TPU tube for 700x28 wheel

[curvenut]

Hi,

  Late in the game but just Heard about TPU inner tube.
What are your thoughts on that  ?

And which brand (link)  on Aliexpress do you recommend if I want to try them

Thanks

[RhubarbChrisP]

RideNow 36g with the pink metal valves

[SillyMochi]

+1 for RideNow; I'm using the 24g version though. Find them plenty strong enough for my general road riding. If you take care while installing (don't clamp/squeeze the tube while putting the tire on), you shouldn't have any issue. In ~6.500k riding I only punctured two; one time it was my own fault jumping against a 30cm ledge with the back wheel and hit the rim ("snake bite"). The other one was glass which worked itself through the tire and created a micro-puncture (more of a tire issue than the tubes fault). I could actually fix this one with one of their patches and still riding this one.

There is also a ultra-light 19g version, which I never tested but read that this one is a bit more finicky and puncture-prone as the tube itself gets very thin. Wasn't worth it for me. 24g seems the sweet-spot for my riding.

Couple of other notes:
Definitely go with version 2: recognizable by the colorful aluminum valves and replaceable valve core
LOTS of sellers on AE - just pick the cheapest ones (incl. shipping)
Often appears in the bundle deals as well for another ~10-15% savings

https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-RideNow-tpu-24g.html?g=y&SearchText=RideNow+tpu+24g

[RhubarbChrisP]

Great information! Just to clarify on versions

V1 = black plastic valve - this version was plagued with quality issues. Avoid.
V2 = white/transparent valve - much better than V1. Can be found cheaper than V3 - generally an okay buy
V3 = pink (or black) metal value with replaceable valve core. Best of the 3.

Leaks generally happen around the valve stem if they're going to happen. I've found the defect rate (slow leak out of the box rate) lower with the 36g version than the 24g version (and it's only 12g a tube).

[jonathanf2]

RideNow TPU tubes seem like the sure bet, but usually bought whichever TPU tube was on sale.

I eventually switched to road tubeless since I found a tubeless tire that rolls well, isn't too heavy, cost isn't expensive and doesn't destroy my fingers trying to mount them!

[SillyMochi]

Great information! Just to clarify on versions

V1 = black plastic valve - this version was plagued with quality issues. Avoid.
V2 = white/transparent valve - much better than V1. Can be found cheaper than V3 - generally an okay buy
V3 = pink (or black) metal value with replaceable valve core. Best of the 3.

Leaks generally happen around the valve stem if they're going to happen. I've found the defect rate (slow leak out of the box rate) lower with the 36g version than the 24g version (and it's only 12g a tube).

I didn't even know about V1. Probably jumped "too late" on the TPU train to ever see it. But good to know. Maybe I am just lucky but out of the 8 24g tubes I installed so far, none had any defects #knockoncarbon. Neither slow leak/valve issues nor catastrophic inflations (i.e. tube explodes).