this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2026
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@MrAndrewD @bicycling I carry RideNows as emergency spares, but my tires are set up tubeless. I’ve had to press one into service once. It was fine.
They’re delicate in some ways. I carry my spares inside a latex glove (which I’ll want anyhow), and you can’t let them get pinched when mounting them.
Note that if you use an electrical inflator, you need to use a tube with a metal valve (RideNow does offer these) or a hose between the air and valve, because the heat is bad for plastic valves.
@adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling same for me: brilliant as a backup to tubeless because they're tiny and you rarely need them. The ride feel of them is definitely superior to a butyl tube on a road bike, and of course they're loads lighter: on the "spend money to save weight" spready they're a good buy. The main issue with them is repairability: you *can* repair them but you can't easily do it out on the road like you can with butyl tubes. the flip side of that is that two spares take up no space
@wav3ydave @adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling I carry them. But have never used them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@wav3ydave @pete @adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling
I scrolled through all the replies and didn't see it mentioned yet, but I may have missed it:
Rene Herse now sells TPU specific sealant:
https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop/equipment/tools/rene-herse-tpu-tube-sealant/
@wav3ydave Oh, interesting! I'm struggling with a road bike's tubeless setup at the mo, and was thinking of giving up and sticking a tube in. Maybe TPU and this is what I've been looking for.
@voiceofunreason @adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling
@pete @wav3ydave @voiceofunreason @adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling
I used Slime tubes for a couple of years until it failed. I thought I had a minor puncture that sealed because it went down a coupe of times on the commute but then stabilised
I then did the King Alfred's Way and it let go half way around. When I took the tyre off I saw the split and it was a mess. Sealant everywhere.
I binned off the other one and won't be using again. Bloody nightmare imho & enough to put me off tubeless too
@pete @wav3ydave @voiceofunreason @adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling yeah. I made the mistake of getting a slime repair kit for the car (plug and gunk) but then it got recalled for containing toxic chemicals. I didn't have the bike valve clog though, but just the though of trying to find a thorn in a tyre full of gunk is enough.
Oh and with tubeless, remember to take out all the multiple objects that successfully sealed before putting a tube in folks!
@Pionir @pete @wav3ydave @adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling
Since we’re veering into discussing puncture sealant for butyl tubes, I’ll share this anecdote:
I used to work in bike shops. Someone brought in a bike with a fast-leak puncture they tried to fix with butyl sealant.
They figured if a little sealant would help with a slow-leak, a lot of sealant would help with a fast-leak.
@Pionir @pete @wav3ydave @adamrice @MrAndrewD @bicycling
They, apparently, got a huge can of sealant meant for cars and shot that into the valve.
Likely a liter+ in total.
The butyl tube had a 6cm tear so the tire was basically completely filled with sealant.
It didn’t work.