Inner tube question

I think I screwed up.

I live in a seriously rural area, no access to bike parts.

Had a flat last week -- rim tape slipped and spoke head punctured
tube, could not patch. So -- I ordered a couple of inner tubes on the
Internet. I saw "thornproof" tubes so I figured I'd get those because
of where I ride -- bad roads.

Then -- I had to make an unscheduled trip to Newport News where I
purchased a new tube at the local bike shop (Conte's) and installed it
as soon as I returned home. They also gave me some heavy-duty rim
tape to replace the thin stuff on my rims.

The thornproof tubes arrived today -- they are HUGE, very thick. Will
the thornproof tubes fit inside my tires -- 700-38C -- or should I
send them back and stick with normal tubes?

Thanks.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm new to this stuff.

Every Man wrote:
I think I screwed up.

I live in a seriously rural area, no access to bike parts.

Had a flat last week -- rim tape slipped and spoke head punctured
tube, could not patch. So -- I ordered a couple of inner tubes on the
Internet. I saw "thornproof" tubes so I figured I'd get those because
of where I ride -- bad roads.

Then -- I had to make an unscheduled trip to Newport News where I
purchased a new tube at the local bike shop (Conte's) and installed it
as soon as I returned home. They also gave me some heavy-duty rim
tape to replace the thin stuff on my rims.

The thornproof tubes arrived today -- they are HUGE, very thick. Will
the thornproof tubes fit inside my tires -- 700-38C -- or should I
send them back and stick with normal tubes?

Thanks.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm new to this stuff.


What is the labeled width of the thornproof tubes?

As I've seen it, they need to be able to fit inside the tires and
inflate without wrinkling. Tubes will tend to crack and leak on the
folds if the tubes are too big and stuffed inside narrow tires.

The thornproof tubes are thicker/heavier/roll worse. Then again,
very-thick tires or using slimed tubes would cause the same problems.
The questions is if riding on sluggish tires will slow you down more
than riding on thin+fast tires and stopping to change flats will.

----

By the by--when I get a new bike/wheel, I always throw away the
rim-bands and use cloth tape instead. I've seen too many flat tires from
loose rim-bands shifting sideways, and there's worse and better
examples--but their fit depends on the rim they'll go on.
It's more trouble than it's worth.
The cloth tape fits whatever rim you put it on, and the cloth tape never
shifts sideways.

The one advantage to the rim bands is that they are thinner, and that
makes tire mounting/unmounting easier--but unless I was using a rim that
had a particularly bad reputation in terms of that, I'd use the cloth
stuff.
~

On Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:51:56 -0500, DougC
wrote:

Every Man wrote:
I think I screwed up.

I live in a seriously rural area, no access to bike parts.

Had a flat last week -- rim tape slipped and spoke head punctured
tube, could not patch. So -- I ordered a couple of inner tubes on the
Internet. I saw "thornproof" tubes so I figured I'd get those because
of where I ride -- bad roads.

Then -- I had to make an unscheduled trip to Newport News where I
purchased a new tube at the local bike shop (Conte's) and installed it
as soon as I returned home. They also gave me some heavy-duty rim
tape to replace the thin stuff on my rims.

The thornproof tubes arrived today -- they are HUGE, very thick. Will
the thornproof tubes fit inside my tires -- 700-38C -- or should I
send them back and stick with normal tubes?

Thanks.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm new to this stuff.


What is the labeled width of the thornproof tubes?

As I've seen it, they need to be able to fit inside the tires and
inflate without wrinkling. Tubes will tend to crack and leak on the
folds if the tubes are too big and stuffed inside narrow tires.

The thornproof tubes are thicker/heavier/roll worse. Then again,
very-thick tires or using slimed tubes would cause the same problems.
The questions is if riding on sluggish tires will slow you down more
than riding on thin+fast tires and stopping to change flats will.

