TPU tubes - getting better?
#26
Senior Member

Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 13,905
Likes: 1,241
From: Montreal Canada
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.
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.
#28
Senior Member


Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,631
Likes: 2,208
#29
#30
Senior Member


Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,631
Likes: 2,208
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.
#32
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.
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 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.
#33
Senior Member



Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,647
Likes: 1,827
From: Spain
""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
))
thats wrong, says guru Jan Heine
))) inner tubes or tubeless have no influence on tire performance. ...... don't ask me where he said it
))
__________________
https://stefanrohner.exposure.co
https://stefanrohner.exposure.co
#34
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.
#35
Senior Member

Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 843
Likes: 33
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.
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.





