Sujet : TPU inner tubes and sand or grit
De : james.e.steward (at) *nospam* gmail.com (James)
Groupes : rec.bicycles.techDate : 24. Jan 2025, 05:22:10
Autres entêtes
Organisation : A noiseless patient Spider
Message-ID : <vmv4hj$22fnb$1@dont-email.me>
User-Agent : Mozilla Thunderbird
I started using TPU inner tubes on my gravel bike a few months ago, and mostly without issue.
One pinch flat so far, that I repaired with a couple of drops of Aquaseal glue.
A few days ago I swapped tyres on my gravel bike, from a new pair with tread to an old pair that were a bit bald, but fine on our hard packed gravel roads and bitumen.
Alas, the rear got a slow leak after a 40km ride.
I could not see any obvious damage to the tube, and it wasn't until I submerged the tube underwater that I found 3 imperceptible pinhole leaks where the tube would have been pressed against the rim tape.
The rim tape is factory installed on my Fulcrum Rapid Red 5 DB wheels, and is in perfect condition.
I was able to repair the tube, again with a few drops of Aquaseal.
I suspect that when I installed the old tyre that somehow a few grains of sand or grit became stuck to the rim tape or were on the tube, and with 40 psi + pressing the tube against the grit, it caused a hole to form.
I just read a forum post from a person who suspects grit causing similar problems on his fat bike with TPU tubes.
I think regular butyl tubes would be far more capable of coping with a grain of sand, given their additional thickness.
After patching, I cleaned the rim, rim tape and inside of the tyre case with a slightly oily rag, to hopefully pick up any sand or grit prior to reassembly.
I've also found that if the rim tape has a whiff of lubrication from a wipe with a slightly oily rag - and I mean a whiff - then it makes seating a TR tyre on a hook bead TR rim with an inner tube, much easier. My 45mm tyres will seat with 40 psi. It otherwise requires inflation to near maximum pressure (60-70psi I think) to get the tyre to be seated properly on the rim. That can be an issue if you have a puncture out on a ride and using a high volume low pressure pump for wide tyres.
--
JS