Recommended road tube



E

Ed Swierk

Guest
I've been getting a lot of flats recently with tubes from
Performance (700x19-25c, Presta valve). They seem to get
flat in the same place every time--about 4 spokes away from
the valve--yet I can't find any defect in the tire or rim
that would cause a puncture.

It always looks like the tube material simply separates and
forms a hole. If I partially inflate a new tube, I don't see
any defects, but after a few rides, I get a flat. I normally
inflate the tires to the recommended 115 psi. So, I'm
suspecting a quality control problem that might have caused
a bad batch of Performance tubes.

Can anyone recommend a more reliable brand of road tube? I'm
using a set of Avocet FasGrip K20 700x25c tires (well-worn,
which I suspect doesn't help the tubes last any longer).

--Ed

--
Ed Swierk [email protected]
 
Do you have a bare wire in the sidewall of the tyre??
 
Ed Swierk <[email protected]> aszonygya:
:I've been getting a lot of flats recently with tubes from Performance
:(700x19-25c, Presta valve). They seem to get flat in the
:same place every
:time--about 4 spokes away from the valve--yet I can't find
any defect in :the tire or rim that would cause a puncture.

I use the same and works fine for me. In fact, all regular
[cheap] tubes work just fine for me. I think the tire
matters. I use the Armadillo by Specialized and the
Continental touring tire. I keep the pressure up and I am
careful about installing the tube/tire.

/Paul
 
"Commuter Cyclist" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:pan.2004.06.12.21.44.28.758068@cyclist...
> On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 13:19:17 -0700, Ed Swierk wrote:
>
> > I've been getting a lot of flats recently with tubes
> > from Performance (700x19-25c, Presta valve). They seem
> > to get flat in the same place every time--about 4 spokes
> > away from the valve--yet I can't find any defect in the
> > tire or rim that would cause a puncture.
> >
Look very closely for a small sliver of glass that is
between the tread and casing that is only evident with
pressure on the outside of the tire. I went through four
flats on a tire once before I finally located the culprit.
Last week I had a similar problem but only one flat. I kept
looking until I located the intruder I knew HAD to be there.

Having said the above I have also gone through batches of
tubes with seam flaws that failed after weeks or months of
use. Bad tubes included light weight Continental, Michelin
and the worst, Salsa. Solution: heavy generic Blackburn. 20
more grams and no more flats. Bill Brannon
 
Ed Swierk <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<Pine.WNT.4.56.0406121312590.936@slusher>...
> I've been getting a lot of flats recently with tubes from
> Performance (700x19-25c, Presta valve). They seem to get
> flat in the same place every time--about 4 spokes away
> from the valve--yet I can't find any defect in the tire or
> rim that would cause a puncture.
>
> It always looks like the tube material simply separates
> and forms a hole. If I partially inflate a new tube, I
> don't see any defects, but after a few rides, I get a
> flat. I normally inflate the tires to the recommended 115
> psi. So, I'm suspecting a quality control problem that
> might have caused a bad batch of Performance tubes.
>
> Can anyone recommend a more reliable brand of road tube?
> I'm using a set of Avocet FasGrip K20 700x25c tires (well-
> worn, which I suspect doesn't help the tubes last any
> longer).
>
> --Ed

You are running the tube a little at the end of it's
recommended size, so it is stretched. I had this problem
with some lightweight Kenda-made Salsa tubes that failed at
what looked like a circumferential seam near the valve. The
tubes were rated to 23mm but I was using them on a tire
about 24mm. Mind you, it took many hundreds of miles for
them to start separating, but they did. When I looked at the
hole and noticed it at this "seam", I pulled it, the hole
got bigger. I could also see other holes forming as breaks
from the outside.

I would get a tube more appropriately sized.

Robin Hubert [email protected]
 
"Robin Hubert" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> You are running the tube a little at the end of it's
> recommended size, so it is stretched. I had this problem
> with some lightweight Kenda-made Salsa tubes that failed
> at what looked like a circumferential seam near the valve.
> The tubes were rated to 23mm but I was using them on a
> tire about 24mm. Mind you, it took many hundreds of miles
> for them to start separating, but they did. When I looked
> at the hole and noticed it at this "seam", I pulled it,
> the hole got bigger. I could also see other holes forming
> as breaks from the outside.
>
> I would get a tube more appropriately sized.
>
> Robin Hubert [email protected]

I bought six Salsa tubes. After three failures at the above
referenced seam I checked the others. Two of them failed
when inspected without ever being ridden. The other wasn't
worth the risk. I took them all back to the LBS who
reluctantly refunded my money. I guess they were kind of
stuck because my problem was not unique and had decided not
to sell Salsa tubes any more. Bill Brannon
 
Ed Swierk wrote:
> I've been getting a lot of flats recently with tubes from
> Performance (700x19-25c, Presta valve). They seem to get
> flat in the same place every time--about 4 spokes away
> from the valve--yet I can't find any defect in the tire or
> rim that would cause a puncture.
>
> It always looks like the tube material simply separates
> and forms a hole. If I partially inflate a new tube, I
> don't see any defects, but after a few rides, I get a
> flat. I normally inflate the tires to the recommended 115
> psi. So, I'm suspecting a quality control problem that
> might have caused a bad batch of Performance tubes.
>
> Can anyone recommend a more reliable brand of road tube?
> I'm using a set of Avocet FasGrip K20 700x25c tires (well-
> worn, which I suspect doesn't help the tubes last any
> longer).
>
> --Ed
>

I'm using the same brand, and I've found they are a little
big for 700c rims. My tires folded on themselves and wore
through after about fifty miles. The fix: just very
carefully seating the tubes to ensure they don't fold over
themselves.
 
Ed Swierk <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<Pine.WNT.4.56.0406121312590.936@slusher>...
> I've been getting a lot of flats recently with tubes from
> Performance (700x19-25c, Presta valve). They seem to get
> flat in the same place every time--about 4 spokes away
> from the valve--yet I can't find any defect in the tire or
> rim that would cause a puncture.

I got one of those last week. New Performance tube, 700x19-
26, presta. Pinhole on the inside, about an inch from the
stem, could not find the cause.

dkl