----

By the by--when I get a new bike/wheel, I always throw away the
rim-bands and use cloth tape instead. I've seen too many flat tires from
loose rim-bands shifting sideways, and there's worse and better
examples--but their fit depends on the rim they'll go on.
It's more trouble than it's worth.
The cloth tape fits whatever rim you put it on, and the cloth tape never
shifts sideways.

The one advantage to the rim bands is that they are thinner, and that
makes tire mounting/unmounting easier--but unless I was using a rim that
had a particularly bad reputation in terms of that, I'd use the cloth
stuff.
~


Thanks, Doug.

I'm new to bikes and have a LOT to learn.

I tried -- just for the hell of it -- to install one of the thornproof
tubes on my bike -- had to push, shove, and curse to get it inside the
tire and I figured that was not right. So, I'm sending them back and
will order normal tubes.

I replaced the rubber rim band with heavy cloth tape at the suggestion
of the bike shop.

On Aug 4, 7:16*pm, Every Man wrote:
I think I screwed up.

I live in a seriously rural area, no access to bike parts. *

Had a flat last week -- rim tape slipped and spoke head punctured
tube, could not patch. *So -- I ordered a couple of inner tubes on the
Internet. *I saw "thornproof" tubes so I figured I'd get those because
of where I ride -- bad roads.

Then -- I had to make an unscheduled trip to Newport News where I
purchased a new tube at the local bike shop (Conte's) and installed it
as soon as I returned home. *They also gave me some heavy-duty rim
tape to replace the thin stuff on my rims.

The thornproof tubes arrived today -- they are HUGE, very thick. *Will
the thornproof tubes fit inside my tires -- 700-38C -- or should I
send them back and stick with normal tubes?

Thanks.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm new to this stuff.

I used "thornproof" [they're not] tubes for a time and found them
susceptible to stem failures. My current fad is to use Schwalbe
Marathon Plus tires, advertised as "unplattbar" (flatproof) which
they're not. But while imperfect, they avoid flats as well as
anything, at the expense of extra weight and rolling resistance in the
tire. BTW, notwithstanding the German language rhetoric, they're made
in Indonesia.

In article ,
Ron Wallenfang writes:
On Aug 4, 7:16*pm, Every Man wrote:
I think I screwed up.

I live in a seriously rural area, no access to bike parts. *

Had a flat last week -- rim tape slipped and spoke head punctured
tube, could not patch. *So -- I ordered a couple of inner tubes on the
Internet. *I saw "thornproof" tubes so I figured I'd get those because
of where I ride -- bad roads.

Then -- I had to make an unscheduled trip to Newport News where I
purchased a new tube at the local bike shop (Conte's) and installed it
as soon as I returned home. *They also gave me some heavy-duty rim
tape to replace the thin stuff on my rims.

The thornproof tubes arrived today -- they are HUGE, very thick. *Will
the thornproof tubes fit inside my tires -- 700-38C -- or should I
send them back and stick with normal tubes?

Thanks.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm new to this stuff.
I used "thornproof" [they're not] tubes for a time and found them
susceptible to stem failures. My current fad is to use Schwalbe
Marathon Plus tires, advertised as "unplattbar" (flatproof) which
they're not. But while imperfect, they avoid flats as well as
anything, at the expense of extra weight and rolling resistance in the
tire. BTW, notwithstanding the German language rhetoric, they're made
in Indonesia.

I harbour a guess that tightly woven silk might
be more puncture-resistant than Kevlar.
Especially with overlapping, diagonal layers of
the warp-&-weft of the silk.

Kevlar is great if you need bulletproof tires.
But bulletproof and glass-shard-proof or thorn-proof
aren't the same thing. Kevlar can stop a fast, blunt
bullet, but it can be penetrated with a slower-moving
sharp point, like a chunk of broken beer bottle.

If only I had the financial wherewithal and the time,
I'd work on developing lightweight, puncture-resistant,
affordable tires with silk casings or inner linings.


cheers,
Tom


--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca