Trying to consolidate lots of useful information in this thread.
While riding my first bike with light weight racing tires I got a rim cut, about .5 inch long. I put in my spare tube, started pumping it up, and then heard a pop as it ruptured...after ballooning out of the cut. I didn't know a damaged light weight isn't sturdy enough to contain a tube under pressure. Ride was suddenly transformed to a forced march.
The solution is a boot, a piece of material to go between the tire and the tube. It has to be flexible enough to conform to the tire and sturdy enough to keep the tube from expanding through the cut. I cut some 2 inch squares out of transparencies used on an overhead projector. I've also read that some people use a section of an old tire or a folded up dollar bill.
While riding my first bike with light weight racing tires I got a rim cut, about .5 inch long. I put in my spare tube, started pumping it up, and then heard a pop as it ruptured...after ballooning out of the cut. I didn't know a damaged light weight isn't sturdy enough to contain a tube under pressure. Ride was suddenly transformed to a forced march.
The solution is a boot, a piece of material to go between the tire and the tube. It has to be flexible enough to conform to the tire and sturdy enough to keep the tube from expanding through the cut. I cut some 2 inch squares out of transparencies used on an overhead projector. I've also read that some people use a section of an old tire or a folded up dollar bill.
