Home Forums Bike Forum Gravel TPU tubes for spares

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  • Gravel TPU tubes for spares
  • escrs
    Free Member

    So looking for some TPU tubes to carry for in an emergancy just in case the tubeless fails and a worm wont plug the hole (tpu tube and a piece of card will be used to get me home)

    Now im looking for ones that are good for 700c x 45mm tyres, are not affected by sealant, are fine with C02 and have a 60mm+ valve length and weigh around 60 grams

    My Google fu is failing me

    phil5556
    Full Member

    Admittedly I’ve never used one but will you really notice the weight difference between them and a proper tube?

    Maybe 80grams saved.

    1
    benpinnick
    Full Member

    It’s the size not the weight that’s a big difference.

    45gram Gravel Lightweight RideNow 700 x 32C-47C Inner Tube 45mm,65mm & 85mm Valves

    Honestly don’t know about the c02 part but seems fine otherwise.

    stevious
    Full Member

    This review lists a few of the main brands (not RideNow) along with their compatability with CO2. It mgiht help you narrow down your search.

    https://www.cyclingweekly.com/products/can-you-trust-tpu-tubes-in-a-pinch-what-to-know-about-cyclings-newest-tube-type-a-deep-dive-on-a-thorny-topic

    bigdugsbaws
    Free Member

    Ive bought  loads of the Ride Now ones on AliExpress, £4 each delivered, they are superb in regular use as well as for backup. Just make sure you get a size where the tyre sits at lower end of range as they don’t like being overstretched.

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    I have some ride now tubes as spares for gravel…not used yet. Have used ridenow in road bike since April, no issues, well one flat due to a flint, not the tubes fault. No idea about CO2 as I don’t use it.

    phil5556
    Full Member

    It’s the size not the weight that’s a big difference.

    Ah fair enough!

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    I think both size and weight are worth while considering the cost the same as a butyl tubes

    phil5556
    Full Member

    Yeah but they’re not as durable. So you’re saving weight (and space) but potentially getting worse performance when you need to rely on it.

    2
    dc1988
    Full Member

    The size makes a big difference, I never really had room for two spare butyl tubes unless I had a backpack on and they’d be quite heavy. Now I have a tiny under saddle bag with room for two tubes, a tyre patch and tyre lever that takes up less space than a single butyl tube.

    bigdugsbaws
    Free Member

    Not as durable? Ive had around 8000km this year with no issues, admittedly killed a couple with some ham fisted tyre swaps but even the 36g road ones are sturdy enough.

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    I’ve been using RideNow TPUs on my Road bike for a few months.

    I’ve had two flats, both caused by sharp things going through a tyre, which a butyl wouldn’t have stopped.

    Both times it’s been easy to patch the tube with the supplied patches although I tended to fit a spare by the road and fix the tube back at home.

    I’d say so far they’ve been about as durable/puncture resistant as butyl except of course for the apparent intolerance of CO2, manual pumping to fix a flat is annoying, but tollerable.

    I’d definitely consider a TPU tube as an emergency backup for my gravel bikes or MTBs. But in fairness I think I’ve only ever once needed an emergency tube since using tubeless tyres, and that was because I forgot to take plugs and the sealant had dried up, both failures on my part really.

    finbar
    Free Member

    Check the Radavist review of RideNow tubes if you’re considering those – my experience is firmly in the negative ‘random deflation, no hole’ camp.

    https://theradavist.com/ridenow-versus-tubolito-tpu-bicycle-inner-tube-review/

    bikesandboots
    Full Member
    escrs
    Free Member

    Cheers for all the replies

    Ive looked at the following so far

    Ride Now-cant use C02 in them

    Vittoria-cant use C02 in them

    Schwalbe Aerothon-cant be put in a tyre that still has traces of sealant in so no good as a tubeless spare

    A bit more digging and it seems the Pirelli  Cinturato smartube fits the bill along with the Turbolito

    StuF
    Full Member

    I’ve tried ridenow, but one flatted whilst it was pumped up in the shed, hadn’t even been on the road.

    A friend tried to put one in as a spare trail side and it holed immediately.

    I’m not sure I’d want to rely on one as a spare somewhere remote after it’d been sat in a saddle bag for a while.

    13thfloormonk
    Full Member

    Not as durable? Ive had around 8000km this year with no issues, admittedly killed a couple with some ham fisted tyre swaps but even the 36g road ones are sturdy enough.

    That’s impressive! I fitted a 36g road one and pinch flatted within 10km without even noticing what I’d hit.

    Could just have been bad luck, so fixed it but then came back the next day to find it flat again.

    I keep meaning to give it one more go but not sure the 45g saving per wheel over latex is worth the uncertainty…

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