Best TPU tube brand

[Jet the Panda]

I've been using aliexpress tpu tubes for a few years now, recently swapped them all over to the Ridenow 36g which do feel thicker and sturdier when you get them out of the packaging. I've not had any problems with them yet.
Another cheap and cheerful option are the orange thinkrider tubes you can find them in the buy 3 bundles section of aliexpress.

[johnnyboy4711]

Are new ridenows (metal valve) more robust around valve to tube area and core to valve area?
Also I have heaps of punctured ride now's from gravel, anyone know best way to fix them?
I had them paired up with maxxis ramblers and got  pinch flats every ride.
Moved to Vittoria mixed and light butyls and no issue since.
Might try Vittoria with RNs.

Original RNs were very weak where valve meets tube and seating on rim etc ,great for road(TT etc) .

[BeR]

Are new ridenows (metal valve) more robust around valve to tube area and core to valve area?
Also I have heaps of punctured ride now's from gravel, anyone know best way to fix them?
I had them paired up with maxxis ramblers and got  pinch flats every ride.
Moved to Vittoria mixed and light butyls and no issue since.
Might try Vittoria with RNs.

Original RNs were very weak where valve meets tube and seating on rim etc ,great for road(TT etc) .

I repaired 2 TPU with this :
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EHN1G1W

I rode 1000 km without any problems. Don't wait the glue to be dry before installing the patch (as opposed to butyl repair kit).

[Takiyaki]

I find TPU to be very sensitive to things like the tires and rim tape. 3 out of my 4 bikes have no problems. On the 4th- GoZone carbon spoke wheels, GP5K TT, Ridenow 24gs- I kept getting flats on the rear only. I prob went through like 5 tubes. Finally I replaced the rim tape and went back to a regular GP5K on the back. So far no problems

Im heavier (89kg at the moment) so Im wondering if I'm overweight for the GP5K TT.... front has been fine.... but switching everything out seemed to solve the issue. If your wheels have spoke holes on the rims its def worth getting some thick high quality rim tape at the minimum. Also dont bother with cotton rim tape, makes tires impossible to mount.

[patliean1]

The new Ride Now TPUs with alloy valves and removable core has been a game changer for me.

I have a set of Yoeleo C88 Pro wheels, and finding long enough valves was a struggle. Now I can just add the included Yoeleo valve extenders and problem solved. 85mm valve length + extenders.

The new packaging now crams two tubes into a single package which is nice to cut down on waste. It also includes more patch repair kits and multiple options to prevent the valves from rattling inside the rim. Super thoughtful stuff.

Overall I went 2 years without a single puncture on RN TPUs. But this past season I had probably 4. This was prior to the new design, but the punctures had nothing to do with the tubes themselves. Just bad luck on the road.

Last summer I got a puncture during our weekly "race" pace ride. Imagine going 35mph/56kph approaching a sprint segment getting swarmed by 40 other riders...and hearing what sounded like a gunshot. Thankfully I kept it upright. But that was the end of my ride. I hit a road lane reflector which obliterated my rear tire.

[johnnyboy4711]

Hi Patrick,
Yes that's the thing about you tubes and flats,it's relatively immediate,not gradual like butyl,a tad dangerous at speed.

[qwertyas]

The new RideNow TPU tubes seems to be significantly better than previous generation. I've installed a set for a four days, 250 km into them and I didn't need to add air to proper pressure yet.

Another aspect I'm quite unhappy with about TPU tubes is that they don't react very well to total deflate and re-inflate. When I change tires (switching from road to CX tires and back) after two or three such switches they start to develop pores or something, and over the night they loose 2/3 of the pressure. And obviously, they don't resist to a single session of riding. I'm not pinching them at the installation, they just seem not to like this scenario.

Let's see how the newer ones fare with this scenario.

[neobiker]

This is a documented drawback from TPU: they don’t reset to their initial state. Hence, changing tyres width is probably a no-go (at least going from wider to narrower tyre.

[qwertyas]

This is a documented drawback from TPU: they don’t reset to their initial state. Hence, changing tyres width is probably a no-go (at least going from wider to narrower tyre.

Wow, that's illuminating... now it makes sense.
That's such a pity... I want to change tire frequently, on an all-road bike, from 38mm light gravel tires to 30front-32rear road tires. That's why I'm not going tubeless.
But I guess I have to make pairs of tires+tubes and check if it works.
Thanks again.

[amacal1]

Wow, that's illuminating... now it makes sense.
That's such a pity... I want to change tire frequently, on an all-road bike, from 38mm light gravel tires to 30front-32rear road tires. That's why I'm not going tubeless.
But I guess I have to make pairs of tires+tubes and check if it works.
Thanks again.

My friend, you need another wheelset. I couldn't imagine changing tires that frequently based on terrain I want to ride. In fact, on my gravel bike, I keep a separate wheelset when I want to ride it on-road, but even with that I am so lazy I seldom feel like changing even the wheel. Thankfully my gravel tires are pretty smooth rolling on road so for most shorter rides I just leave it all alone.

[qwertyas]

You're so wrong, my friend!!!!
I need another bike!
In fact, several 

On a serious note... it's not quite that frequently.
Sometimes it would be twice a weekend, sometimes I might stay a whole month with the same tire.
I'm an old weekend warrior, anyway! 

My friend, you need another wheelset. I couldn't imagine changing tires that frequently based on terrain I want to ride. In fact, on my gravel bike, I keep a separate wheelset when I want to ride it on-road, but even with that I am so lazy I seldom feel like changing even the wheel. Thankfully my gravel tires are pretty smooth rolling on road so for most shorter rides I just leave it all alone.

[Blueberry]

I got some of the 19g Ridenow tubes for a weight weenie build and they seemed to go flat just by looking at them wrong. Would definitely recommend going with heavier ones! I did get some 36g ones but my wheels are all tubeless rn so they're just backup. I haven't actually needed one yet.

[hsaus]

I've been using a pair of RideNow 24g TPU tubes with clear plastic valve stems in a pair of 28c tyres. They've been great, they hold air really well. Note that they're only designed for max 28c tyres.

On another bike I use the RideNow all-road tubes with clear plastic valve stems - the 39g ones for 28c-38c tyres. Same great experience with these.

Previously I used the Offbondage 40g tubes with black&silver coloured valve stems, again no issues.

The only TPU tubes I've had issues with are:

• Older RideNow tubes with black plastic valve stems.
• Older Cyclami tubes with threaded metal valve stems.

[Sdfrt]

I ordered geoid inner tubes. They say they are stronger than butyl, maybe they did some tests

[johnnyboy4711]

I've been using a pair of RideNow 24g TPU tubes with clear plastic valve stems in a pair of 28c tyres. They've been great, they hold air really well. Note that they're only designed for max 28c tyres.

On another bike I use the RideNow all-road tubes with clear plastic valve stems - the 39g ones for 28c-38c tyres. Same great experience with these.

Previously I used the Offbondage 40g tubes with black&silver coloured valve stems, again no issues.

The only TPU tubes I've had issues with are:

ridenow older gravel tubes are useless
paired with maxxis rambler tyres and adequate pressure for my 90kg frame
puncture every ride- must have 6/7 tubes in shed waiting to be repaired.
road they are fine!


• Older RideNow tubes with black plastic valve stems.
• Older Cyclami tubes with threaded metal valve stems.