Any long term TPU tube users on here

[DogmaStu]

That's interesting - heard one of the benefits was improved puncture resistance over butyl... this drew me to the idea, but I'm put off by permeability and patching issues. If they're no better than a standard tube for puncture resistance that makes for an easy decision!

I went through 3 tubes in 2 months. GP5000 tyres.

This is my own experience, of course, so others may differ and always best to get personal experience but I'd not bother with them again. The only nice part was my wheels were lighter and this was noticeable without a scale.

 

[tripletail52]

Not a long-term user, but I haven't got anything bad to say about Ridenow TPU tubes. They pack down so small I can fit two in a saddle bag and have room for everything else as well. Very light, no puncture yet (I've only done about 200 miles, mind you). Haven't had any noticeable leaking over a few weeks either. Honestly I think they are great.

Remember not all TPU tubes are made equal. Some seem to be particularly light and thin. Perhaps they sacrifice some puncture resistance for the weight savings.

I wanted to lose some weight and rolling resistance, but didn't want the hassle of a tubeless setup. Injecting liquids through the valves just doesn't feel right. TPU & latex tubes seem to achieve almost the same reduction in rolling resistance and possibly lighter than tubeless to boot.

 

[AlanW]

Arrived yesterday, 8 days door to door from China!

 

[tripletail52]

Arrived yesterday, 8 days door to door from China!
View attachment 691790

Hope you like them as much as I do. Mine came with a single patch per tube as well which I thought was thoughtful.

 

[cyberknight]

looking at these for the summer bike as that only comes out in the nice weather

 

[AlanW]

By means of an update, my intial impressions were very positive and they were very responsive and certainly seemed to roll very quickly.
However, l had my first puncture (front) a few weeks back, which to be fair wasnt a problem as l had also purchased the self adhesive patches.
However, finding the hole in the tube proofed rather challenging as you cannot inflate the tube enough really.
But needless to say, it was repaired and refitted to the bike.
Then l had another puncture (rear) a few weeks after the first. Found the hole and applied the self adhesive patch.
As is usually the case after applying a patch, l dunk the semi inflated the tube in a bowl of water to check the self adhesive is holding strong.
Imagine my surprise/horror/shock to see hundreds (only a minor exaggeration) of tiny air bubbles bleeding from the tube?
For reasons that have utterly baffled me, the tube has gone porous?
But l persevered with the remaining one and ordered four more.
Then low and behold, another puncture a short while later. Surprise surprise, the tube revealed the same problem with air bleeding from multiple tiny holes in the tube.
The replacement four TPU tubes arrived and l sold them straight away and have returned to Latex.

 

[tripletail52]

By means of an update, my intial impressions were very positive and they were very responsive and certainly seemed to roll very quickly.
However, l had my first puncture (front) a few weeks back, which to be fair wasnt a problem as l had also purchased the self adhesive patches.
However, finding the hole in the tube proofed rather challenging as you cannot inflate the tube enough really.
But needless to say, it was repaired and refitted to the bike.
Then l had another puncture (rear) a few weeks after the first. Found the hole and applied the self adhesive patch.
As is usually the case after applying a patch, l dunk the semi inflated the tube in a bowl of water to check the self adhesive is holding strong.
Imagine my surprise/horror/shock to see hundreds (only a minor exaggeration) of tiny air bubbles bleeding from the tube?
For reasons that have utterly baffled me, the tube has gone porous?
But l persevered with the remaining one and ordered four more.
Then low and behold, another puncture a short while later. Surprise surprise, the tube revealed the same problem with air bleeding from multiple tiny holes in the tube.
The replacement four TPU tubes arrived and l sold them straight away and have returned to Latex.

This reads like a horror film. I'm still very happy with Ridenow tubes after 1500 miles. Had two punctures at the back with a thin tyre which were patched easily. Definitely no sudden porosity! Changed to Conti Grand sport for more puncture protection and haven't had a puncture since. I used Ridenow patches rather than the 'Cyclami' ones in your photo.

 

[tripletail52]

It looks like the success rate with self adhesive patches isn't great with TPUs. Ridenow kit comes with patches and some sort of glue.

 

[cyberknight]

It looks like the success rate with self adhesive patches isn't great with TPUs. Ridenow kit comes with patches and some sort of glue.

having said that i have found lately standard butyl tubes can be a PITA if the hole is near moulding so you cant get a proper seal with a patch and it seems every flat i get is like that .

 

[LarryDuff]

Been using Ridenow tubes for about 4 months with only one puncture which tbh would have pit a hole in a butyl too. I like them.

 

[Domus]

Bought three "Race Formula" TPU tubes from Amazon last week. Replaced my Latex tubes on my "best" bike with Challenge Strada tyres. Easy to fit and two 50 Kms rides so far all seems well. I'm no Remco or Jonas so I can't say they are fast or slow (can anyone?)
They do however hold pressure better than Latex.

 

[tripletail52]

I'm going to have to eat my words on these tubes. At first they were great, but now I've switched to tubeless as I was getting a puncture every week. They keep losing pressure and it was driving me mad. When you get them out and check, they have quite a few tiny holes. The saving grace is that they are really tiny so they never failed to get me home, but will deflate over night. But also they are hard to find and patch because they are so tiny and hard to see. This is the rear wheel I'm talking about, the front wheel has been fine.

 

[AlanW]

I'm going to have to eat my words on these tubes. At first they were great, but now I've switched to tubeless as I was getting a puncture every week. They keep losing pressure and it was driving me mad. When you get them out and check, they have quite a few tiny holes. The saving grace is that they are really tiny so they never failed to get me home, but will deflate over night. But also they are hard to find and patch because they are so tiny and hard to see. This is the rear wheel I'm talking about, the front wheel has been fine.

Now it's very interesting to read this, because mine suffered the exact same problem. Perfect to start with and then it was almost as if they had gone porous, which I only really discovered when I had a puncture and I dropped a semi inflated tube in a bowl of water.

Ive also done the same as you and reverted back to tubeless. But that wasn't without issues, see my thread about fitting the stupidly tight GP5000 All Season tubeless tyres!

 

[fossyant]

Surprise surprise - not.

Latex roll nicely, but are difficult to patch and expensive. I stick to decent tubes and don't have any issues, they stay up, rarely puncture and aren't a messy mess, unlike tubeless.

 

[AlanW]

Surprise surprise - not.

Latex roll nicely, but are difficult to patch and expensive. I stick to decent tubes and don't have any issues, they stay up, rarely puncture and aren't a messy mess, unlike tubeless.

I agree about the feel of the Latex tubes, but unfortunately they are still prone to getting punctures.
I first went tubeless probably ten years ago on the road bike and yes, setting up was a right faff. I covered round 6000 trouble free miles but after a catastrophic sidewall failure which l couldn't repair by the side of the road due to be covered in sealant was enough for me and so went back to tubes.
Fast forward to the start of the year, lve gone back to tubeless and setting it up was a really easy in comparison to years ago (l'm excluding the recent experience with the GP5000 tyres!)