momoman

Plenty here in SoCal:

Moe Zhoost

Inflation?

Sy Reene

Group Buy time?
https://www.globalsources.com/Inner-...htm#1166306109

skidder

My 'road bikes' are closer to touring set-ups, and I use either Sefras 'Seca' tires of Vittoria 'Randonneur' tires (700 size). The Vittorias in 32c and 35c work OK, the 28C are almost impossible to get on my rims on one bike so tthat's where I use the Serfas tires.

26" tires - Serfas 'Drifter', comes in 1.5" and2.0" widths. Odd looking tires with an inverted tread, but they roll nice. My 26" bikes are older rigid MTB I use for commuting/utility (and an occasional long ride just to mix it up witht eh road bikes!).

Serfas tires are available through REI. Vittorias available at some REI stores, also a lot of LBSs.

Wild card: PErformance Bike's 'Gotham' tires. When they had stores these were super cheap (under $20), very puncture resistant, and wore well. Only issue was they were noticeably heavier than a comparible (but more expensive) tire brands. They came in both 26" and 700 sizes. You can still buy them on the Performance website, but shipping costs are a little high and negate the low price vs a local bike shop's offerings. Great for your beater/utility bike. I've got one 700 x 32 'under test' on the front of a touring bike and so far its performed great on long day rides (no tour riding during the COVID pandemic ).

Hope that helps.

The Chemist

I pay the equivalent of about $4/tube at Decathlon here in Shanghai. Great quality tubes, too.

Speedway2

I have the opposite problem. I can only find the "cheap" tubes in stock at the local Outdoors Store (MEC).
I tried to avoid MEC (for personal reasons) but since the beer virus has closed a lot of LBS I do what I have to do. Bought a bunch of 700x23-25c tubes @ $5 CDN each......

skidder

The shortage is affecting everything. Yesterday morning my rear shifter cable snapped. Later in the day while out running some errands I stopped at the LBS to get a two new shifter cables for my bike. $12/each (used to be about $7). Uh, no. Went to another LBS and the same thing; they did have some cheap 'galvanized' cables, but I've not had good experiences with those. Went to one more and they didn't have any to sell (they're using their stock on customer repairs). Got home and found some on line for $7 and scheduled for delivery on Monday Nov 16 (I ordered four). I've got another bicycle so no problem waiting for the new cables over the weekend, but dang that's the first time a basic part like a shifter cable has been out of stock at all the locations I checked.

DMC707

with inner tubes? cmon now .................

50PlusCycling

Patches are still cheap, learn how to install them properly, and if you ride as much as I do, you'll save about $100 a year.

Lemond1985

Some inner tubes are not worth patching though, especially the cheap ones that keep splitting open longitudinally for no reason. You'll spend $100 just in patch kits, never mind the all the wasted time.

Trakhak

Beer virus

Sorcerer

Converting to tubeless rims/tires is not cheap either, but that is a good alternative these days.

Just putting that out there.

Jicafold

I still have difficulty with this. I have the vulcanizing fluid and Rema patches and the last few patches I did held 100psi for about 30 min or so. I'm doing something wrong.

Trakhak

First guesses: too much glue, glue not yet completely dry before patch was applied. Patching tubes at home, I usually apply the glue and then go and do something else for 10 minutes or more. Waiting more than 10 minutes is probably unnecessary, but it can't hurt.

cyccommute 

The problem Jicafold is having could be too little fluid. Since the curing of Rema patches is a chemical reaction, there needs to be enough fluid for the reaction to make enough bonds. Too much fluid takes longer to dry but it isn’t really an issue when it comes to the curing process. It’s a waste of fluid to be sure but better to have too much than to skimp and have too little.

As to drying, you can’t wait too long for the vulcanizing fluid to dry. I’ve forgotten about patch jobs and come back to them weeks later. The patch still held. 10 minutes is a good time but waiting longer won’t hurt and, if the fluid is a bit thick, it will help.

mack_turtle

can you point us to a source for Conti tubes that cheap? If your LBS is selling them that cheap to customers, they are basically giving them away.

Jicafold

Okay. Thank you.

Trakhak

Listen to cyccommute. Chemical reactions are among his many areas of expertise.

