I’d like to replace the one lightweight butyl tube spare I currently carry with two TPU tubes for longer and more remote rides. I am considering Tubolito MTB or S-MTB, and the cheap Ridenows. I found this article dealing with this exact use, but its conclusions were mixed. Anyone have experience/preferences they’d share?
I carry a Tubolito as a backup for my XC bike, though I’ve never had to use it (knocks on wood).
I’ve extensively used TPU tubes with my road bike though. I’ve used Tubolito, Pirelli SmarTubes, RevoLoop, and RideNow. They’ve all been pretty reliable generally but have all been taken out by super tiny pieces or metal or glass. They’ve all held air well. I think most of the problems you read about come from improper installation. If you pinch the tube with the tire it can leak, if you monkey with the air valve area too much it could leak, etc. If you take your time and do it right it will be reliable.
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Tubolito S on my MTB. Packed in a small nylon thing on downtube.
Super compact. I like the valve stem comes off.
Seen enough of them in service on bikes I fit I’m fine with it. Also okay with it being expensive and won’t talk about frequency of use with spare tubes as I’m really superstitious about that.
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Why not get inserts and new (better) sealant instead?(there was a thread a recently with new tests apparently Petey’s and Squirt perform really well)
I’ve carried a tubolito for years and had cause to use it once when I rolled the tire off the rim. It worked fine to get me home where I packed it back up and set up tubeless again. It’s still sitting in my pack taking up minimal space and little weight.
Aerothan
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