Whether you’re a tubeless devotee or a luddite fan of tubes, Continental’s new lightweight ContiTPU tubes are worth a closer look. Fully made in Germany with 7 layers of thermoplastic polyurethane – perhaps inspired by your favorite Tex-Mex chip dip – ContiTPU tubes promise extra durability without extra weight. In fact, they may even be the lightest TPU inner tube you can get, depending on what size tires you run. Potentially more flexible than most similar ultralight alt tubes, just 3 sizes are said to fit most modern road, gravel, and mountain bikes…
Continental lightweight 7-layer ContiTPU inner tubes
Conti says the unique 7-layer construction of their ContiTPU inner tubes “maximizes airtightness and durability” while still allowing for incredible light weights. Sure, a lot of modern cyclists have ditched classic inner tubes for tubeless setups. But most of us still carry a spare tube for when neither sealant nor plugs can’t fix bigger punctures. So lightweight and packability are key. And ContiTPU tubes look to be about as light and compact as they come.
Tech details
Continental describes their tubes as being constructed of the “highest grade of micrometer-thick TPU” stack in 7 individually sealed layers. The tires are 100% made-in-Germany, even down to the raw materials. And each tube is quality-checked to ensure airtightness after manufacturing. They are heat-sensitive though, so you can’t use them in any wheels with rim brakes.
And Continental even made it easy to repair a puncture if they inevitably come, including a repair patch with each tube. That might not sound like a big deal. But TPU tubes require a special patch, and most makers of TPU tubes make you buy patch kits separately. Each ContiTPU tube includes two self-adhesive repair patches with the isopropyl alcohol wipes you’ll need to prep the damaged area before patching.
What’s the difference between butyl, latex & TPU inner tubes? We break it down for you, here.
Lightweight TPU tubes fit into your tires
The new Continental ContiTPU tubes come in three sizes. And they stretch quite a bit when you pump them. So no pumping to more than 4psi outside of a tire. And once you inflate them inside a certain width tire, you can only ever use that tube in the same width or wider tire.
The lightest ContiTPU tube is just 35g for 700c tires from 25-35mm wide. There are lighter TPU tubes for the smaller road bike end of that range, like the ultralight 25g Tubolito S-Road. But if you are riding a cyclocross or fast gravel bike at the wider edge of that range, you might not find any lighter tube out there.
For more off-road gravel riders up to mountain bikers, there are ContiTPU tubes designed for tires 40-60mm wide. For 27.5″/650b wheels those are a claimed 43g, or for 29″/700c it’s just 45g. That range easily covers gravel. On the MTB side that equates to 1.57-2.36″, which is a hair (or more precisely 1mm) shy of the 2.4″ tire width that is super common from XC all the way up to enduro these days. I’d guess you should be fine though, since Conti is clearly marketing them for mountain bikes.
In any case, these would make for seriously light tubes no matter the bike.
ContiTPU tubes – Pricing & Availability
All three sizes of the undyed whitish translucent Continental ContiTPU tubes sell for the same 30€ price tag, including a patch. All sizes also feature 60mm long black Presta valves to fit low- to mid-profile rims. And they have removable valve cores so you can thread on a valve extender for deeper wheels.
The new ContiTPU tubes are out in the market now, available from your local bikeshop and online retailers. But there aren’t a ton out there just yet, so you might have to shop around a bit.
