Weight Weenies

Zachariah wrote:Replace only if the tube walls gets too thin. Find out by removing the tube and inflating it to 40psi. If it looks like a snake just ate a football...then replace it. What happens is that the bubble can actually separate the tire bead from the rim, resulting in a catastrophic and suddenly random blowout. Ask me how I know....

The only purpose of the tube is to contain air. It is the tires responsibility to keep the tube contained. There is no way that a bubble in the tube could cause a tire to blow off the rim. A bubble might make it easier for the tube to work its way under the rim when mounting the tire or when pressure is low, but this is a maintenance problem, not an issue with the tube per se. A bubble might also weaken the tube, causing it to blow up, but in that case you would roll your tire, not have it blow off - there is a difference, though the result is the same - Body, I'd like you to meet pavement...

When I rode latex tubes, we would pull them yearly and coat them in powder to allow them to move freely and ensure they didn't stick to the inside of the tire. Might be worthwhile to do this when you pull your tires to true your wheels at the end/beginning of the season.

Cheers

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OrbeaAgony wrote:

Zachariah wrote:Replace only if the tube walls gets too thin. Find out by removing the tube and inflating it to 40psi. If it looks like a snake just ate a football...then replace it. What happens is that the bubble can actually separate the tire bead from the rim, resulting in a catastrophic and suddenly random blowout. Ask me how I know....

The only purpose of the tube is to contain air. It is the tires responsibility to keep the tube contained. There is no way that a bubble in the tube could cause a tire to blow off the rim. A bubble might make it easier for the tube to work its way under the rim when mounting the tire or when pressure is low, but this is a maintenance problem, not an issue with the tube per se. A bubble might also weaken the tube, causing it to blow up, but in that case you would roll your tire, not have it blow off - there is a difference, though the result is the same - Body, I'd like you to meet pavement...

When I rode latex tubes, we would pull them yearly and coat them in powder to allow them to move freely and ensure they didn't stick to the inside of the tire. Might be worthwhile to do this when you pull your tires to true your wheels at the end/beginning of the season.

Cheers

Thanks.....good info!