I bought more than 10 RideNow TPU tubes for different bikes (20" MTB, gravel bike, evoke, MTB). So far they had a very terrible quality: leaking valves (presta and Schrader), bursting at the seams for no apparent reason. Funnily I had no puncture yet. They all blew up while I was not using the bike.
The newest pair (the most expensive with the metal valve) was the worst to date: I used it for 2 months, maybe 300 km on roads and light gravel. On the front wheel the valve popped through the rim while inflating it slowly so that it protruded 5mm more than the thread of the valve, but it still held air. The rear tube (in the picture) worked ok-ish for 1.5 months and did not have the problem with the valve. I still had to pump it up every 4 days. Yesterday I wanted to do a short evening ride and the tire was close to flat, quicker than usial. I inflated it to 20psi and the tube popped on multiple spots where the rim tape sits. The rim tape (WTB) looks ok. Is this shoddy quality to be expected from TPU tubes? I really like how they ride, but it's a hassle to replace them every 3 months because they lose air or burst suddenly (not overinflated).
What were your experiences?
by xkabauter
13 Comments
Did you put a rim strip on?
In what sort of condition is your rim tape? This looks like a problem caused by a spoke hole.
I used to have issues with the stem, but they have fixed that in future iterations. have not had any issues in 2 years at least. The only thing I can think of is that you may be pinching the tube with a tire lever when installing, causing a weak spot leading to puncture or blowout.
You have an obvious issue with your rim tape
That looks like it has burst at the spoke holes. Without more info, best guess would be faulty or badly installed rim tape.
I tried TPU tubes on my less used gravel bike, found they didn’t hold air very well, and switched back to tubeless.
They don’t like heat. Says to remove some air if it has to stay in car in sunny weather. Not sure how hot you store it ? Mine works fine.
OP, I believe you when you say your rim tape looks okay. However, what I *would* want to check is whether the divots in the rim tape over the spoke holes are starting to get excessively deep.
TPU doesn’t stretch as much as butyl does, so if the divots in the rim tape are deep and you’re forcing the tube to stretch more than it wants to in order to fill in that space, I can see how it might lead to a thinning of the tube and eventually a blowout. You have the same “bubble” over on the non-blown out bit on the right, which looks concerning.
If that’s what’s causing it, the solution is to get a rim tape/strip that by itself already doesn’t stretch and expand into the spoke holes. For example, Stans tubeless tape (which is really Tesa 4289), which is very stiff tape, which means even against the tire pressure, it won’t dip into the spoke holes at all.
Try replacing your rim strip with tubeless tape.
Your photo shows bursting at the spoke holes meaning you need better rim tap (if there even is any). I generally accept I have to top off any tire before I ride (wether butyl tube, TPU, or tubeless – they all lose air). I can get away with not doing so for maybe a week if I don’t care to do so. My current RideNow TPU tubes have been in my road bike for 6 months without an issue
Your rim tape is too weak under pressure.
Should post a pic of what your rim tape in the rim looks like.
It looks like it went too deep into a spoke recess
Bought one cyclami tpu tube this year. According to my bikes computer it has now performed 1000km flawlessly. But I heard complaint about that brand as well. Guess it is luck or good prep.