Jicafold

I was using the super blu vulcanizing cement. But it didn't come with any instructions. I'll be sure to let it dry plenty. Thank you.

https://www.carliftparts.com/product...glue-8-oz-can/

cyccommute 

Your “vulcanizing fluid” may be your problem. The MSDS for that fluid says that it has zinc oxide, kaolin, and rubber in it. Rema vulcanizing fluid has zinc diethyldithiocarbamate. The mouthful of chemical there (you could call it ZDDTC or just carbamate) serves as a accelerator and activator of the rubber. The Blue Fluid doesn’t have the same activator in it. There is also a chemical coating the Rema patch that reacts with the activator to make more new rubber between the patch and the tube.

The Blue Fluid simply doesn’t do any of that. It’s essentially rubber cement and it just makes a contact adhesive. That isn’t as permanent. There is sophisticated chemistry involved in the Rema system that just isn’t matched by any other patch system I’ve ever seen. Everything else is just rubber cement.

Bottom line: Use Rema and match the patch and the fluid.

Jicafold

Ah. Excellent. Thank you.

Jicafold

I contacted Rema about this regarding Rima TipTop vulcanizing fluid versus what I was using. I was hoping for a more in-depth answer but their response was similar and they said:

Please understand that Rema Tip Top cold vulcanizing cement is engineered to work specifically with our patches...I can't speak for any incompatibility of BRAND X type products.
Although utilizing products from the same system is always suggested, proper repair area preparation is also important. Cleaning and texturizing the BUTYL tube is critical for any repair system to effectively work.

Best regards,
John Salzbach
Customer Service Manager
201.256.8201 DIRECT

Jicafold

And not to beat this to death but here is a post on R****T that echoes what Cyccomute says...

Chemist here - natural rubber is a polymer (long chain-like molecules). Vulcanizing adds cross-links (through disulfide bonds) to the rubber, basically turning the strands of rubber molecules into a net, greatly increasing strength. Bike tubes are vulcanized rubber, but the outer surfaces are treated such that all those cross-linking sulfur groups aren't reaching out and trying to grab anything. You put on some vulcanizing fluid (henceforth "glue") and a few disulfide bonds in the tube get broken and re-formed with bonds to the polymers in the glue. Once the glue dries (there's a bit of solvent that has to evaporate) the inner side of the glue spot is chemically bound to the tire. The outer side is left with a bunch of free sulfur groups waiting to grab onto some other sulfur groups. Then you peel that piece of foil off the orange side of the tire patch (which exposes the free sulfur groups left on the patch) and press it to the glue spot - you've now made millions of chemical bonds between the patch and the glue spot. It's not really glued, though - the patch-"glue"-tire system is now one single molecule all chemically bound together.

The chemical bond holding things together is why:

• The tube has to be clean and dry - the sulfur groups reaching out for something to grab onto will grab dirt, water, and other gunk instead of the patch.
  
• You can't use duct tape or regular glue - these are sticky substances that don't vulcanize the rubber together. Rubber cement may hold a patch in place but it is NOT the same stuff.
  
• Glueless patches kinda suck - the vulcanizing fluid in the little tubes works better at making bonds with the punctured bike tube.
  
• You can make patches out of old tubes - at its most basic you're vulcanizing two pieces of rubber together, so two pieces of bike tube will stick to each other.
  

ramzilla

I haven't had a flat in over a year now. (Knock on wood). Sometime in the past about six or seven years ago I encountered the crappy Chinese tubes that split apart around the valve. Since then, I've been much more discriminating about my tube purchases. I've had good results with "thorn proof" tubes in 27" & 700c sizes. I like the Goodyear "heavy duty" tubes for my 26" wheels. Michelin & Continental make very good bike tire tubes. I've also discovered orange and red plastic rim strip tape made by FSA and, in wide sizes 17mm & larger. The new plastic rim tape has made a big impact on my bike tire durability. (I've given up on Velox tape). I hope all your rides are pleasant & you never get a flat tire. Be good. Have fun.

Charliekeet

Jicafold , to me it’s all location, location, location... as to whether it’s worth patching or it’s not. Unless it’s a locale completely away from seams, valve, etc, it’s not worth it and a new tube carefully installed is the way to go.

I agree that prices for tubes are, shall we say, out of order. Not by a ton, but by a consistently disconcerting amount over the last couple of years- so yes, pre-COVID-19, IMHO. Nothing to be done other than some sort of bulk order, I guess.

For those of us who have a family of bikes with 3 or 4 different sizes, keeping a stock of ready tubes on hand these days does kinda suck.