Asking because I got a couple from my local bike shop. I’ve never used them before. They’re 250NT, which is a great deal cheaper, or so I understand, than back in Europe or in the States. Lighter, easy to pack, supposedly more puncture resistant than butyl inners (not going tubeless: not faffing around with weird toxic chemicals).
THAT SAID, I’ve had two of these TPU tubes die on me on the same day. The first punctured just a couple of weeks after I got it. I replaced it with a new one on the roadside…and the top of the nozzle broke off on the new one while I was pumping it up (to 80psi). Something that’s never happened to me before.
CAVEAT: my road bike’s rear tire (Goodyear Eagle F1) absolutely needs replaced, and I’m getting a new one today, because I suspect a worn tire is the culprit. Although it’s kind of odd the two punctures I’ve had in the past month both occurred in almost the same place…
Anyhow, it got me wondering if anyone has positive or negative things to say about the cheap (presumably Chinese) TPU tubes available in Taiwan? Or should I just stick with butyl?
Bad: endurance + daily commuting + value + puncture resistance
I’ve never used them as I’d rather have tubes that will last me a longer time. On the flip side, they’re a pretty cheap way to cut weight on your bike, if that’s what you’re looking to do.
I’ve been using ridenow TPU tubes on most of my bikes for about a year. There have been several iterations of the ridenow tubes and the current ones with black plastic valves have never broken on me, some earlier ones were a bit fragile apparently.
I like them and I don’t think I’ll ever go back to butyl, and I can’t be bothered with tubeless for the road. They’re crazy cheap, light and pack small. I’ve not noticed them to be any more puncture prone than butyl, less so perhaps. A few people have complained about ridenow QC online, but I’ve not had any issues.
My main tips would be to use the largest size you can for any given tyre. Remember, they stretch irreversibly so don’t put too much air in them when not on the rim. You can’t really transfer them between tyres either for the same reasons. IMO don’t bother with the western brands, you’re paying 5x the price for nothing really.