Is the problem the tyres?Inner tube valves being ripped away

mr blonde 31

Hi

I have just dusted off my old mountain bike which has seen any action in 4 or 5 years and then it was with a pair of slicks on it to do a charity cycle ride.

I put a brand new tube in the front last week with my old MTB tyres (a set of green Michelin Wildgrippers) and rode to the shop and back. 1 mile each way nothing too taxing. On the way back the front tube went down. On investigation the valve for the inner tube was half ripped away from the inner tube.

I replaced that tube and then rode to the post office and back today. Same thing happened with my back wheel only the entire valve ripped off. Standard MTB tubes with the schraeder (car style) valves.

Could it be that the tyres have deteriorated and are sliding on the rims ripping the valves out? I never had this problem before and as the wheels won't have been affected by 5 years of not being used I can only assume it may be the tyres. Any ideas?

supersonic

Some cheap tubes do this, but its usally when the tyre is underinflated - the tyre and tube rotate when you brake, and rip the stem off. Checjk the valve is pulled all the way through the hole, and no sharp edges.

Bikedevil

With it being an old bike are you sure the rim tape on the wheel is still in tact and not degraded?

mr blonde 31

The rim tape moves inside the rim, but seems in good nick.

One of the inner tubes was an old unbranded one but the new one was a specialized one so would expect it to be relatively tough.

ride_whenever

I've had two tubes do that today. There was a little sharp bit round the valve hole, which i've now taken off. The rim tape doesn't go right up to the hole, is that an issue? Should i now replace tube and ride or should i add new rim tape.

RimTape

It never does any harm to have decent tape.

Velox