magbike

I just want a nice pair of well manufactured tire tubes. I thought I'd find something on amazon, but I can't find anything (with a decent amount of reviews) that doesn't have 20% of the reviewers saying "they are trash look elsewhere, it popped off when...."

I don't really care what they are intended for - I just want peace of mind that my spare tube isn't also going to give out on me...especially because with my current space, I can only pack 1 spare tube.

Help?

milkbaby

Every tube will have a number of bad reviews. There will obviously be some lemons from the factory, but also many people do not know how to change a tube without pinpointing the cause of the flat and get another one very shortly afterwards because they didn't remove and fix the cause of the original flat. You can imagine what their review will be in that case.

I've never found a difference in reliability of tubes between any brands. It's basically a thin rubber tube that will go flat once punctured. The only way to never flat is to never ride.

Edited to add: In addition to a spare tube, I also carry some Park Tools stick on tube patches. This way I can patch a tube on the road if need be. If you carry a traditional patch kit with glue/vulcanizing fluid, a patched tube will be as good as new, but I don't like the extra bulk.

DXchulo

https://www.amazon.com/Venzo-Road-Bik...ct_top?ie=UTF8

I was going to suggest those, but it looks like there's been a weird error and people are getting 1 tube instead of 10. The tubes themselves are good.

Duro Road Presta Valve Tube > Components > Wheels, Tires and Tubes > Tubes | Jenson USA

I've also used those in the past and they are good tubes.

As always, you have to wonder about reviews you see on Amazon and elsewhere. Very rarely have I actually had the tube itself fail on me, and I've used a wide variety of brands over the years. Some people get a flat and want to blame the tube.

himespau 

patch kits are small and could fit next to your tube.

OldsCOOL

Just buy a top brand. If flat protection is your main concern, stay away from "lite" tubes (racing) and latex. You should be ok. It's the tires, proper inflation and where you ride that makes the difference.

OldsCOOL

Park Tool 5.00 and very small box.

TrojanHorse

I hate patching tires on the side of the road and usually accumulate them until I have a few and I can do them all at once. It's overkill but I carry two spare tubes with me (and i've used both of them on more than one occasion). It also lets me donate one to a stranded stranger.

I've had good luck with michelin airstop tubes.

Reynolds 

Major brands are OK. Avoid too thin or too thick tubes.

indyfabz

I was on a group ride maybe 7 years ago. Someone flatted. Both her spare tubes--which were N.I.B.--both had slits in the seams. I had never seen one before, much less two on the same ride. She said she bought both tubes from the same shop at the same time. Must have been a bad batch. Unfortunately, no one realized it, so we went through a total of three tube insertions, with the third one being a working loaner from another ride participant.

cicatrize

This has to be the number ONE reason for these bad reviews. Seriously, people just don't know how to do it right. Yeah, there are lemons out there, but it can't be a percentage equal to the bad reviews. These companies do have quality control.

dcsix

I think there's a tendency in our over-Amazoned world to get over-attached to 'great reviews'. As others have said, it's a tube, and it's not complicated. Buying a name brand and having some stick on patches as a fall back is good advice too. Lots of people don't review-they vent.

rmfnla

So true.

Just hang around the mechanics sub-forum and you will be amazed at how many people have trouble with this as well as some of the inane advice offered to them...

MSchott

Completely agree. Name brand tube's are pretty much equal. Installing them correctly and riding safely (unload over bumps, choose smooth roads if possible and stay away from the road edge and you should be fine. I have had zero flats this season.

DrIsotope

I've never had any one brand of tube work better or worse than any other, and I've purchased indiscriminately for years. Giant, Michelin, Bontrager, Bell, Diamondback, Schwalbe, and on and on. If I stop to think, I kinda prefer the Michelin Airstops because the brass Presta valves fit with the best seal in any pump I've got.

Billy1111

I find bontragers for me do the trick also, continentals are good also but i can fit 2 bontrager tubes in my saddle bag but not 2 continentals so i just stick with the bontys

Wanderer

Schwalbe!

JonnyV

I read reviews on just about everything I'm researching before buying. But, you have to take it with a grain of salt because alot of people won't write a review unless it's negative and just want to bit...I mean vent. There are also people that feel everything they buy should be perfect, forever. With that said, I've had good luck with Q-tubes, the QBP house brand. Cheap and effective.

ShaneHanchey

Just be sure to do a test inflation before you pack them up and hit the road thinking they will serve you well should you get a flat. Doesn't need to be a full pressure test, but do hook it up to a pump and put maybe 20-30 psi in and make sure it inflates uniformly. I did this recently the night before a ride and found that my spare would inflate exponentially larger in certain spots around the tube, it seriously looked like a balloon animal. There's no way these spots would have held 120psi without bursting before I could ever get back on the road. I will post a picture next time I can post from my computer.

ShaneHanchey

Also, if the situation I just mentioned is entirely normal for a tube that isn't being contained inside of a tire, someone please feel free to correct me as I'm still pretty fresh at cycling. But I did compare to another spare which didnt do the same thing.

Reynolds 

It's normal for tubes to not be uniform whe inflated out of a tire, especially having a "constriction" at the joint.

a1penguin

People come out of the woodwork to complain, but do not generally come around to write good reviews. My threshold is less than 10% one star reviews. More than that and I often pass. I buy tubes on sale at Performance or Sports Basement. I've had back to back flats when I failed to find the piece of glass still in the tire. It was frustrating.

snotrockets

Buy whatever your LBS stocks. All butyl tubes are the same (for open tubulars, I might spend a little bit more on latex tubes)

Tundra_Man 

There are two kinds of tubes in the world: those that are flat, and those that are going to go flat.

mprelaw

In addition to not checking for the cause of the flat, they'll pinch the tube using a tire lever, or even worse, a screwdriver, to get the last stubborn part of the bead on the rim.

dwing

Lol, i want peace of mind too... Where do we start.