TPU vs Latex innertube

[Sebastian]

Latex tubes roll the best and give the most compliant road feel in my experience. Vittoria latex tubes are also basically as cheap as Chinese TPU tubes. In Germany at least. (In fact, Cotton sidewall tubulars with latex inners to me are still the best feeling combo ever) However, TPU tubes are so close to latex tubes these days, that I choose them over anything else. Easy to handle. Reliable. Hold air forever. Easily packable so you can take two or three of them in your saddle bag easily. No brainer, really.

[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

my repair kit for these tpu tubes, I got myself the tubolito repair kit (yes, i patch my non-tubolito tubes with it).
it came with glue and patches.
The glue tube lasts a lot of patching job (so many nail n glass shards incidents). I create patches from my old retired tpu tube cutouts. I saved the tubolito thicker patches for only large cuts.
patch success rate almost 100%.
So as repair kit on the go (ie long distance, bikepacking etc) the reparability n reusability is close to/same as butyl with 1/3 the space.
Never used latex, so i cant say for latex reparability

[coffeebreak]

I have a bunch of Chines TPU tubes from different brands. Regardless of the brand, the only thing negative with them is quality control. Some will lose air over 2 days, some will have faulty valve, some will have leakage from where the two ends meet. I have had one or other issue happen with RideNow, Cyclami, OffBondage (!!) and ThinkRider. Its great that they are dirt cheap. Just get any one that is the cheapest. There is no brand better than the other.

[sbellote]

my repair kit for these tpu tubes, I got myself the tubolito repair kit (yes, i patch my non-tubolito tubes with it).
it came with glue and patches.
The glue tube lasts a lot of patching job (so many nail n glass shards incidents). I create patches from my old retired tpu tube cutouts. I saved the tubolito thicker patches for only large cuts.
patch success rate almost 100%.
So as repair kit on the go (ie long distance, bikepacking etc) the reparability n reusability is close to/same as butyl with 1/3 the space.
Never used latex, so i cant say for latex reparability

I heard about the tpu cutouts as patches, still have to test it, though.
but about the glue, you can get a common vinyl/pvc glue, it shoulld work with the tpu material. I have been using that and heard of other people having success too

[Takiyaki]

I just realized my wheels are tubeless ready so I'm gonna give GP5K TLs a try. What's the advantage of latex/TPU tubes vs tubeless? Knock on wood I've got one flat in the last decade or so.

[jfcb]

Advantages of inner tubes (TPU/ latex)
- lighter
- cheaper
- less of a hassle to install
- no dirty frame (sealant sprayed on your frame) when you puncture

Advantages of tubeless:
- slightly better rolling resistance
- less chance of 'fatal' punctures, but no 100 percent  guarantee for a puncture free ride

[Stoemper]

I went tubeless but I regret it. It rides slightly better and I haven’t had a flat since riding on them but recently replaced my back tire because it was worn and changing it was one big mess with semi dried up goop and I quickly regretted my choice

[patliean1]

From Bicycle Rolling Resistance:

"Using latex inner tubes in tubeless tires is nearly as fast as setting them up tubeless. The most significant performance penalties are the higher weight of the inner tube and the loss of the re-sealing in case of a puncture that tubeless sealant in tubeless tires offers."

Sidenote: I ordered an electronic pump from Cycplus' latest update of pumps: E-Pump AS2 Pro. Offers up to 5 inflations at 80 PSI, and weighs less than two Co2 cartridges and inflator combined. To me this is the final nail in the coffin to running tubeless for road.

[Yunglord]

From Bicycle Rolling Resistance:

"Using latex inner tubes in tubeless tires is nearly as fast as setting them up tubeless. The most significant performance penalties are the higher weight of the inner tube and the loss of the re-sealing in case of a puncture that tubeless sealant in tubeless tires offers."

Sidenote: I ordered an electronic pump from Cycplus' latest update of pumps: E-Pump AS2 Pro. Offers up to 5 inflations at 80 PSI, and weighs less than two Co2 cartridges and inflator combined. To me this is the final nail in the coffin to running tubeless for road.

Interesting but it's huge will see if they are able to slim it down in future iterations.

[BeR]

From Bicycle Rolling Resistance:

"Using latex inner tubes in tubeless tires is nearly as fast as setting them up tubeless. The most significant performance penalties are the higher weight of the inner tube and the loss of the re-sealing in case of a puncture that tubeless sealant in tubeless tires offers."

Sidenote: I ordered an electronic pump from Cycplus' latest update of pumps: E-Pump AS2 Pro. Offers up to 5 inflations at 80 PSI, and weighs less than two Co2 cartridges and inflator combined. To me this is the final nail in the coffin to running tubeless for road.

First of all : Everytime you answer to a post, it is like God is talking to me .

This Electronic pump is pretty expensive and I think that the price will be cheaper in the future. Moreover, you have to don't forget to charge it regularly (picture).

[Takiyaki]

I'm still torn. Latex is def cheaper and easier to install but for me they never held air for more than a day. I think they'd lose pressure on a long (for me) ride. I'm gonna try tubeless and see what happens

[BalticSea]

I'm still torn. Latex is def cheaper and easier to install but for me they never held air for more than a day. I think they'd lose pressure on a long (for me) ride. I'm gonna try tubeless and see what happens

I believe RideNow TPU tubes are cheaper than any latex tube on the market. And doesn't lose pressure nearly as easily either.

I don't think latex tube would lose enough air to worry about, unless you ride for 8 hours non-stop, but I've had plenty of times when I had to inflate tubes twice in one day - in the morning to get to the work and in the evening to take a ride after work.

[Sebastian]

I'm still torn. Latex is def cheaper and easier to install but for me they never held air for more than a day. I think they'd lose pressure on a long (for me) ride. I'm gonna try tubeless and see what happens

I really only have experience with Vittorias latex tubes, as a stand-alone inner tube and as part of their tubulars. In my experience they retain air pretty well actually when new. Not much at all within a day. It’s only really on the second or third day that you notice significant pressure loss. If they’re older however  then it gets much worse. I had older tubulars where pressure already dropped noticeably within the same day. It wouldn’t be enough to be really noticeable within a single ride. But if you did more than 10 hours of riding or you’re out there all day, you would get to the point where you need to top up air.

[jonathanf2]

I've setup numerous gravel tires for tubeless with no issues, but setting up 25c tubeless tires was problematic for me. I don't see myself sizing up my tires for road. I just said f**k it, and went back to TPU tubes and clinchers. I can toss several TPU tubes in the saddle bag and carry an electric pump. Sure you're still prone to flats, but you can easily swap out your clincher tires depending on terrain. I prefer having that flexibility if I want to go with a sub-200g slick or a more durable road tire.