Yes, I carry a TPU tube. Not because I don’t trust my tubeless setup but as a good luck charm of sorts. I believe in the Sam Gamgee rule of preparedness: “You’ll want it, if you haven’t got it”. That is, nature will inevitably send you the mechanical you’re not prepared to fix. And a TPU tube is not that big or heavy.
Yes. You’d be crazy not to, IMO. Plugs are great (I carry those too) but they rely on your sealant being fresh to function. Even though I refresh my sealant every few months, I don’t trust it. I trust that my tube (which I check regularly for integrity) will get me home.
I carry a dynaplug, a pump, a tire boot, a Tubolito tube, and a small rag to help with the sealant if things go south.
When I bikepack with a group someone will carry a small bottle of sealant and a few people will carry some CO2 cartridges to help re-seat tubeless if needed. Usually on trips I’ll carry 2 Tubolitos - small and light insurance policy.
Just got back from 5 weeks riding around Italian and French Alps and a LOT of kms, riding 30mm Conti GP5000 with Silca Ultimate sealant (60mm per tyre). I carried a Dynaplug (4 plugs loaded plus 4 spares) and an A2 Ultra mini pump, and a spare 60ml bottle of Silca Ultimate. I had maybe 10 punctures (bad roads). 5 self sealed and 5 needed a plug. Only two of the ones needing a plug required the inflator to come out. It initially felt a bit risky not having a tube as I was a long way from big towns but now I am convinced of not needing to carry a tube provided I’m using Silca + Dynaplug.
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I carry tubes, but I have never had to use them, on road or off road. I also carry a plug kit, which has had occasional use.
I only continue to carry tubes because where I live you don’t have to go far to be quite remote, thus zero or very poor signal, and off-road it could be a long walk to a road, meaning it’s worth having the small additional insurance policy.
I hate being stranded. Today I had a gash in my tire that required putting a tube in. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take two. TPU tubes are so small but can offer a way home.
I also broke my chain today. Had a quick link but was lucky I didn’t need a chain tool. I need to update my seat bag.
They would have gotten to Mordor a lot faster on gravel bikes. Hobbit’s can’t use SPDs though.
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Yes, I carry a cheap Amazon TPU tube, and a dynaplug and I run a generous amount of Silca sealant.
I ride in an VERY urban area, often not a very nice one either - lots of broken glass (much more than you are currently imagining), needles, shell casings…and flats are definitely something I have to deal with. A lot of the time the sealant works and I just keep riding (but my bike gets covered in spraying sealant), almost the rest of the time Dynaplug does the job…about every 12-18 months I end up putting a tube in.
Long story short, if I lived in a nice clean suburb I’d probably be fine with just sealant and dynaplug but for where I do most of my miles - having a TPU tube is worth the space and weight.
On my gravel bike I carry a dynaplug race (4 plugs in it) + a small electric inflator + a hex key if I have to take the wheels off. For everything (race, ride, bikepacking). I check the sealant regularly and put 60ml x tyre. I store these in a bottle-case, not a seat bag (I hate those).
Nothing more.
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Imagine not once, but three times over 37,600 miles hitting an edgy pothole (twice), and taking a curb to avoid a car (that still hit me). All three of these tires were cut enough that no plug would have gotten me on the road. Two of these were more than 30 miles from home and one was closer to 70 miles from home.
A spare tube got me back on the road all three times. Beats hoofing it or calling a friend.
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