33g Inner Tube - Ridenow TPU

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The spirit of this board is to compile and organize wheels and tires related discussions.

If a new wheel tech is released, (say for example, TPU tubes, a brand new tire, or a new rim standard), feel free to start the discussion in the popular "Road". Your topic will eventually be moved here!
MikeD
Posts: 1000
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:55 pm

by MikeD

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m3bas
Posts: 94
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2021 7:23 am

by m3bas

zappafile123 wrote:
WeeniestWeigh wrote:
Thu Mar 30, 2023 11:42 pm
c50jim wrote:
Thu Mar 30, 2023 11:21 pm
I bought some of the Pirelli TPU tubes through my LBS a couple of months ago and thought they looked good to use as spares, although I planned to replace them with butyl (being a cheap retired accountant) when I got home. I used one on a flat a couple of weeks ago and it worked great and was fairly easy to refold up into a small ball after I replaced it with butyl. The ~$40 cost per tube meant that I'd just use these as spares, not for regular rides.

I'd read these positive comments about Ridenow so decided to order some. Ten of the regular ones cost me $94.78 Canadian so about the same price as butyl tubes here. Delivery was about a week so OK there. Being a bit cautious, I decided to put air in one to see if it held before packing them for a trip to Mallorca in a couple of weeks. Started putting air in the first tube and at about 20 PSI it bulged opposite the valve stem. Tried four more tubes and they all bulged near the valve stem. Put in more air and the bulge just grew. Obviously if they'd been inside a tire, there would have been nowhere for a bulge to form so maybe this wasn't a good test. So, the five I tried have all gone in the garbage but I still have the other five. Has anyone performed the same test with the same or a different result? Did I just get a bad batch?
I think you're only supposed to inflate them to maximum of 6 psi when not inside a tire, as stated in the item description on Ali Express. They even have a graphic of the bulge opposite the valve stem:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004788489420.html
Lol I'd be feeling pretty stupid if I destroyed 5 tubes out of blatant ignorance and then posted that fact on a forum for people to immediately think 'this guy... needs help'.

Mini review
Anyway, I just transitioned to RN from Challenge Latex. So far so good! They lose about 5-10 PSI a day instead of 20 which does make a big difference. 80mm valve tubes weighed in at 36 g. I cannot tell the difference between the RN and Latex in terms of suppleness/speed. They feel just as fast.

This is just a suspicion at this point, but there may be a safety downside with these tubes related to how they deflate when punctured. Basically it seems as though there is an increased risk of catastrophic failure where the tube deflates almost instantaneously when punctured. Might be something to do with the stiffness of the material allowing punctures to 'stay open' rather than flap open and closed due to the flexibility of the material like latex/butyl. I've flatted once (cause my tires were at the end of their life) and complete deflation was almost immediate. N=1 so take the above with a fist full of salt. I'll report back if that was a once off or if the tubes really do deflate faster.
Had the same thing happen with a puncture. Luckily on the bike path at 30km/hr and not downhill around a corner…


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by Weenie


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gruppetto
Posts: 133
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2020 12:17 pm

by gruppetto

To add some anecdotal data points: I had two punctures on ridenows and they deflated pretty slowly.

MilesG813
Posts: 142
Joined: Thu May 19, 2022 7:17 pm

by MilesG813

I put a dime-sized hole in my tire the other day being an idiot and while the ridenows flatted it was by no means a catastrophic loss of pressure. I had to let the rest of the air out the valve before changing the tube.
2022 Specialized S-Works SL7 I Ultegra R8170 I Princeton Carbonworks 6560
2012 Cannondale CAAD 10 I 105 R5700 I Zipp 404s

jayjay
Posts: 395
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:07 am
Location: Germany
Contact:

by jayjay

gruppetto wrote:
Mon Apr 03, 2023 12:22 pm
To add some anecdotal data points: I had two punctures on ridenows and they deflated pretty slowly.
Had my first flat yesterday with the same result!
I was only a microscopic hole though...

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JayDee81
Posts: 406
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 10:45 pm
Location: Czech Republic

by JayDee81

So I bought another set of Revoloops and one of them leaks straight out of the box again. Looses cca 10 psi in under 2 hours and putting the tube minimally inflated under water shows nothing so I can't even try to patch it.
That is 4 Revoloop tubes for me now where half of them failed making me pretty bummed. Otherwise I am happy with them, but this failure rate is appalling.

BigBoyND
Posts: 1347
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 1:51 am
Location: Berlin, DE

by BigBoyND

If nothing shows under water, how can it be leaking?

Check the valve. It's removable and screws into a plastic stem. I had one leak there. Added some glue or loctite to seal it.

