7mo ago

The Best Bang for Your Buck Upgrade Is Not What You Think

www.bicycling.com

15 comments

It's TPU tubes FYI
😡
- I can’t speak for all platforms, but browsing lemmy on Mlem on iOS has a “reader” mode that shows you the page without pay/account wall.
  
  Reader mode FTW! 👍
  
  Firefox!
I don't understand how adding inner tubes helps anything?
Edit: oh, I see, that's in lieu of butyl rubber inner tubes, not in lieu of going tubeless.
I'm not much of a cyclist, but I sorta figure that that if you're not sure what to upgrade on the your bike, it's probably the rider. Improve your fitness, improve your knowledge etc.
I've had good success using TPU tubes from AliExpress, at a fourth of the price of tubes in shops in my country.
- Which brand? I'm seeing so many sold, but then you look up reviews (not on the Ali site) and they are horror stories.
  I'm tempted to buy some, but I've seriously had only one flat (my fault) with standard tubes over well beyond 14,000 km year round. So, I don't want to introduce problems 🫣
  
  I've been running the RideNow tubes, without any issues whatsoever.
  Anecdotally, I've heard about people getting punctures when they've run the extra light variant, but I don't use that one as I'm not that concerned with optimizing weight.
  There are also some general considerations with TPU tubes in that you need to be careful not to pinch them under the bead of the tyre, and that they may get damaged if you use a poorly cooled electric pump.
  Other than that, I've had zero problems with punctures since I switched to TPU tubes. Allegedly, I get a performance benefit in less rolling resistance and weight, plus they are very easy to carry as spares in my saddle bag as they pack quite small.

15 comments