Best Inner Tubes??

Gunnsie

I seem to be getting quite a few punctures recently.... I will put it partly down to putting Ultremo ZX's on, but I have also noticed that it seems to be mostly since I started using Bontrager Inner Tubes, which I'm guessing aren't very good.

Please can you recommend some decent/best inner tubes I should buy?

Cheers!

Bar Shaker

The tube holds the air, the tyre stops things puncturing the tube.

Change your tyres if you want less punctures... then you can use any tubes you like.

Gunnsie

I was expecting an answer like that, but as I have not long paid out £60+ for the tyres my plan was not to take them off so soon after fitting them and waste £60+. I was looking more for a cheaper, temporary fix until I can warrant paying out for more tyres.
So, can anyone recommend any Inner Tubes that withstand winter roads more than others?

mulletmaster

ultremo zxs are simply a poor tyre choice for winter, they are a summer racing tyre. No tube is going to help when the protection around it is so scant.

keef66

I usually run GP 4 Seasons for their excellent puncture protection. For reasons I won't bore you with yesterday I was out on some cheapo Rubinos, and at the furthest point from home suffered a puncture. Shard of flint had sliced right through the tyre and as the deflating tyre continued to revolve, cut a neat series of cuts in the tube close to the valve. Unrepairable.

Failing light, steady drizzle, middle of nowhere, forgotten to take my mobile phone, no reading glasses. Fortunately I was able to locate and remove the flint, and my roadside tube change was successful and I made it home.

Needless to say the GP 4 Seasons will be going back on tonight.

Buy the cheapest inner tubes you can find, and spend the money you save on better tyres.

MattC59

Ultremo ZX (the new ones) are great tyres....... Not for this time of the year though !!! I used Ultremos earlier this year, followed by Veloflexes, but the Veloflexes are about to come off for the winter. I'll be putting on a pair of Conti 4Seasons, or Schwalve Duranos on until the crap clears for the roads in the spring.

Gunnsie

OK, so looks like I'm gonna have to waste the £60 for the Ultremos and find another £60-£70 to buy some more tyres then.
A few mates have got Gatorskins and keep on at me to get some, but then on the last two rides, they have all gained punctures at least once, so I don't really rate them even without owning them.
Might take a look at the Durano Plus or the 4S's.

Anonymous

Ribble are doing 10 conti tubes for 26 quid at the mo. best deal I've seen. Don't get the 10 for 22 quid ones from CRC, they're as useless as the reviews state

ddraver

Conti Tubes are very good - just make sure you tighten the removable valve cores up if you have a pump that screws on the the valve stem. The 10 for XXX deals are what you want too...

Schwlabe are good but rarely found cheap anywhere, BBB are good too. Vittoria Ultralights are my personal favourite in terms of lightness vs reasonable longevity

adamfo

keef66 wrote:

Buy the cheapest inner tubes you can find, and spend the money you save on better tyres.

Terrible advice. Stick to well known brand names. The German magazine 'Tour' tested tubes a while back, there is a difference.
I noticed Michelin still manufacture tubes in France. The standard air stop one is heavy but pretty tough. It's been manufactured in a noticeably different way to the Asian sourced ones other companies sell.

rickeverett

oxoman wrote:

Gp4 seasons, Duranos, Gatorskins, GP4000's, are best for this time of year if you want no flats. specialized amardillos arent to bad either.

+1

My GP4000S are performing really well so far. Fast, light and grippy too which is a bonus for "winter tyres".

crankycrank

As mentioned no tube is going to help much. If you want to get your money's worth out of the Ultremos try some no-flat strips. They're re-usable, last forever so you can use with each new set of tyres for years to come and In my experience I get about half as many punctures. The only brand I've used is the Mr. Tuffy so can't comment on the others. http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywor ... ire+liners

neeb

Gunnsie wrote:

OK, so looks like I'm gonna have to waste the £60 for the Ultremos and find another £60-£70 to buy some more tyres then.

You don't need to waste them, just keep them for the summer!

MartinB2444

I have run ultremo's through a couple of winters on rough Peak District lanes without. Obviously they are a lighter weight, more fragile tyre than the winter varieties mentioned but they shouldn't be that delicate. If you want to keep your existing tyres check for cuts and more specifically flints or glass lodged within which will bore through and eventually cause a puncture. Best to do this before every ride. You have to part deflate the tyre to check properly. Also make sure there is nothing already projecting into the inside of the tyre causing repeated puncturing.

elderone

I got my first puncture Saturday after a year and nearly 5k miles. The tyres to be fair were irrelevant as the thorn and branch it stuck to would have punctured a motorcycle tyre or car tyre. I also had rubino pro,s on and have no intention of changing them.No cycle tyre would have prevented a puncture.
Also,as was stated above some where, if a tyre can get pierced it,s not reasonable to expect the tube to survive.
Save your money and just carry on,sh1t happens.

Bar Shaker

Gunnsie wrote:

I was expecting an answer like that, but as I have not long paid out £60+ for the tyres my plan was not to take them off so soon after fitting them and waste £60+. I was looking more for a cheaper, temporary fix until I can warrant paying out for more tyres.
So, can anyone recommend any Inner Tubes that withstand winter roads more than others?

Have you considered using Slime tubes? They will feel truly awful on your road bike but will allow your wish of using your Ultremos.

keef66

adamfo wrote:

keef66 wrote:

Buy the cheapest inner tubes you can find, and spend the money you save on better tyres.

Terrible advice. Stick to well known brand names. The German magazine 'Tour' tested tubes a while back, there is a difference.
I noticed Michelin still manufacture tubes in France. The standard air stop one is heavy but pretty tough. It's been manufactured in a noticeably different way to the Asian sourced ones other companies sell.

A difference in terms of puncture resistance?? If something's going through the tyre, an inner tube is hardly going to stop it.

mattmaximus

neeb wrote:

Gunnsie wrote:

OK, so looks like I'm gonna have to waste the £60 for the Ultremos and find another £60-£70 to buy some more tyres then.

You don't need to waste them, just keep them for the summer!

^this. You got some superb tyres for a good price, they're just not great for winter roads.

I'm going to give my gatorskins another go - they've done a year in the shed after being horrid to ride - and if they don't smarten up their act they'll be replaced with nice cheap vittoria randonneur pro in 32c.

for tubes, by the way, latex (I use Michelin) is the best to ride and seems to be good for minimising flats.

all IMHO, obviously.

Gunnsie

Has anyone used Evans FWE inner tubes?? Opinions?

BenderRodriguez

For me Michelin are the best tubes, no so much because of puncture resistance but because in all other brands I have tried the valve stem has had a habit from detaching from the tube where it is 'welded' in. Never had this happen with a Michelin tube in over 40 years of riding!

cycleclinic

The best tubes are the ones that hold air which covers pretty much all of them. I use conti tubes without issue.