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JayDee81
Posts: 406
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 10:45 pm
Location: Czech Republic

by JayDee81

BigBoyND wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:04 am
If nothing shows under water, how can it be leaking?
Because when you put it inside the tire and pump it up it stretches more? I don't want to damage it by overinflating outside the tire. It's the same thing with butyl tubes. If you have a small enough hole, it just stops leaking air at certain pressure because the hole closes.
BigBoyND wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:04 am
Check the valve. It's removable and screws into a plastic stem. I had one leak there. Added some glue or loctite to seal it.
Will try.

MikeD
Posts: 1000
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:55 pm

by MikeD

JayDee81 wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2023 9:21 am
BigBoyND wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:04 am
If nothing shows under water, how can it be leaking?
Because when you put it inside the tire and pump it up it stretches more? I don't want to damage it by overinflating outside the tire. It's the same thing with butyl tubes. If you have a small enough hole, it just stops leaking air at certain pressure because the hole closes.
BigBoyND wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:04 am
Check the valve. It's removable and screws into a plastic stem. I had one leak there. Added some glue or loctite to seal it.
Will try.
Can you send the tubes back for refund/replacement?

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JayDee81
Posts: 406
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 10:45 pm
Location: Czech Republic

by JayDee81

MikeD wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2023 8:34 pm
JayDee81 wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2023 9:21 am
BigBoyND wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:04 am
If nothing shows under water, how can it be leaking?
Because when you put it inside the tire and pump it up it stretches more? I don't want to damage it by overinflating outside the tire. It's the same thing with butyl tubes. If you have a small enough hole, it just stops leaking air at certain pressure because the hole closes.
BigBoyND wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:04 am
Check the valve. It's removable and screws into a plastic stem. I had one leak there. Added some glue or loctite to seal it.
Will try.
Can you send the tubes back for refund/replacement?
I got a refund for the first faulty one. The online shop wanted video as a proof, which cannot be done for the new defective one.

aeroberg
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Mar 20, 2023 7:59 am

by aeroberg

Does anyone know if the RideNow Tubes have detachable valvecores where one can add sealant in it? I see on Aliexpress that they claim to have detachable valves. Just want to confirm. My winter training wheels are running schwalbe durano plus and to counter how heavy they are I want to use a lightweight tube.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004712589177.html

usr
Posts: 888
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2021 5:58 pm

by usr

Sealant in TPU? Much (all, worth few exceptions) effect of sealant is from causing chemical configuration on the surfaces involved, and TPU is far too innlert for any of that to happen. Sealant won't have much effect for exactly the same reasons conventional patch kits (where the "glue" is merely a super mild solvent, basically benzine with some additives to slow down evaporation) don't work on TPU (TPU patch kits require much stronger solvents to get anything to happen on the surface in question)

Some sealants might slow down air loss a little, stuff with mechanical blockers like beads or that Silca carbon disposal scheme, but that won't be more than a little more time for safe dismount.

Treptay
Posts: 68
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2020 11:23 am

by Treptay

aeroberg wrote:
Thu Apr 20, 2023 10:43 am
Does anyone know if the RideNow Tubes have detachable valvecores where one can add sealant in it? I see on Aliexpress that they claim to have detachable valves. Just want to confirm. My winter training wheels are running schwalbe durano plus and to counter how heavy they are I want to use a lightweight tube.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004712589177.html
The aliexpress site is so confusing. In the first lines of the description, they say that they have detachable valve cores, but on the pictures (and pictures in description) they clearly state that they don't.
Anyways, I have a few of these, and it seems that the valve core is screwed into the plastic valve stem. So I guess you can remove it, the quesiton is, how often until you damage the plastic stem too much.

MilesG813
Posts: 142
Joined: Thu May 19, 2022 7:17 pm

by MilesG813

aeroberg wrote:
Thu Apr 20, 2023 10:43 am
Does anyone know if the RideNow Tubes have detachable valvecores where one can add sealant in it? I see on Aliexpress that they claim to have detachable valves. Just want to confirm. My winter training wheels are running schwalbe durano plus and to counter how heavy they are I want to use a lightweight tube.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004712589177.html
My experience has been that Ridenow TPU valve cores are glued in. While the stem looks like they may have been screwed in there is also glue applied. I believe the box or pamphlet that comes with them says the core is glued and will damage the tube if removed.
2022 Specialized S-Works SL7 I Ultegra R8170 I Princeton Carbonworks 6560
2012 Cannondale CAAD 10 I 105 R5700 I Zipp 404s

by Weenie


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Steve Curtis
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Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:20 pm
Location: Hampshire UK, Dublin Ireland and Geneva Switzerland.

by Steve Curtis

Originally the valves could be removed but they were prone to leaking so they effectively thread locked them in.
They can be removed, but may leak unless you thread lock them back again.

I don't think sealant in TPU would work anyway

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