Inner tube weakness, curious for explanation

Flâneur
Flâneur Posts: 3,081
edited April 2015 in Workshop
Possibly the wrong forum however I am curious as to why this inner tube balloons up (see picture). Not expecting to fix it but wondering if it is avoidable. I expect it is just a random weakness in the tube.

smTQqQ

http://flic.kr/p/smTQqQ
Stevo 666 wrote: Come on you Scousers! 20/12/2014
Crudder
CX
Toy

Comments

  • crankycrank
    crankycrank Posts: 1,830
    Most latex tubes I have used in the past would do this. I suspect it's basically a case of a very thin walled tube combined with the added stretch of latex and it becomes incredibly difficult to manufacture a perfectly uniform tube that doesn't cost a small fortune.
  • ai_1
    ai_1 Posts: 3,060
    sa0u823e wrote:
    Possibly the wrong forum however I am curious as to why this inner tube balloons up (see picture). Not expecting to fix it but wondering if it is avoidable. I expect it is just a random weakness in the tube.

    smTQqQ

    http://flic.kr/p/smTQqQ
    I don't have any experience with latex tubes but I would expect this is the same as inflating a balloon and does not indicate a point of significant weakness but rather a characteristic of the material that once it starts to stretch at a point, further expansion there becomes the lowest resistance to further inflation so it dramatically balloons there before approaching the elastic limit and then the inflated portion expands in length until the whole thing is fully inflated. Have you ever seen a long tubular balloon like those used for balloon toys inflate evenly....No.
    When inflated within the tyre, the max diameter is restricted and this ballooning will be reduced. I'm no expert but I don't think there's an issue except that you're inflating it outside the tyre.
  • dgunthor
    dgunthor Posts: 644
    pump it up inside a tyre as its designed to be if you want to avoid it
  • sungod
    sungod Posts: 16,522
    ^^^this

    no tube is perfectly uniform, so it will bulge somewhere, this has absolutely no bearing on performance when used as intended

    the purpose of the inner tube is to provide an airtight chamber, the tyre/rim/tape are responsible for providing the strength to prevent the pressure causing the tube to bulge/burst
    my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny
  • Flâneur
    Flâneur Posts: 3,081
    Cheers for the responses, assumed a weakness but I just became curious and thought some people with more knowledge could correct me if need be!.

    Thanks again
    Stevo 666 wrote: Come on you Scousers! 20/12/2014
    Crudder
    CX
    Toy
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 51,320
    Cool innit?
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!

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