TPU tubes for #cycling - Yay or Nay? Sources?
Anyone using TPU tubes? Would you recommend them?
I note online Chinese vendors (Temu/Ali) are about half the price of my local bike store for them. Anyone have experience with purchasing/brands for Chinese TPU tubes?
@MrAndrewD @bicycling I carry RideNows as emergency spares, but my tires are set up tubeless. I’ve had to press one into service once. It was fine.
They’re delicate in some ways. I carry my spares inside a latex glove (which I’ll want anyhow), and you can’t let them get pinched when mounting them.
Note that if you use an electrical inflator, you need to use a tube with a metal valve (RideNow does offer these) or a hose between the air and valve, because the heat is bad for plastic valves.
@adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling same for me: brilliant as a backup to tubeless because they’re tiny and you rarely need them. The ride feel of them is definitely superior to a butyl tube on a road bike, and of course they’re loads lighter: on the “spend money to save weight” spready they’re a good buy. The main issue with them is repairability: you *can* repair them but you can’t easily do it out on the road like you can with butyl tubes. the flip side of that is that two spares take up no space
@wav3ydave @adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling I carry them. But have never used them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@pete @adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling i have, twice i think. pretty bad luck both times
@wav3ydave @pete @adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling
I scrolled through all the replies and didn’t see it mentioned yet, but I may have missed it:
Rene Herse now sells TPU specific sealant:
https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop/equipment/tools/rene-herse-tpu-tube-sealant/
@voiceofunreason @pete @adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling yeah i’ve not tried that yet but it’s a good idea if it works
@wav3ydave Oh, interesting! I’m struggling with a road bike’s tubeless setup at the mo, and was thinking of giving up and sticking a tube in. Maybe TPU and this is what I’ve been looking for.
@voiceofunreason @adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling
@pete @wav3ydave @voiceofunreason @adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling
I used Slime tubes for a couple of years until it failed. I thought I had a minor puncture that sealed because it went down a coupe of times on the commute but then stabilised
I then did the King Alfred’s Way and it let go half way around. When I took the tyre off I saw the split and it was a mess. Sealant everywhere.
I binned off the other one and won’t be using again. Bloody nightmare imho & enough to put me off tubeless too
@Pionir @wav3ydave @voiceofunreason @adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling Yeah, Slime tubes were horrible things. Tried them before tubeless was a thing, early 2000s I think, and soon gave up thanks to perpetually clogging valves.
Edit: The ARE horrible things: I didn’t know they were still around. :-)