US-based online source for Conti Supersonic Race tubes?

[turb0]

Hi WW's,

I've been having a hard time tracking down 650c x 18/25 Conti Supersonic Race tubes for my XC bike. I've converted it to street use for the time being. Does anyone have any tips for online retailers that sell these tubes?

Thanks!!

[Tippster]

I tired a set of Conti SS race tubes and the 650c x 18/25 also quoted as 26" x 1" did not fit my 26" MTB rims Mavic X517's. The overlap was around 4cms.

I was confused as Conti did state the tubes would fit 26" x 1".

If you do manage to fit the conti tubes to MTB rims please PM me.

I'd also be curious to know what tyres you are running.

Standard Conti GP 1" seems to be the best I've seen when looking around.

[danielgillett]

A friend of mine was on holiday in Taiwan, and purchased the tubes from the bicycle store at around €2,5! Perhaps a bulk purchase could make quite a lot of sense?

I think it might be a better idea purchasing the smallest tube in the 26" size.

[turb0]

I'm running two 650c tubes on my mtb rims without any problems... that is, once they were successfully installed. I blew out one Conti Supersonic tube while installing it. I had to take extreme care to evenly distribute the tube and avoid kinks.

The Supersonic 26 x 1's and 650c tubes have made a huge difference. I was noticing that my speed through sections of my usual ride was significantly higher on the cyclocomputer. The one area where I usually hit my top speed for the ride was about 10% faster as well. I'm a big fan of this upgrade for those who ride their MTB's on roads.

[Tippster]

The Conti Race 26 tube is quoted as suitable for both

26 x 1 AND 650c x 18/25


When I came to attempting to fit the tube to my Mavic X517 rims, I found around 4cm of excess tube.

YES, I realise I could have spread the excess evenly across the circumference of the rim. I didn't however feel very safe in doing this. Is this the method Conti expect people to use to fit their RACE 26 tubes to MTB rims?

[turb0]

Hi Tippster,

I think so. A good test would be to inflate the tube and place it on the rim to see how it looks inflated. When my next Conti SS tube arives this week I'll give this a shot and see what it looks like. I currently have a Specialized ultralight tube on the rear that is spec'ed for 650cx23 (62g).

[Tippster]

I did inflate the tube and it was so large it would slip off the rim.

I got the impression that if I had 1.5 tyres the 1inch tube would fit, but not with 1.0 or 1.25 tyres.

Had to sent the tubes back in the end.

[turb0]

How easy was it to slide the tube off the rim? Did it fall off, or did it catch some of the lip? I was putting slicks on my wife-to-be's bike last night. Regular mtb tubes (26 x 1.5) would slide off her rim.

I blew out my Specialized Ultralite tube about 15 minutes ago on the way in to work. I hope my Conti SS order gets here soon

[Tippster]

26x1 and 650c x 18/25 Conti race 26 tube fell right off the rim inflated.

[turb0]

Interesting. I did notice that the GP Supersonic 26 x 1 tires are fairly tall as well. Perhaps that extra space is what makes it work.
I have put some significant miles on my conti tube and it is still going strong

[Tippster]

Turbo,


What tyres are you running with the conti race 26 tubes?

[turb0]

I'm running Conti Grand Prix 26 x 1 tires. I must have inadvertently put Supersonic in my previous post. Sorry about that! I don't think those tires exist