Can you believe it's now six years since Tubolito hit the market with their TPU inner tubes? It didn't take too long for everyone from Pirelli to Schwalbe, Revoloop to Vittoria to come out with their own - but all those alternatives are quite similar in their lofty prices.
So, it's nice that there are now cheaper options from less established brands to choose from!
To expand a little further, personally I don't think that TPU inner tubes are good value for everyday riding.
They might offer a little more puncture protection over a standard Butyl tube, but I've had enough punctures with TPU tubes to find it's not enough puncture protection to justify their cost. Even specially reinforced heavy duty models - such as the Tubolito X-Tubo-City/Tour which I've reviewed previously - don't provide a cost-effective level of protection.
But although I don't rate TPU tubes highly for day-to-day riding, they are truly excellent as emergency spares! The pack size is so much smaller than a standard tube - I'm happy taking as many as three on my rides when I would baulk at squeezing in just two Butyl tubes. That's proved a lifeline on several occasions!
Still, despite only using TPU tubes as a 'get me home' emergency spare - I swap the TPU tubes out for Butyl once I'm back home (N.b. TPU tubes don't roll up quite as tight once inflated, but it's not far off) - that doesn't make the idea of spending a three-figure sum on a set of tubes any easier to stomach!
And so I am very curious to see just how good these Twooc tubes prove to be. Again, I'm not especially demanding of TPU tubes - the most riding they'll see is whatever fraction of the ride is left after I've had a puncture. The main reason for getting them is the pack size. Even so, they do need to at least be reliable enough for the leg back home - I'll let you know how I get on.
As an aside, if you're considering a super lightweight TPU tube for the gram savings and rolling resistance gains, the question of 'value' is a different story - compared to carbon handlebars or upgrading your saddle rails, the 'gainz' to price ratio with TPU tubes is much better.
