PISSED OFF about TPU "RideNow" ultralight tubes

[theyoungconnoisseur]

so i took a screen shot of my recipts, i spent 260$ solely on tubes for not even a full year of riding. These things no matter how tiny of a hole you get in them, no patches will hold. NONE. And im only running 65-75psi... not the shitty clear tape squares they had with the 1st gen tubes or these pink/red oval ones. no matter how you clean it, alcohol wipe it, smash the living hell out of it or just let it "sit and cure" first before inflating to pressure they always either instantly let out a microscopic hiss till they go flat, or they hold just long enough to get your bike back together, get about 2 miles down the road then let go. Im not just some dentist with medicore at best mechanical skills either... I gave up on trying to fix them and no matter how tiny the pin prick i just toss them which costs me about 8$ per ride now. also out of this 260$ on tubes 8-9 of them were junk straight out of the box with multiple leaks. I also JUST got another order of 4 tubes since i let my supply run down to nothing and all 4 were garbage right out of the box. coudlnt ride for a day and went to walmart to put a garbage tube in my 15grand bike...
Sent messages about tubes being unpatchable even using glue ons on other brands never got any tips or advice...


RideNow, if you guys read this do you have anything to say?
Anyone here found a way to successfully patch these tubes?

[CampagYOLO]

I have patched Ride Now tubes sucessfully with the Park Tool self adhesive patches.
However, the batch I bought also had a high failure rate so I gave up on them aside from using as spares in a saddle bag and went back to latex tubes.

[harblhat]

Are you only trying preglued patches? Have you tried old fashioned vulcanizing cement with regular rubber patches or cut up pieces of old TPU tubes? Also, repeatedly getting pinprick holes in your tubes is strange - have you cleaned the inside of your tires before changing tubes?

I've had Ridenow tubes on my commuter for a while now (months) and haven't run into any issues, maybe it's luck

[Steve Curtis]

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.

[simonf00]

You have my sympathies, but omething is not right if you're getting a flat every ride. Have you confirmed that the tire is clear of anything that could be repuncturing you?

[froze]

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

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

[EtoDemerzel]

that's interesting, I didn't realize there was a shelf life for tpu. First time hearing that.
Heat cycling and UV deterioration makes sense. I don't know how UV could affect an innter tube though.

[theyoungconnoisseur]

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.

shoot me a link please.

i know what im doing, never had problems with anything before since ~2012 till these pink tpu tubes..

to the other guys tlaking about shelf life on them etc, i ride 5 days a week on average over the year, i get lots of little staples in the tires. florida bike lanes and road shoulders are littered with shit.

[tonimartini]

I've been patching RideNow tubes no problem. But I agree with the other poster that the wipes aren't very effective and I'm using isopropyl alcohol that I need anyways to clean the rotors/brakes before applying the patch sticker.

The only time a patch might not work is if the puncture happens to be on a crease where the tube was previously folded. And then applying a good amount of pressure for a minute or two before you reinflate, but I'm guessing you do that already.

I'm using GP 5000 tires which are generally very reliable and puncture resistant. I know it's time to put on a new tire when it starts to square off and I get punctures or the frequency of punctures increases.

Compared to latex inners, my success rate patching TPU tubes is about the same. I find snakebites are the hardest to patch and I usually don't bother but I rarely get them despite running low tire pressures (60/65psi front/back and I'm 70kg).

Sent from my SM-S921U1 using Tapatalk

[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

[Karvalo]

I also JUST got another order of 4 tubes

Umm, ok.... frickin' why?

You seem to be applying the 'if at first you don't succeed' motto, when the one you should be using starts with 'the definition of insanity...'

[diecast]

Sympathies to the OP. Sounds frustrating but I'm afraid that I've also had no problems patching various TPU tubes (including ride now) with park tool patches. Those things are great. Even 2 patches on some tubes, but I draw the line at 3.

Longevity doesn't seem to be a problem in my experience either. FWIW I've got some Schwalbe Aerothans that I bought over 3 years ago and are still going strong. (I'm mostly on tubeless these days so admittedly I don't use my tubed wheels very often.)

[satanas]

If there's lots of litter causing small holes maybe it's time to try tubeless + sealant...

[Mr.Gib]

Just to enhance the idea of something imbedded in the tire that keeps causing punctures, years ago I had a couple of punctures in quick succession on a ride and ended up having to borrow a tube. Even though I did the usual finger check of the inside of the tire after the forst two punctures, I decided to completely remove the tire for a super close inspection as a failure to solve the problem meant being stranded. I inspected in bright sunlight, tread showed zero sign of any cut or penetration, ran my fingers over and over inside and out and nothing. Then I noticed a tiny dark grey dot on the inside of my Vittoria Corsa tan walls (inside of the casing is tan also). I though it was just a tiny spot of dirt or grease, but I worked around it with my thumbnails and a super tiny, super sharp piece of wire emerged. Thinner than the finest hair and no more than 1 - 2 mm in length. It was living in the tread on a slight angle and would only emerge to do it's damage when the tire was inflated and then ridden on.

Be suspicious if multiple punctures occur on the same tire.

If there's lots of litter causing small holes maybe it's time to try tubeless + sealant...

This is the best solution.

[EtoDemerzel]

Just to enhance the idea of something imbedded in the tire that keeps causing punctures, years ago I had a couple of punctures in quick succession on a ride and ended up having to borrow a tube. Even though I did the usual finger check of the inside of the tire after the forst two punctures, I decided to completely remove the tire for a super close inspection as a failure to solve the problem meant being stranded. I inspected in bright sunlight, tread showed zero sign of any cut or penetration, ran my fingers over and over inside and out and nothing. Then I noticed a tiny dark grey dot on the inside of my Vittoria Corsa tan walls (inside of the casing is tan also). I though it was just a tiny spot of dirt or grease, but I worked around it with my thumbnails and a super tiny, super sharp piece of wire emerged. Thinner than the finest hair and no more than 1 - 2 mm in length. It was living in the tread on a slight angle and would only emerge to do it's damage when the tire was inflated and then ridden on.

Be suspicious if multiple punctures occur on the same tire.

If there's lots of litter causing small holes maybe it's time to try tubeless + sealant...

This is the best solution.

Excellent advice for anyone riding tubes