Tubolito Tubo MTB Tube [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for.

The Tubolito is known for being one of the lightest and smallest tubes on the market. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned with these reviews and this customer had an issue with the valve stem not fitting the valve opening. Nevertheless, we still think the Tubolito is worth checking out. Scope his review for more!

Overview

Below is my review for the Tubolito Tubo 29" tube. Unfortunately, it didn't work out very well for me as I noted in the review.

Amazing product in its lightweight design, but the valve stem would not fit for anything in the valve opening on my wheels.

I'm generally a positive guy. Which means when reviewing products, I'm most likely going to leave a raving review with only a few minor opportunities for improvement. So when asked to review the Tubolito Tubo 29" tube I recently purchased from Worldwide Cyclery, I went into it thinking it would be a positive review! This was before I actually tried to use the thing in a real life trail situation...

Recently I decided I wanted to slim down what I brought on rides, and that started with first finding a pack. Side note, but I would highly recommend the Race Face Stash Quick Rip. Fits what you need and nothing you don't. Absolutely love that pack. But back to the matter at hand. I also wanted to slim down on the gear I was hauling around. This is where the Tubolito Tubo 29" tube comes in. I had seen this product advertised before (darn you google ads), and have also seen the product at my local shop. Given all my bikes are currently setup tubeless, I wanted something light that could get me back to the trail head in the case of a flat and didn't take up a ton of space. I'm also not the biggest fan of strapping a tube to my bike. And yes, that's pretty much purely an aesthetics thing for me. I'm currently riding an Ibis Ripmo and the lines are just too clean to strap a tube to it :) At first glance, the Tubolito Tubo tube looks like there's no way it's a 29" tube. The thing is no lie about half the size of what a normal tube is, and it fits perfectly in the side pocket of my Race Face Stash bag. I had no plans of using it unless I was presented with a situation while riding where it was my last hope, as I'm typically going to try to plug a tire before resorting to a tube.

On Trail Experience

This past weekend, I was on a longer trail ride with some buddies when a few miles in, my rear tire started spraying sealant all over the place. Been here before, and after taking a look at the tire I realized that a dagger like rock actually punctured the tire and was literally in the tire next to the rim bouncing around. I ride the rocks of Northwest Arkansas, which are razor sharp at times and can even take down the burliest of tires, so I didn't think much of it and knew I was going to have to use a tube. I got the tire off, pulled out my fancy Tubolito Tubo, gave it a little bit of air, and then attempted to get the valve stem through the opening on my wheel.

I'm currently riding Crank Bros Synthesis carbon wheels, which I would assume have a pretty standard valve opening. After messing with the tube for a good 10 minutes, I realized there was no way the valve stem was going to fit inside the valve opening of my wheels, which in my opinion makes no sense as the tube is advertised for MTB wheels. Lucky for me, my buddy had a "basic" 29" tube that he let me borrow to get me through the rest of the ride. Sometimes fancier isn't better, and it's best to stick with what you know.

Final Thoughts

I would not recommend the Tubolito Tubo tube as it did not serve me well when I needed it. I'm thinking potentially my wheels are unique in the valve opening, and that the tube would actually work for someone else, but I'm just not going to risk it, and it will remain at home on all rides going forward. Again, this was a one off review where it just didn't work for me, and there could be a ton of other situations and wheelsets where it works like a charm!