PISSED OFF about TPU "RideNow" ultralight tubes

[AJS914]

clean the tube with alcohol and a park patch will form a bond so strong it cannot be removed without ripping the tube.
I use actual alcohol, not the tiny wipes you get with the kit.

Have the Park stick on patches improved over the years? I tried them maybe 10 years ago and they would all eventually fail while riding - I went back to Rema vulcanizing patches.

[Steve Curtis]

clean the tube with alcohol and a park patch will form a bond so strong it cannot be removed without ripping the tube.
I use actual alcohol, not the tiny wipes you get with the kit.

Have the Park stick on patches improved over the years? I tried them maybe 10 years ago and they would all eventually fail while riding - I went back to Rema vulcanizing patches.

The weird thing about park patches is they're total shit on butyl tubes and fail after a while. On TPU, nothing comes close.
No self adhesive patches work long term on butyl in my experience.

[AJS914]

Good to know. Thanks!

[MikeD]

OP, try the Park patches and report back. I would think that patching a leaky seam wouldn't work.

[theyoungconnoisseur]

alright gents heres a pic of the aforementioned patches... only ones missing from this pic i just took are these new little pink oval patches that came in the last few boxes of these tubes, i opened the new 4 tubes i just got in and none of them have the patches (hmm coicidence of them stopping shipping patches that dont stick?..hmmm)
the glue on patches here do not work on these tpu tubes as they are just too stiff/non conforming to it, they do however stick permantly to the inside of the tire as a tire patch when i was using tubeless (but switched back to tubes last yr due to all the ride ending punctures in the tubeless)





regarding the recommend PARK TOOL patches people have mentioned, which of these 2 do you guys mean?

https://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-Vulcan ... 141&sr=8-2


https://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-Pre-Gl ... r=8-1&th=1

[Steve Curtis]

The pre glued ones in the 2nd link.
The lezyne patches are crap, and font work on butyl either.

The newer ride now tubes come with pre glued patches which also work ok. Still not as good as the park pre glued.

[diecast]

The glue in your picture is rubber cement, it's made out of latex in a solvent. That's why it works on your tire. It won't work with any plastic. The first park tool link is for vulcanising solution. I don't think that technically it's even a glue. That stuff basically has an exothermic reaction with natural/synthetic rubber making new chemical bonds between the patch and tube, i.e. vulcanisation. It's absolutely fantastic for fixing butyl/latex tubes, essentially the patch becomes part of the tube permanently. TPU is a completely different material, it won't vulcanise.

TL;DR use the Park Tool self adhesive patches.

But of course this won't address why you're getting so many punctures in the first place.

Good luck!

[marsa]

For patching TPU tubes, you only need 'polyurethane glue'. It is a pretty simple item, and you can find it in every hardware store. Just ask for glue for soft plastics and double-check if it says polyurethane glue. It should cost just a few bucks.

Here are some examples:
TechnicQll Soft Plastic Glue
Rema Tip-Top 5522208 Camplast Cement

I am using the first one, but I don't know if it is available worldwide.

For patches, just cut an old sacrificial TPU tube. Such a repair is, in my experience, pretty much permanent.

[EtoDemerzel]

If it's just pvc glue, you can find it in any hardware store with plumbing supplies. They use it to glue drain/irrigation pipes.
Oatey is a common one.

[filtered]

If patches don't stick, it's all on you.

I've probably posted this 10 times if you search, but clean the tube with alcohol and a park patch will form a bond so strong it cannot be removed without ripping the tube.
I use actual alcohol, not the tiny wipes you get with the kit.

If you don't clean it nothing will stick.
I've tested around 15 different glueless patches and most work well if cleaned, and they all fail if not.
The park ones were the best as they're flexible.

Look at your own technique before blasting companies or products.

Exactly this I use park tool patches and if you clean with alcohol you can't remove them without ripping the tube well said it's that straight forward

what park tool patch are people using?

the vulcanizing patch kit VP-1C ?

https://www.parktool.com/en-us/product/ ... e+%26+Tire

looking at all the park tool patch kits, they're not described as compatible with TPU tubes.

[markyboy]

If patches don't stick, it's all on you.

I've probably posted this 10 times if you search, but clean the tube with alcohol and a park patch will form a bond so strong it cannot be removed without ripping the tube.
I use actual alcohol, not the tiny wipes you get with the kit.

If you don't clean it nothing will stick.
I've tested around 15 different glueless patches and most work well if cleaned, and they all fail if not.
The park ones were the best as they're flexible.

Look at your own technique before blasting companies or products.

Exactly this I use park tool patches and if you clean with alcohol you can't remove them without ripping the tube well said it's that straight forward

what park tool patch are people using?

the vulcanizing patch kit VP-1C ?

https://www.parktool.com/en-us/product/ ... e+%26+Tire

looking at all the park tool patch kits, they're not described as compatible with TPU tubes.

No it's the glueless patch kit gp-2c sticks like sh*t to a blanket.

[pushpush]

At the risk of wading into the holy wars.....

A few days ago I took 2 nice construction staples in my rear tire. I pulled them out and 20 seconds later the tire had magically fixed itself. I didn't even have to add any air to finish my ride.

If you are getting so any flats, stop frustrating yourself. There is a better way.

[rockb]

For patching TPU tubes, you only need 'polyurethane glue'. It is a pretty simple item, and you can find it in every hardware store. Just ask for glue for soft plastics and double-check if it says polyurethane glue. It should cost just a few bucks.

Here are some examples:
TechnicQll Soft Plastic Glue
Rema Tip-Top 5522208 Camplast Cement

I am using the first one, but I don't know if it is available worldwide.

For patches, just cut an old sacrificial TPU tube. Such a repair is, in my experience, pretty much permanent.

I can confirm that Camplast plus patches cut from an old TPU works like a charm.

[rockb]

Keep in mind that the typical TPU tube is only good for 6 months to a year.

https://www.cyclabo.com/topics/oxam8aksjg/

"It is said that the ease of air loss in TPU inner tubes is similar to that of latex tubes, and it is possible to lose as much as 2 bar in one day."

This from the link above is plain BS. I've also ridden TUPs for more than a 1 year without any issues. So maybe, only maybe that whole thing is BS.

[froze]

Keep in mind that the typical TPU tube is only good for 6 months to a year.

https://www.cyclabo.com/topics/oxam8aksjg/

"It is said that the ease of air loss in TPU inner tubes is similar to that of latex tubes, and it is possible to lose as much as 2 bar in one day."

This from the link above is plain BS. I've also ridden TUPs for more than a 1 year without any issues. So maybe, only maybe that whole thing is BS.

I doubt the site is BS, that information does echo a bike shop in town experiences with those tubes, but people want to believe what they believe.