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Help Picking Tubes

5K views 45 replies 17 participants last post by  duriel 
#1 ·
I usually buy my tubes from Nashbar. They have always had a 700X19-26 size which has been perfect. I won't buy 23mm tires again but I still have two of them. Two of my bikes have a mix of 23 and 25.

I now see that Nashbar has discontinued that size and only offers 700X18-23 and 700X25-32. I don't want to carry two spare tubes so I'm going to be forced to pick one that is either a little too small or a little too big.

What do you guys recommend? I'm guessing that the smaller one would work okay even for a 25mm tire.
 
#4 ·
Have you ever blown up a tube outside of the tire? Try it. They'll easily expand several inches in diameter.
I did this once to see how far I could go with it. It burst at about 4 inches in diameter sending pieces of butyl rubber all over the room. It was a blast (pun intended), though I recommend ear protection.

Going a bit smaller than what is called for would surely work, but the tube will be slightly thinner and theoretically, make you slightly more prone to punctures. Just think of it as a poor man's light weight tube.

If you want to be absolutely safe, get a tube which covers the range of both sizes. Kenda has a 700x23-25mm size:

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/product/kenda-700c-tube
 
#8 ·
I recommend quality tubes, every time I buy cheap tubes I have regretted it. Continental is a good brand.
 
#13 ·
Damn, I missed it by a day! I already placed my order yesterday.

I don't patch my tubes. For $3.79 each, I'm willing to splurge on this. I've had pretty good success with Nashbar tubes. Until this recent lot of 3 flats, I had gone a long time with no problems. I ride right through the winter as well in bad conditions.
 
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