Originally Posted by
c_m_shooter
I've found older tires more prone to flats and damage in general.
Ditto. Depending on the age of the tire, it may be dry-rotted and may not last long before deteriorating or blowing out.
To add to my previous post (which I was going to edit but decided to just put here) there are some brands of tubes that I wouldn't recommend based on my experience. Prior to my new bike having roughly the same size of tire as your bike (26x1.95, which uses the same tubes,) I had another bike with the same tire size.
I know a lot of people are going to dislike this - but I've had bad luck with Kenda tubes. I've had really good luck with their tires, but every Kenda tube I've had has given me problems. I had a problem last summer with a Kenda thorn-resistant tube where the valve stem "patch" detached. I also found they're usually pretty thin (unless you go for the thorn-resistant tubes) and therefore slightly more prone to punctures, but also don't weigh as much.
My local Walmart carries Bell (CST) and "Goodyear" (Kent) tubes. I've had mixed experiences with CST tubes with that prior bike and Walmart got the Kent tubes after I scrapped that old bike. I picked up Kent tube for this new bike and it seems to be holding fine - it's much thicker (unfortunately weighs more) and pretty well built. Our local Walmart used to also sell Hutchinson tubes in the 26x1.95-2.2 size, but they don't anymore. Kind of a shame because they were also good for the money.