33g Inner Tube - Ridenow TPU

[Steve Curtis]

I'm completely fine riding gen 1 ridenows and thinkrider tubes with rim brakes in the mountains. I would trust manufacturers when they say lighter ones are not compatible with rim, but the thicker ones are absolutely fine

I guess you haven't read the instructions? On carbon rim brake wheels they are not recommended.

I ride them on carbon rims but not in the mountains.

[Jaisen]

I'm completely fine riding gen 1 ridenows and thinkrider tubes with rim brakes in the mountains. I would trust manufacturers when they say lighter ones are not compatible with rim, but the thicker ones are absolutely fine

I guess you haven't read the instructions? On carbon rim brake wheels they are not recommended.

I ride them on carbon rims but not in the mountains.

The 19g version says disc only, but the 24g and higher show a picture for compatibility with rim brakes.

[Steve Curtis]

Compatible, yes. But not recommended for mountains due to high temps from heavy and sustained braking.

I spoke with the guys a few times about then when I was looking at becoming an importer of the product.

[Jaisen]

Compatible, yes. But not recommended for mountains due to high temps from heavy and sustained braking.

I spoke with the guys a few times about then when I was looking at becoming an importer of the product.

You're right and the picture/box label is highly misleading. Afterall how many people actually read the manual for inner tubes? The TPU tubes might be perfectly ok on aluminum rims, but I hadn't thought through the implications of the carbon rims building up significant heat (which is also one of the main reason they need special brake pads).

[inertianinja]

General TPU question - I have used a few brands of TPU tubes on tubeless-compatible rims (Black Inc) with i’d say mixed results.

i haven’t used rim tape or tubeless tape in years because my rims have not had spoke holes. Never needed it with butyl. but is it recommended to put tape on the rim bed for TPU tubes?

[Steve Curtis]

You only need rim tape if you have spoke holes.

[rafa]

General TPU question - I have used a few brands of TPU tubes on tubeless-compatible rims (Black Inc) with i’d say mixed results.

i haven’t used rim tape or tubeless tape in years because my rims have not had spoke holes. Never needed it with butyl. but is it recommended to put tape on the rim bed for TPU tubes?

If you have spoke hole yes use tape.
Otherwise the tube will try to "grow" into the spoke holes, which can be sharp and will cut the tube.

[inertianinja]

You only need rim tape if you have spoke holes.

ok. I was curious about whether the TPU might degrade rubbing against a flat carbon surface as opposed to smooth tubless tape. or something.

[Steve Curtis]

You only need rim tape if you have spoke holes.

ok. I was curious about whether the TPU might degrade rubbing against a flat carbon surface as opposed to smooth tubless tape. or something.

No, it's fine. Just check for any sharp edges on the rim.

[inertianinja]

Some anecdotes:

- First gen RideNow (black stems) I found very unreliable.
- I tried the RideNow 19g (seller threw one in for free) and it flatted. I assume I'm trading some reliability for the ~20g and it's not worth it for me.
- I started using Vittoria (red stems, much more expensive) as my primary, with RideNow as the backup. Vittorias were more reliable than RideNow but still not as reliable as butyl.
- The clear stem RideNow have been better, but still need air every 1-2 days.
- Yesterday I had two flats at the same time (one RideNow clear, one Vittoria) which had to be due to something in the road, but it's still interesting to see them both fail at the same time. I didn't find anything in the road that would clearly cause a puncture. Replaced them with two RideNow clear stem tubes. Thankfully I started carrying two tubes & two CO2 cartridges on my rides - oddly enough because of the reduced size of the TPU tubes. Never thought I'd actually need two on the same ride.

I just ordered 4 of the latest generation metal stem 36g RideNow tubes. Honestly I hope they find the right formula for these tubes - I do not want to go back to butyl, but I am getting tired of the anxiety.

[Tiforlife]

Been on 19g all year, including Dolomites and Belgian cobbles with no issues (being 64kg might help).

[charirider]

36g version 18-32c will be ok for rim brake, 19/24g I wouldn't risk.

[wickedstealthy]

Neither are recommended

I rode the tubolitos in Spain without any issues on carbon rimbrake wheels They are suited in the heavier versions according to tubolitos. So the 36gr should be fine of ride now.
I switched recently to 36gr on my disc rims and they are far far more solid then the 24gr when used in 28mm tires.
I wouldn't go back to 24gr anymore for those 12gr. They are a lot thicker and so they don't get stretched thinner in bigger volume tires.

[Steve Curtis]

Neither are recommended

I rode the tubolitos in Spain without any issues on carbon rimbrake wheels They are suited in the heavier versions according to tubolitos. So the 36gr should be fine of ride now.
I switched recently to 36gr on my disc rims and they are far far more solid then the 24gr when used in 28mm tires.
I wouldn't go back to 24gr anymore for those 12gr. They are a lot thicker and so they don't get stretched thinner in bigger volume tires.

As I said. Neither are recommended, but you can buy them and do whatever you want.
Where I live it's fine to use them with carbon rim brakes, but the mountains where I lived in Geneva, probably not.

[usr]

All TPU overheat deflations i had were on aluminum rims and when i delaminated a WTO front there was probably an Aerothan inside (that did not deflate). I'm quite convinced that any heat a carbon rim can stand won't trouble the TPU. In particular because all my aluminum TPU overheat situations were overheat at the valve hole, and carbon, with its low heat conductivity will still be less hot in that area than where the brake track delaminates (or rather: the structure holding brake tracks parallel).