Inner Tube - better bigger, or smaller?
- Thread starter kalniel
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
KnackeredBike
I do my own stunts
I have always gone for the larger based on the fact the tube is less stretched therefore will hold air for longer.
Yellow Saddle
Guru
- Location
- Loch side.
Like Ian said. However, a smaller one is easier to stuff in when fitting.
Vantage
Carbon fibre... LMAO!!!
- Location
- Behind everyone else, Bolton
I've always gone smaller. Less likely to get caught under the tyre bead when fitting. Tubes stretch plenty so no worries about straining them if a bit smaller than your tyre size.
Banjo
Fuelled with Jelly Babies
- Location
- South Wales
Smaller ones take less room in your bag.
froze
Über Member
- Location
- Fort Wayne, Indiana
There's pros and cons to doing either. Smaller ones are lighter which roadies prefer, but also thinner which could subject it to more flats, but it would be a very slight increase in flat protection, larger tube is more difficult to stuff into a tire which can make it easier to pinch the tube or cause the tube to twist. Otherwise you can use the two different sizes with no problems. I prefer minimum size for road tires; for mtb tires if I'm using thorn resistant tubes I prefer next size up to maximize the thickness of a thorn resistant tube, plus it's a little easier in a larger tire to prevent the tube from bunching or twisting or pinching vs a skinny road tire.
andrew_s
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gloucester
I go for larger.
It's not so much that you get fewer punctures, but those you do get are slower, so quite often you can finish the ride, or just pump up a couple of times on the way home. Thorns are quite good at plugging the holes they've made if the tube is unstretched - sometimes well enough that you only need to pump a couple of times a week.
Any tube you can get fitted will work in the short term, but in the longer term a tube that's oversized enough to crease will wear through on the crease, and very undersized tubes are delicate, and will do things like wear through on an eyelet that's showing round the edge of the rim tape.
My record mismatch was a 650c x 18-23 tube in a 700c x 28 tyre (someone at the shop had put it back in the wrong box, and I didn't de-box it until I needed it). The diameter was enough smaller to make fitting it a bit of a challenge, and it only lasted a couple of months before wearing through.
It's not so much that you get fewer punctures, but those you do get are slower, so quite often you can finish the ride, or just pump up a couple of times on the way home. Thorns are quite good at plugging the holes they've made if the tube is unstretched - sometimes well enough that you only need to pump a couple of times a week.
Any tube you can get fitted will work in the short term, but in the longer term a tube that's oversized enough to crease will wear through on the crease, and very undersized tubes are delicate, and will do things like wear through on an eyelet that's showing round the edge of the rim tape.
My record mismatch was a 650c x 18-23 tube in a 700c x 28 tyre (someone at the shop had put it back in the wrong box, and I didn't de-box it until I needed it). The diameter was enough smaller to make fitting it a bit of a challenge, and it only lasted a couple of months before wearing through.
Last edited:
Supersuperleeds
Legendary Member
- Location
- Leicester
Depends on the time of year. In winter I'll be riding either 28 or 35 tyres so buy that range and use on both. In summer I'll be riding either 25 or 28 so buy that range and again use on both.