What's a good inner tube? (presta)

On Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:47:28 -0500, Carl Sundquist
wrote:

AMuzi wrote:
Larry wrote:
It's rainy season here in New England, and elsewhere, which makes for
flat tire season too

Andre Jute wrote:
Why should the rainy season be the "flat tire season"?

-snip-

Rubber cuts more readily when wet

Is that because the water serves as a lubricant, allowing sharp objects
to pierce deeper? Conversely, is rubber more resistant to cuts when it's
colder?


Rain disturbs debris on the roadway randomly, tipping up pointy things

Murphy's Law; 'because it's more inconvenient'

Dear Carl,

Yes, rain lubricates, so sharp or pointy debris will cut deeper into a
rubber tire with the same force.

(Think about how water affects the performance of rubber brake pads.)

Rain also increases surface adhesion, so a wet front tire flips up far
more debris, which means that the rear tire is much more likely to
impale itself on something that would have stayed flat and harmless on
a dry road.

(A nail lying flat on the road is harmless until something bounces it
up just right. That's one reason why rear flats are more common.)

Colder rubber is harder to cut, but the difference isn't nearly as
impressive as how easily a wet blade cuts wet rubber.

In fact, tire pressure is more likely to affect flats than ordinary
temperature differences. You can fix a nail in a vise and roll a tire
over it, raising the tire pressure. At first, the nail won't even
break through the tire rubber. Then you start getting a pop as the
nail penetrates the rubber. More pressure leads to a more impressive
pop as the nail goes through the casing--but not the inner tube, which
starts to tent over the nail:
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.re...93e56242f3a16f

A wet nail would have punctured a wet tire at lower pressures.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:47:28 -0500, Carl Sundquist
wrote:

AMuzi wrote:
Larry wrote:
It's rainy season here in New England, and elsewhere, which makes for
flat tire season too

Andre Jute wrote:
Why should the rainy season be the "flat tire season"?

-snip-

Rubber cuts more readily when wet

Is that because the water serves as a lubricant, allowing sharp objects
to pierce deeper? Conversely, is rubber more resistant to cuts when it's
colder?



I think it's the lubrication.

aka Jobst Brandt wrote:
Andrew Muzi wrote:

It's rainy season here in New England, and elsewhere, which makes
for flat tire season too

Why should the rainy season be the "flat tire season"?

Rubber cuts more readily when wet.

Rain disturbs debris on the roadway randomly, tipping up pointy
things.

Murphy's Law; 'because it's more inconvenient'

There is more... when wet glass chips lose their distinctive shine
when lying on a dry surface because water tales away their internal
reflection and make them look like so much innocuous gravel.

That's why we get flats from cigarettes in the summer and from beer in
winter because in summer when weather is often warm and dry, the motor
vehicle laws prohibit having open alcoholic containers in vehicles
while driving, so the beer bottles must be tossed as soon as possible.
They become a tire hazard in winter when the rains come.

On th other hand, dry weeds, especially in dry states, easily catch
fire from thrown cigarettes so the highway maintenance crews spray
roadsides during spring rainy seasons to prevent grass growth on road
shoulders. This is good preparation for puncture vine that grows
primarily on barren soil and not among other growth. The pictures
show it well:

http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/im...0000+0801+0392
http://tinyurl.com/y5meyd
http://www.barbwired.com/andy/PunctureVine/

Notice that it grows on barren roadsides.

Jobst Brandt

There should be a deposit on cigarettes just like on bottles. At
$0.50/butt, most smokers would stop using the world as a damned ashtray.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
LOCAL CACTUS EATS CYCLIST - datakoll

Thanks all. Here's what I have come to think about inner tubes:

Possibly, I've had numerous inner tube stem separations because I keep
on using old tubes. I sometimes repair and use inner tubes that
others have discarded. Some the failures are probably due to
manufacturing defects.

I'm happy to learn that I can repair stem separation with superglue.
I'll try it. Maybe I'll also try *barge cement* (sort of like rubber
cement on steroids).

I wonder if small holes in inner tubes can be successfully repaired
with gel type superglue or with barge cements. It would make for an
interesting science project.

Best,
Larry

On Apr 6, 9:10*pm, LF wrote:
Reading the "What's a good patch?" thread got me to wondering "What's
a good inner tube?" (presta)

It's rainy season here in New England, and elsewhere, which makes for
flat tire season too. * I fixed last weeks rainy day flat tire,
finding a small shard of glass had punctured the tire and tube. *I was
able to mount the replacement inner tube and tire without tire irons,
so was surprised when it was flat again the next morning.

This was a 700C IRC inner tube, patched last year sometime, or
possibly the year before. This time, the culprit was the stem
separating from the inner tube. A few years ago I had a batch of
Michelin tubes, many of which did the same thing. *Ah, quick release
stems.

IIRC, the stem separating from the inner tube is more common than it
use to be. *What do you think?

Best,
Larry

I've never paid the slightest bit of attention to inner tube brand.
This got me wondering, so I checked, and the spare I'm carrying right
now is a Bontrager. I generally just use whatever the bike shop has.

On Apr 6, 8:10*pm, LF wrote:
Reading the "What's a good patch?" thread got me to wondering "What's
a good inner tube?" (presta)

It's rainy season here in New England, and elsewhere, which makes for
flat tire season too. * I fixed last weeks rainy day flat tire,
finding a small shard of glass had punctured the tire and tube. *I was
able to mount the replacement inner tube and tire without tire irons,
so was surprised when it was flat again the next morning.

This was a 700C IRC inner tube, patched last year sometime, or
possibly the year before. This time, the culprit was the stem
separating from the inner tube. A few years ago I had a batch of
Michelin tubes, many of which did the same thing. *Ah, quick release
stems.

IIRC, the stem separating from the inner tube is more common than it
use to be. *What do you think?

Best,
Larry

I think Continental and Michelin are two high quality inner tubes.
Compared to the lesser names they look and feel higher quality. Even
if they are all made in Thailand now days. But they cost a lot more
too.

On Thu, 9 Apr 2009 12:12:15 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

I think Continental and Michelin are two high quality inner tubes.
Compared to the lesser names they look and feel higher quality. Even
if they are all made in Thailand now days. But they cost a lot more

Scwhalbes are nice too. But I don't really look out for particular
brands -- just look to get the right size and right length valve stem.
And avoid "superlight" tubes.

On Apr 6, 6:47*pm, Mark wrote:
wrote:
Larry Fieman wrote:
Easy to patch when punctured, as they don't
have lots of "ribs" that make patching difficult

I break the head off a used disposable razor and put in patch kit. You
can "shave" off the ribs easily for any tube. They clog quickly but a
good way to recycle and produces leak-free patching.

wrote:

I think Continental and Michelin are two high quality inner tubes.
Compared to the lesser names they look and feel higher quality. Even
if they are all made in Thailand now days. But they cost a lot more
too.

I got some Continental tubes on sale from somewhere and they were only
about $3-4 each. Of course other tubes can be purchased for $2 on sale.
So percentage wise they may be a lot more, but the absolute cost
difference is pretty small.

"http://trioutfitter.stores.yahoo.net/cotu42mmstle.html"