TPU vs Latex innertube

[BeR]

What do you prefer and why for aero bike ? (Performance, comfort, puncture resistance,...)

Please, don't talk about tubeless  .

I have not seen any latex tube on Aliexpress, only TPU tube (Ridenow seems to be the cheapest and greatest quality).

[bichler.bua]

I believe both Latex and TPU are great choices over butyl as they do reduce rolling resistance and add comfort (so does tubeless, BTW  ).
Running Revoloop without a problem on rim brake, the first Ridenow I had lost air and had defects, but it seems the newer iterations are better (the typical Chiner approach: the market will improve the product, eventually...)
Installed a pair of Cyclami TPU just this week, seem to hold air but have not taken them out for rides, yet.
Latex worked fine for me, as well, you will have to consider aging and them losing air - but you know what you sign up for, so still a great product and ride feel

[jfcb]

TPU is the lightest option.
I believe the tests for rolling resistance that I've seen are a tiny bit in favour of Latex inner tubes, both outperforming butyl.
My personal experience is that latex does feel better: it rides more comfortable and it feels more stable in the corners. Likely because there is more material compared to TPU which will help to damp vibrations.
Concerning puncture protection, I have the feeling that latex tubes do very well since they are very flexible and small objects do not immediately cut through it.
That said, I do ride TPU since I don't want to inflate my tires every day.

[ejump0]

a tpu user here, on 700c roadbike.

i have used:
- revoloop ultra
- ridenow gen1 36g (big box)
- ridenow gen2 26g (the slimmer box)
- thinkrider 28g twinpack.

so far all my punctures are from sharp objects debris on road (glass, nail etc).
revoloop is expensive.
however my ridenows have reliability issues (seam glue failed, the rubber seal on innercore failed n loose air, etc). it looked like theres ridenow gen3 with metal valve. haven tried that.
now my rear tire is with thinkrider.

from 118g butyl to 30g tputube, thats insane weightsaving for minimal money

[BeR]

TPU is the lightest option.
I believe the tests for rolling resistance that I've seen are a tiny bit in favour of Latex inner tubes, both outperforming butyl.
My personal experience is that latex does feel better: it rides more comfortable and it feels more stable in the corners. Likely because there is more material compared to TPU which will help to damp vibrations.
Concerning puncture protection, I have the feeling that latex tubes do very well since they are very flexible and small objects do not immediately cut through it.
That said, I do ride TPU since I don't want to inflate my tires every day.

Do you have a link of cheap latex on Aliexpress ?

[BeR]

a tpu user here, on 700c roadbike.

i have used:
- revoloop ultra
- ridenow gen1 36g (big box)
- ridenow gen2 26g (the slimmer box)
- thinkrider 28g twinpack.

so far all my punctures are from sharp objects debris on road (glass, nail etc).
revoloop is expensive.
however my ridenows have reliability issues (seam glue failed, the rubber seal on innercore failed n loose air, etc). it looked like theres ridenow gen3 with metal valve. haven tried that.
now my rear tire is with thinkrider.

from 118g butyl to 30g tputube, thats insane weightsaving for minimal money

I'm curious if everyone prefers Thinkrider over Ridenow.

[Mic553]

I'm using Newboler 28g TPU

https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005005428747176.html

So far all of them worked flawless. Only puncture I got was from a big piece of debris which killed the whole tyre. No tube would have survived this.

I don't know if they are identical to RideNow, I guess so.

[Serge_K]

Fwiw, it may be an urban legend by now, but older guys / shops told me that tyres stretch, and so you shouldn't keep tyres inflated when not in use. Which was kind of an auto feature from latex, in a way.
If anyone knows, i'd be curious whether there's merit to that. Given how expensive good tyres are, i do deflate my tyres when not in use.
If i'm utterly wasting my time though, i'd like to know.
I switched to TPU from latex recently. i dont have an opinion on relative feel, it just weighs (quite a bit) less, is cheaper & less finicky.

[Takiyaki]

I ran latex for a while (don't remember the brand but they were pink in a gray and red box). They were FAST with GP5Ks but could NOT hold air. They would deflate in about a day. I have installed extenders on all types of tubes so I don't think that was the issue but that was annoying. I have Continental butyl race tubes which are supposedly as fast but not really.

I heard something about putting baby powder between the tube and tire to reduce friction. But I may try tubeless on my next build to eliminate that extra friction entirely.

EDIT- there is a difference: https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/specials/top-3-fastest-tubeless-vs-tubes

For a slow poke like me 3W matters. And these are 17c tires (). I'd wager the losses scale with tire size. I wouldn't want to do long rides on these though.

[jfcb]

Do you have a link of cheap latex on Aliexpress ?

I've always bought them in the store or online shops (Europe) from Michelin/Vittoria.

