Been on Vittoria TPUs with Zipp extenders and GP5000 TT TR now for 6 months - no flats or problems.
Now I probably jinxed it …
Been on Vittoria TPUs with Zipp extenders and GP5000 TT TR now for 6 months - no flats or problems.
Now I probably jinxed it …
This is the answer. For $20 just buy one and see if you like it. All the RR/puncture data is already out there.
But tubeless is better for a lot of reasons. I wouldn’t replace wheels just to go tubeless, but if I was buying new wheels anyway I wouldn’t buy clincher-only.
I run latex tubes on my tri bike wheels, TPU on my road bike wheels and tubeless on my mountain bike. I haven’t found a TPU tube that has a valve long enough for my disc wheel, so I never tried them on my race setup.
I find latex tubes easier to patch; just cut a patch from a donor tube and glue it on. TPU tubes are more finicky to patch. I use Tubolitos and bought their patch kit. I’ve patched 3 tubes with mixed results. Two I’ve had to patch more than once to get the patches to seal correctly. I’m currently running one patched Tubolito and it seems to be holding up, the other two I keep as emergency spares.
All told, I prefer latex. Although it will be an issue if they become heard to find.
I use the Wheel Science TPU tubes and I’ve been happy with them. My first go with them and I had a flat right away and immedietly got spooked. Then I realized I probably didn’t clean my tire well enough when I put it in there.
Since then, I’ve had no problem. And their customer support was great. I contacted them after I got a flat and they sent me 2 free tubes.
And the Continental website states “TPU tubes must never be used in conjunction with rim brakes.” whereas the Schwalbe TPU site says “it remains absolutely heat-resistant even after several emergency stops in quick succession with rim brakes.” I would assume that most people using TPU tubes regularly are on rim brakes?
TPU tubes are probably okay with rim brakes but there’s a lot of different use cases. Carbon rims on an extended downhill can get very very hot, especially if you feather the brakes. Which is also one of the last places you’d want to get a flat.
I learned the hard way with the RideNow TPU tubes that you shouldn’t do this for hill descents. Even with alloy rims, the heat buildup was too much for the TPU tubes, and it got the typical flat - it doesn’t explode, but loses enough air that by the end of the descent, the tire was flat. Changed it out with a 2nd one, and on a 2nd descent on the same ride, same exact thing. For sure it was the heat, as both times I could feel it flatting once the descent started heating the wheel - no rocks or pinches. Maybe other brands are different, but I’d stay away from TPU for rim brakes.
I’m curious if the TPU tubes which are lighter have any gains as far as performance on the flat or hills over butyl or latex…
I have latex currently for the last year and have had no problems except having to pump them up every time I ride outside.
Not so much worried that they pack smaller. If I get a flat in anything shorter than a half it’s pretty much game over as far as placing. So I carry a butyl spare because they are bomb proof. And I don’t see a change to tubeless i this lifetime.
Is the table above (post 15) not what you are after?
Most of the gains from the lighter TPU tubes (even on hilly courses) are in their decreased CRR, not their reduced weight.
As mentioned, the chart in post15 shows the lightest TPU tubes can be almost as good as latex…and anything is better than butyl (unless you want cheap tubes for training/commuting).
You don’t need removable cores with this extender
They work well with my Tubolito Turbo S, but in a backup role…tubeless guy here.