Inner Tube Advice

[Kevin Alexander]

Hi Guys

Well after 2/3 years of cycling I have never had a puncture but planning a 100km ride this weekend and feel I should be equipped for the inevitable, a puncture

Can anyone recommend a good inner tube to fit a 700x23 tyre? I currently have presto valve inner tubes but no idea what brand they are.

Thanks

 

[Smokin Joe]

Vittoria, Michelin, etc etc.

Personally I've never been too worried about the brand, apart from Continental which I avoid after a spate of valve failures.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Go to your LBS and ask for an inner to fit a 700x23 tyre with a presta (A) valve. Buy 2: keeps the fairy away. You will already own a pump (which fits a presta valve), a set of three unbending levers and a glueless patch kit. Why not replace the inners before your ride? The old ones have done sterling service already and one of them can be the spare you carry.

Start with your tyres at at least 110psi on the back (20psi less on the front): increase by one psi for every kg you weigh over 70kg (to the tyre's max pressure). See attachment.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

Yeah I am going to go before the weekend, I need to get a pump as I have a floor pump which is obviously too big to carry.

 

[Tim Hall]

Yeah I am going to go before the weekend, I need to get a pump as I have a floor pump which is obviously too big to carry.

So let me get this right. You've been riding for two to three years and (a) never had a puncture and (b) never been prepared for one. It's the second of these I find more amazing.

Buy some inner tubes and practice how to change them in the comfort of your front room. It'll be warm and dry, something that can't be guaranteed out on the road.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

So let me get this right. You've been riding for two to three years and (a) never had a puncture and (b) never been prepared for one. It's the second of these I find more amazing.

Buy some inner tubes and practice how to change them in the comfort of your front room. It'll be warm and dry, something that can't be guaranteed out on the road.

I have always stuck to routes where I could always get a train/bus/taxi back but as I am getting more serious and trying new routes that in my area aren't smooth I know it will happen and I would rather be prepared.

Like a condom, always better to have one and not use it as opposed to needing it and not having it

 

[Tim Hall]

I have always stuck to routes where I could always get a train/bus/taxi back but as I am getting more serious and trying new routes that in my area aren't smooth I know it will happen and I would rather be prepared.

Being prepared is good.

Like a condom, always better to have one and not use it as opposed to needing it and not having it

Latex tubes give a smoother ride, apparently.

 

[Ajax Bay]

@Tim Hall - You might well think that (and so might I) but I was trying to be strictly non-judgemental and was concerned that he might not realise that an inner alone will be as useful as a chocolate teapot. If the OP adopts the same approach for carriage of condoms, perhaps he's been out of luck for 3 years or "always stuck to routes where [he] could always get a train/bus/taxi back". Practise good practice.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

haha maybe I've just been lucky but as I've said I do need to be prepared for the inevitable.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Maybe OP's saddle angle has been helping out (see Bianchi avatar)?

 

[Kevin Alexander]

its not like that, it was a pic when screws were loose haha

 

[jefmcg]

Why not replace the inners before your ride? The old ones have done sterling service already and one of them can be the spare you carry.

I honestly can't see any need for this. If the tyres have never been compromised, I think the existing tubes will be in A1 condition. They really don't suffer in stress if the tyre isn't infiltrated. I'd prophylactically** replace the tyres, but not the tubes. Do a practice tube change in your living room, that's good advice. But don't put a new tube in. You'll never fold a used tube down to nearly the same size as a new tube.

**love spelling correction. I had zero idea on how to spell this word, but took a wild guess and "hey presto" got the right spelling.

 

[Racing roadkill]

I usually take an extra tube with me at this time of the year. I'll routinely always have two with me, but I have found I've needed an extra, on some longer rides, during the winter / early spring part of the year. I always try to buy tubes with a single piece presta valve, as my rims aren't deep enough to require the versatility / possible problems, of having to fit extenders, and my pump has a habit of unscrewing the 2 piece valves. During the better / longer daylight hour part of the year, I take a puncture repair kit, rather than a third tube, as it's rarer to get a puncture, during the hours of darkness, when patching a tube by the roadside, isn't terribly practical. I tend to find that latex tubes don't hold their pressure quite as well as standard tubes. If the need arises, and I can only get 2 piece valved tubes, I carry a size 12 spoke key in my tool kit, just in case, although this can be a bit of a faff, if it's raining / cold / dark.

 

[raleighnut]

Vittoria, Michelin, etc etc.

Personally I've never been too worried about the brand, apart from Continental which I avoid after a spate of valve failures.

I'd add Specialized tubes to that list, I've had a couple of valve failures from those also.

 

[Pale Rider]

I have always stuck to routes where I could always get a train/bus/taxi back but as I am getting more serious and trying new routes that in my area aren't smooth I know it will happen and I would rather be prepared.

Like a condom, always better to have one and not use it as opposed to needing it and not having it

Good on you for having the wit to work out and do what works for you.

There's no law that says you have to carry puncture repair kit, although I suspect most who post on here do.

My brother runs Marathon Plus tyres and after a year or more of no punctures he stopped carrying the stuff to fix one.

A point to consider is that as your tyres wear, the likelihood of a puncture increases.