used parachute.

Cyclami started to get a consensus as far as reliability and overall quality given price. They have a metal stem valve. They cost 1/5 of Tubolito when u order 4 or more.

What people fail to get is that in the medium term a TPU tubes costs less than a butyl. You can efficiently repair TPU tubes whereas butyl is not that obvious.