Super heavy Kenda tube do anything?

[rs]

I bought a used bike, 700 road wheels, and was putting better tires on it.
Pulling the front tube, I noticed it was super heavy and weighed it, a
whopping 254g. Its very thick rubber, especially on the outside, and it says:
"Kenda Kenda K6304 TW8822 28-U-103 23-25"

Does a super heavy tube like this really do anything to prevent punctures? I
was going to put a set of Micheline Pro2Race on, good tires with regular
tubes.

thanks, Rick

 

[Adam Rush]

In my experience, yes, it does its job quite well. I rode for two
years with these in my old 27x1¼" Sekai, and had much few flats (less
than one hand's worth) than with regular tubes in the 700C bicycles
I've owned or in the balloon tyre bicycles I've rented out.

However, they have a most unfortunate habit of losing their valve
stems. (Though, this only happened with a Wrench Force tube) I had
this happen once, without any provocation, 30 miles in the country at 1
AM. It sounded like a gunshot and made me nearly hop off the bike.

All and all, go for

 

[Nate Knutson]

rs wrote:
> I bought a used bike, 700 road wheels, and was putting better tires on it.
> Pulling the front tube, I noticed it was super heavy and weighed it, a
> whopping 254g. Its very thick rubber, especially on the outside, and it says:
> "Kenda Kenda K6304 TW8822 28-U-103 23-25"
>
> Does a super heavy tube like this really do anything to prevent punctures? I
> was going to put a set of Micheline Pro2Race on, good tires with regular
> tubes.
>
> thanks, Rick

They do help to prevent flats, but are by far the poorest of all the
"extra" flat-protection things you can do in terms of benefit for the
weight.

 

[landotter]

More material means fewer flats, but I'd put the extra grams into a
sturdy tire and just use a regular tube.

Nashbar's got Paselas on sale again if you want something affordable
and sturdy. Surprisingly light, too, but you can't get narrower than
28mm and it sounds like you want something a little racier.

 

[Arthur Harris]

"rs" wrote:
>I bought a used bike, 700 road wheels, and was putting better tires on it.
> Pulling the front tube, I noticed it was super heavy and weighed it, a
> whopping 254g. Its very thick rubber, especially on the outside, and it
> says:
> "Kenda Kenda K6304 TW8822 28-U-103 23-25"
>
> Does a super heavy tube like this really do anything to prevent punctures?
> I
> was going to put a set of Micheline Pro2Race on, good tires with regular
> tubes.

Those sound like thorn resistant tubes. I used similar Performance brand
tubes for a while without a puncture ( but did have valves pull out). Now I
use regular (but not super-light) tubes.

Art Harris

 

[Hank Wirtz]

"landotter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> More material means fewer flats, but I'd put the extra grams into a
> sturdy tire and just use a regular tube.
>
> Nashbar's got Paselas on sale again if you want something affordable
> and sturdy. Surprisingly light, too, but you can't get narrower than
> 28mm and it sounds like you want something a little racier.
>

Nice tires. They measure 27mm between 13.5mm rim beads (a pretty common
dimension), and are fast enough for me when inflated to 105psi. Only
downside is I have to deflate the rear to remove the wheel, 'cause it hits
the chainstay bridge.

I'd hate to remember that after inflating the wheel off the bike with my
only CO2 cartridge.

 

[landotter]

Hank Wirtz wrote:

> Nice tires. They measure 27mm between 13.5mm rim beads (a pretty common
> dimension), and are fast enough for me when inflated to 105psi. Only
> downside is I have to deflate the rear to remove the wheel, 'cause it hits
> the chainstay bridge.
>
> I'd hate to remember that after inflating the wheel off the bike with my
> only CO2 cartridge.

I've got 28mm tires on my SS roadie right now and love the Tektro brake
levers that I installed this past summer--they've got a QR so between
the levers and the brake QR, there's plenty of space to install an
inflated tire.

I've been in that situation: side of the road, sweating, having worked
that mini-pump till it got hot, only to find that the tire wouldn't
clear the brake shoes. LOL

 

[Ozark Bicycle]

landotter wrote:
> More material means fewer flats, but I'd put the extra grams into a
> sturdy tire and just use a regular tube.
>
> Nashbar's got Paselas on sale again if you want something affordable
> and sturdy. Surprisingly light, too, but you can't get narrower than
> 28mm and it sounds like you want something a little racier.


Paselas are nice tires and a good value. They do run a bit norrow; I
have a pair of 700x28s mounted on MA2s and they measure 26mm wide.

I've been using Paselas in 28, 32 and 35 widths on a couple of my bikes
for several years, always with good results. IMO, they are a "best buy"
in their category. They might get bad mouthed at your LBS 'cause
they're low balled at Nashbar, etc. Just get 'em MO.

 

[Chalo]

Nate Knutson wrote:
>
> rs wrote:
> >
> > Does a super heavy tube like this really do anything to prevent punctures? I
> > was going to put a set of Micheline Pro2Race on, good tires with regular
> > tubes.
>
> They do help to prevent flats, but are by far the poorest of all the
> "extra" flat-protection things you can do in terms of benefit for the
> weight.

They do substantially enhance the effectiveness of sealants such as
Slime. Punctures that have some depth through the tube wall are easier
for sealants to obstruct than punctures in a thin membrane.

In the most goathead-ridden areas of the western US, thorn resistant
tubes with sealant are a default option in some bike shops.

Chalo Colina