33g Inner Tube - Ridenow TPU

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charirider
Posts: 263
Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:00 am

by charirider

This 24g tube and 160g Panarace Gillar is a killing combo for hillclimbing, just under 190g for the system with decent puncture protection.
2018 Cannondale SuperSix EVO 2 rim size 56 (raw stripped) 6.9kg
2014 Bridgestone Anchor CX6 Equipe size 55 (cyclocross) 9.8kg

by Weenie


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tarmackev
Posts: 899
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 9:59 pm

by tarmackev

stevec1975 wrote:
Mon Feb 06, 2023 1:10 pm
The SL version of the Ridenow tubes comes in pretty accurate weight wise. this is with a 65mm Valve

Image
I just fitted these, I was very carefull inflating but it was straight forward. Will be riding them on sunday. First time with these and also Vittoria Corsa.

c50jim
Posts: 1015
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:42 am
Location: Calgary

by c50jim

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?

WeeniestWeigh
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2023 2:43 pm

by WeeniestWeigh

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

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

by BigBoyND

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?
Bulging is 100% normal for inner tubes made of very flexible material. Tires can't be perfectly symmetrical in thickness throughout, to the thinnest part eventually bulges. Latex tires do the same. Think of it in steps. Thinnest part bulges a tiny bit, making it even thinner. Add more air and that even thinner part will stretch even faster. Eventually you get a runaway.

This is why you don't pressure it up outside of a tire. You've just damaged your TPU tires for no reason. There was nothing wrong with them until you did that.

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

by BigBoyND

charirider wrote:
Thu Mar 16, 2023 1:26 pm
This 24g tube and 160g Panarace Gillar is a killing combo for hillclimbing, just under 190g for the system with decent puncture protection.
This was my setup last year but with Revoloop. Surprisingly puncture resistant, except for the tiny glass pieces when riding through the city. This combo felt good even in the flats for me, which made me a fan of Panaracer road tires.

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

by MikeD

If you can't inflate a TPU tube much outside the tire because it wrecks the tube, how do you find a leak? (May be moot because most of these tubes are not patchable.)

Attermann
Posts: 916
Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2014 11:04 pm
Location: Denmark

by Attermann

just use water.

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Lelandjt
Posts: 833
Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2016 7:10 am

by Lelandjt

Do these have more rolling resistance than Schwalbe's ultralight butyl tubes? Any reason besides cost for me not to switch?

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eucalyptus
Posts: 527
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2020 3:51 am
Location: Sweden

by eucalyptus

MikeD wrote:
Fri Mar 31, 2023 5:19 pm
If you can't inflate a TPU tube much outside the tire because it wrecks the tube, how do you find a leak? (May be moot because most of these tubes are not patchable.)
Because you can still inflate the tube enough to not wreck it. If it deflates slow or quick indicates a leak :) 20 psi is wrecking the tube.

WeeniestWeigh
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2023 2:43 pm

by WeeniestWeigh

Lelandjt wrote:
Fri Mar 31, 2023 6:49 pm
Do these have more rolling resistance than Schwalbe's ultralight butyl tubes? Any reason besides cost for me not to switch?
Looks like the RideNow tube only has 0.7 watts less rolling resistance than Schwalbe SV20 Butyl tubes in the test on Bicycle Rolling Resisiance:
https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.co ... nner-tubes

As for reasons not to switch, I've not tried them myself so I can't comment on durability or the how effective the repair kits are. I am tempted to buy a couple as spares for taking with me on long rides. I ride tubeless myself, but always take a spare tube for un-pluggable rips in the tire.

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

by usr

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?
Every material that has a low threshold to the point where Hooke's law ends and the added force required for adding more elongation starts shrinking the more force/elongation you add (limit of proportionality) will bulge. TPU and latex are that kind of material. If they wouldn't bulge they would be fakes made from some different material than claimed.

sevencyclist
Posts: 92
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:36 am

by sevencyclist

I have install Pirelli TPU on a set of wheels and it retains pressure much much better than latex.

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C36
Posts: 2471
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:24 am

by C36

c50jim wrote: 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. […] Did I just get a bad batch?
You are not suppose to inflate them outside the tire! They were fine… if they still have stretch once you remove all the pressure they not usable anymore, you plastically deformed them.
TPU can’t stretch as much as latex. Not a problem when the tire casing maintain their shape.
Lelandjt wrote:Do these have more rolling resistance than Schwalbe's ultralight butyl tubes? Any reason besides cost for me not to switch?
As far as RR, the material stiffness is compensated by how thin they can be. On very good roads it’s a bit slower than latex and seems that the worse the road, the more vibrations it transmit then increase impedance losses.

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zappafile123
Posts: 655
Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2014 8:24 am

by zappafile123

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.
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by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

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