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-   -   TPU tubes - getting better? (https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1287897-tpu-tubes-getting-better.html)

djb 07-10-24 06:30 PM


Originally Posted by str (Post 23292051)
I am wondering, nobody uses tubeless? worked great for me since years!

One day, one day.
All my bikes have rims that aren't tubeless ready, so I have yet to try it out.
For my riding, I don't really need it as over the years and years and years, I get maybe one flat per year.
But I don't have to deal with thorns and stuff.

I'm willing to try it, and will when I have the rims to do it, and will like a more efficient rolling tire.

I'm aware I will have a learning curve of dealing with the particularities of tubeless.

Yan 07-11-24 09:20 PM


Originally Posted by str (Post 23292051)
I am wondering, nobody uses tubeless? worked great for me since years!

Not on the touring bike. Too messy to fly with, especially if the tour has flights in the middle of it.

Atlas Shrugged 07-11-24 09:26 PM


Originally Posted by Yan (Post 23293371)
Not on the touring bike. Too messy to fly with, especially if the tour has flights in the middle of it.

I just finished my second month long tour this year on tubeless. No issues with flying, you just need to reduce pressure not completely remove the air.

Yan 07-11-24 10:01 PM


Originally Posted by Atlas Shrugged (Post 23293377)
I just finished my second month long tour this year on tubeless. No issues with flying, you just need to reduce pressure not completely remove the air.

It's true that US airlines don't care about this. However I've flown with multiple airlines in other countries that insist the tire be completely flat. I rarely tour domestically anymore.

Atlas Shrugged 07-11-24 11:02 PM


Originally Posted by Yan (Post 23293396)
It's true that US airlines don't care about this. However I've flown with multiple airlines in other countries that insist the tire be completely flat. I rarely tour domestically anymore.

In the last two years flown numerous times, Laos, Vietnam, USA, Canada, Portugal, Spain, France none required more than a soft tire. That’s beside the point because tires usually stay seated even when fully deflated especially with sealant.

str 07-14-24 11:33 PM

Flying with tubeless is any problem. I love it when I see small little white dots on my tires ;) tells me that tubeless works.

eja_ bottecchia 07-14-24 11:52 PM


Originally Posted by Bafanguy (Post 23290314)
We have to top off daily with these Chinese TPU tubes too, or at least check the pressure daily.

This whole "you don't need to air up daily with TPU compared to latex" thing isn't true, or at least, it does not result in less work. I have to stick a pump on my tires every day to make sure that one of my TPU's didn't suddenly drop 20psi in 24 hours due to a random failure where the TPU material becomes porous in one spot. It already happened to me once. Even my perfectly functioning TPU tubes lose a few PSI a day, so I will not go even 2 days without putting a pump on them.

Then of course there's the "TPU blew a hole randomly when bike wasn't being used, tube goes in the trash" moment that users have experienced. That also happened to me once. And I'm not even running high PSI's. That tube had 60psi in it when that happened, on a 32c tire.

This is why I'm going to switch to latex. Same amount of work but a lower failure rate. I would try a good TPU brand like Pirelli, but the Vittoria latex tubes are cheaper, so it's kind of a no-brainer for me at this point.

I have been using latex inner tubes for nearly ten years. They provide me with a smooth, cushiony ride, are lighter than butyl, are incrementally faster than butyl and, in my experience, get less flats than butyl. All of the advantages of tubeless and none of the mess. I have Fulcrum, or Ambrosio Excellence wheels, on my bikes so I do not have a problem installing latex inner tubes.

I recently bought a pair of TPU tubes from Amazon to carry in my saddlebag. They occupy less space than butyl or latex so I can use a smaller saddlebag. I do not intend, however, to use them regularly.

str 07-16-24 11:45 AM

""are lighter than butyl, are incrementally faster than butyl""

thats wrong, says guru Jan Heine ;)))) inner tubes or tubeless have no influence on tire performance. ...... don't ask me where he said it ;)))

eja_ bottecchia 07-21-24 06:42 PM


Originally Posted by str (Post 23297441)
""are lighter than butyl, are incrementally faster than butyl""

thats wrong, says guru Jan Heine ;)))) inner tubes or tubeless have no influence on tire performance. ...... don't ask me where he said it ;)))

Well, latex is faster for me. And that’s the ultimate test, whether or not it works for you. Even as I get older (I am now on the downslope of 60s and quickly approaching 70). I find that when I use latex I am faster than when I use butyl.

stevepusser 09-28-24 10:07 PM

I got some inexpensive Aliexpress 24-spoke road wheels for my gravel bike, and on a ride a couple of weeks back, pulled a goathead thorn out of the front 28mm tire about 7 miles from home. It didn't seem to be leaking, but was half deflated the next day. I swapped out the tpu tube for a new one, and thought I would have trouble finding the hole, but it was quite easy to find after adding a little air. Those size holes in a butyl tube would have it too flat to ride much faster than that, at least in my experience.

A couple of days ago, I again saw and pulled another thorn out of the front tire on a 42 mile ride. I got about another ten miles before I reached a nice park where the tire became too flat to continue. I had spare tubes, but decided to try and patch the hole on the road with the included cleaning swab and glueless patch that came with the tube, which I had never tried before away from home. Again, the hole was easy to find, and that patch is holding up as of today.

About the 30 mile mark, I noticed the back tire getting mushy, and found just the pointy part of a thorn embedded in the tire. After removing that, I pulled out just a section of the tube from the tire, and again put a glueless patch on the easily visible hole. It's still holding up at 90PSI as of today, too. I know that others have written that those type of patches are doomed to fail in a week or so, so I'll post here if they do, or in a couple weeks, whatever comes first. And try to put some more miles on those tires.

Based on my massive sample size of two punctures in the front which seemed to leak very slowly after the thorn was removed, maybe the high pressure smushes and almost seals the tube against the inner part of the tire, as compared to a butyl tube. The back went flat quickly because the thorn part broke off in the tire and was holding the hole open. If they fail, I will try some Gorilla Glue under the patch, or that in conjunction with some 3M Blenderm tape at home when it can cure overnight, which I have seen recommended on R*dd**t.


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