Inner tubes - to talc or not to talc?

[youngoldbloke]

For the heavy user: http://www.bathpotters.co.uk/productdetail.php?pid=440&vid=823
(unperfumed I 'm afraid).

 

[Reluctant]

Talc for me ~ for reasons that seem to have been overlooked by Mr Brandt in the article on Harris Cyclery. When doing a punc repair or tube replacement after a puncture, the first thing to do is find the foreign body that caused it, yes? I find it very much more easier to slide my fingers around the inside of the tyre when it's been talced; it acts as a dry lubricant. I can keep my fingers in closer and more uniform contact with the tyre surface, so more likely to find them tiny sneaky bits of glass. And when re-assembling the tyre/tube, talc as a lube helps to slide ot all together nicely. I've always used talc, always found it beneficial and never experienced any problems.

 

[mickle]

Now's as good a time as any....

" Before you install your next inner tube dust the inside if the tyre with talcum powder.

Make sure your tyre is clean and free from debris first - then: A generous squoosh and spread it around with your fingers getting it on every bit of surface. Shake out any excess (but try to avoid breathing it, it may be a carcinogen).

Lubricating the inside surface of your tyres in this way makes for very happy tubes. They sit more comfortably and are therefore less likely to end up twisted within the tyre, pinched under the bead or snagged by a lever. I suspect (but would find it difficult to prove!) that rolling resistance is minimised andthe likelihood of getting a puncture is reduced. In the long term it prevents the tube from getting stuck to the tyre and inner tube wear is eliminated (if you have ever opened up an old tyre to discover a load of rubber dust you'll know what I mean).

We have 15+ bikes in the garage and I get more than a year out of a small container - so it's not an expensive addition to your home workshop kit. But once you start using it, and experience the benefits, you wont feel right installing a tube without it.

Un-perfumed is best we suspect - it has been suggested that perfumed talcs cause the rubber to perish."

 

[gwhite]

At one time every bike workshop had an industrial size box of talc at hand and I still have one. I've used it to ease tyres on to the rim and on the tube itself for over forty years and had no problems. In my experience it does stop the tube from attaching itself to the tyre and keeps the tube in good condition.

 

[02GF74]

i have never talced and cannot say that i have suffered - i cannot remember having a puncture whose cause I could not identify, either caused by sharp or pointy foreign object piercing the inner tube, snake bite or tyre failure.

 

[mickle]

i have never talced and cannot say that i have suffered - i cannot remember having a puncture whose cause I could not identify, either caused by sharp or pointy foreign object piercing the inner tube, snake bite or tyre failure.

I did a rare day in the workshop recently and it drove me mad that there was no talc. I use it every time so I'd never normally have reason to install a tyre without it, but spending a day without it really brought home how much easier life it when talc is used. I guess it's one of those things that you don't know you need until you try it.

 

[I like Skol]

When doing a punc repair or tube replacement after a puncture, the first thing to do is find the foreign body that caused it, yes? I find it very much more easier to slide my fingers around the inside of the tyre when it's been talced; it acts as a dry lubricant. I can keep my fingers in closer and more uniform contact with the tyre surface, so more likely to find them tiny sneaky bits of glass.

I was shocked by the obviousness of this recently posted piece of advice right here on the forum.......

" DO NOT run your fingers around the inside of the tyre to find the offending intruder. As well as the obvious danger of cutting your hand/fingers open on a sharp peice of glass/screw/nail/metal blade/thorn there is the much more worrying posibility that you might find the tip of a discarded hyperdermic needle, especially if you ride in more urban areas or along canals and through underpasses etc"

I must admit this hit home as shortly before I saw this I had been out riding along the canal with the kids and while we were stopped for something I noticed we were next to some bushes where with just a quick glance I could spot several discarded needles. My children were quickly called to heel and we moved on while I tried to explain the problems of drug use and HIV to my then 5 and 8 yr old sons.

 

[daddyshambles]

yeah and the yellow crayon doesnt work, the chalk sticks to the cheese grater and then blows everywhere but the tube and the glue doest get right round the edge but ........... hey ho .oh the joys

 

[Deleted member 23692]

Always have done, & always will.

Johnson's finest Baby Powder for me