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wolfeh@lemmy.world

Switched to TPU tubes, and it feels like I'm cheating now. (lemmy.ca)

submitted 2 days ago by Showroom7561@lemmy.ca to c/bicycling@lemmy.world

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Context: My "fast bike" is just a gravel bike with Conti Ultra Sport III (32mm wide) tires, and I do not train for speed, but endurance (total amateur, never been in a bike race, and don't plan to).

I put RideNow TPU tubes (36g version) in the tires a few days ago after hearing on and on about how good TPU tubes are.

I never had an issue with butyl tubes, and collectively, they've been trouble free on three bikes with a combined mileage of 15,000 km+ , so I've been pretty apprehensive about changing them.

The last three rides have been on TPU for about 150km. I've been riding in the same areas I usually do (strava says some segments have been ridden by me over 60 times).

My efforts have NOT been all out, and I'm not even trying to be fast (i.e. not getting aero as often as I could), so I come home quite fresh.

Over those 150km, I've recorded dozens of personal bests, including the first ride out with them, which had some nasty headwind.

I'm comparing my speeds with my previous bests, and they are something like 5km/h - 10km/h faster. This is with a ton of extra weight on my bike: metal bottles x 2 or 3, dashcam, headlight, bike computer, heavy-ass toolkit (butyl tube + hand pump + electric pump + multitool + extras...), frame bag, top tube bag, two "snack bags" hanging off the handlebars, and snacks.

Two days ago, I actually maxed out my gears at a cadence of 100 on the flats (over 50 km/h).

I'm speechless.

If this is the kind of difference that TPU tubes make, I honestly can't imagine what race tires would do. No wonder the pros are able to go so fast!

Is this the typical TPU experience?

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[–] limelight79@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I put TPU tubes in my road bikes a while back, and I've tried a few different brands: Spingo, RideNow, and Wheelo, all from Amazon. I think I've had 16 or 20 total. My thoughts:

I notice it most when I'm turning the handlebars at speed - there's less rotating mass, so it turns more easily.
I don't notice much difference in regular riding, maybe a little faster acceleration and easier climbing. Note they might require a bit more energy to keep them rolling at "cruising speed" because there's less inertia. (I do not have a power meter to check this kind of thing.)
I've had mixed success with them:

I've broken valves on a few of them, mostly Spingo brand. The valve stems are plastic. For the most part, I think I was pushing too hard on them because of a pump valve that was going bad and leaking, but I had one fail from another brand, even when I was being very careful and the pump valve was replaced.
I've had no luck with patches lasting, even the ones some brands include. Probably okay to get you home, but apparently not much more than that. I've only tried one or two though.
I love the small size in my saddle bag.
They do seem to let CO2 out more quickly than butyl tubes. Keep that in mind if you use CO2 to inflate them in an emergency.
I've heard rumors that some of the plastic valves don't like the cold CO2 inflation - maybe that contributed to my broken valves. I couldn't find anything definitive in the documentation for the brands, though.

Overall I do like them, and I keep buying them, but it's not a clear-cut win, in my experience.

[–] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

That's a great overview. I don't use CO2, and likely never will, so that's a few problems out of the way. LOL

Honestly, as long as these are as reliable as the butyl tubes have been, then I'll be happy. The performance gains are a bonus. The size/weight advantages are a huge plus, too.