[Axiomatik]

Personally I found TPU tubes to be VERY fragile during installation and didn’t work well when installing difficult to mount tires (cough gp5000 cough). I think I accidentally busted a couple when using tire levers, but never had an issue with latex. Having said that I carry TPU tubes in my saddle bags just in case because of their size and weight, but I would prefer latex or tubeless for the “daily”

[BeR]

Fwiw, it may be an urban legend by now, but older guys / shops told me that tyres stretch, and so you shouldn't keep tyres inflated when not in use. Which was kind of an auto feature from latex, in a way.
If anyone knows, i'd be curious whether there's merit to that. Given how expensive good tyres are, i do deflate my tyres when not in use.
If i'm utterly wasting my time though, i'd like to know.
I switched to TPU from latex recently. i dont have an opinion on relative feel, it just weighs (quite a bit) less, is cheaper & less finicky.

I also deflate my tires but I don't know if it is useful.

[patliean1]

I've been running TPU for the past 18 months. Not a single puncture out on the road yet (gonna jinx myself now). Routine maintenance and inspection of your tires are the biggest factors to prevent punctures, as is running the optimal tire width/pressure for both your weight and local road conditions, respectively. I also use baby powder.

While the weight savings and puncture resistance of TPU over latex is very tangible, latex beats out TPU for road comfort no question. I've converted all my bikes to TPU except for my Winspace T1500 paired with D67 wheels. That bike being super aero isn't exactly light anyway, so I'd rather prioritize marginal rolling resistance and comfort over the 100g weight savings. We are talking like 1% of overall system weight.

Personally I actually find latex more delicate than TPU. Latex handles rough pavement (and cornering/grip) better overall but TPU is better at preventing punctures from sharp objects. TPU is more affordable than latex nowadays. Almost two for the price of one. RideNow 36g versus Vittoria Competition.

I make a good habit of inspecting my bike and tire pressure before every ride. It takes 45 seconds...

[jonathanf2]

Offbondage tpu tubes are my go-to now, mainly due to the alloy valve. The plastic valve stems can crack if you're not careful. Though if you want the cheapest tpu tubes, ThinkRider are decent with a semi alloy/plastic stem valve. Plus I prefer 25c tires and it's hard to beat the lower cost/weight ratio of clincher tires+tpu tubes and ease of tire changes due to flats. You can also pack several tpu tubes and glueless patch kits in the saddle bag with minimal weight. With road tubeless you have to make sure you have tape that can handle higher pressures (if you have spoke holes), use heavier tires and carry more items (bacon strips, co2 cartridge, plus a tube for emergencies). Unless you're a 100kg ogre, for nimble riders it's tpu all the way.

[sbellote]

TPU user here, almost a year that I've moved completely to chinese TPU (mainly RideNow and Thinkrider, but also tried Offbondage)

the rolling is for sure better than butyl, but I don't have experience with Latex so cannot compare them.
about puncture resistance, my impression is similar to Pat's above, I think the tire and the road conditions are the main factors. When changing from butyl to TPU I honestly didn't feel any change in punctures. In this 1yr, around 7.000km ridden, only 2 punctures in my TPU tubes

they're a bit more difficult to setup, especially with tight tires, but after you get the hang it's pretty ok
and of course, using as spare tubes is a no brainer, they take little to no space in your pocket/bag

what I think the main issues are:
- Reliability, the batches vary a lot and some tubes are better finished than others. I've had all brands fail on the valve stem to tube connection, small leaks that first just deflate over days but then start leaking more and more.
- Patching is more difficult and uncertain. I've used self-adhesive patches, and some worked well but others started leaking after some time. Seems the adhesive starts to fail, maybe temperature variation and stuff like that. I've seen some tips on using vinyl glue to patch, I bought it but still have to try
- Setup is tricky, since the tube is very thin it may be pressed between the tire and rim, and ends up blowing up. I've had this happen to me 2 times now, fortunately, I was standing still with my bike but was mid ride so got me a bit scarred. Upon investigation, it was my fault, it's important to check every bit after getting the tire seated, pushing it from side to side, so it doesn't 'bite' on the tube. As I mentioned, when you get the hang it's ok.

I've thought of going back to butyl after some of these valve stem fails, but honestly these TPU tubes on the '3 items for...' of Aliexpress are around 1/3 the price I'll pay for one butyl tube here in Brazil. So as long as the tpu tube don't fail me mid-ride (which is rare to happen) I'll continue using them

About brands, RideNow seems to be the best quality, especially after the last generations and improvements. Offbondage is also a very good option, their stem-tube connection is very nicely done and reinforced. Thinkrider has the best cost, and the alloy/plastic stem was a nice improvement, but it's still the one that failed the most with me so I'm a bit skeptic.