I may have SLIGHTLY over inflated my inner tube
#101
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If its made of some sort of better material, all bets are off.
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?? Cheap walmart tubes are like 3x as thick as expensive ones, they last longer
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Just because the rubber is thick enough to stop a nail from penetrating doesn't mean the seams will hold together or the valve won't separate from the rubber due to just deteriorating. Cheaper glues, lower quality assurance....all these things could contribute to higher failure rates in different ways than a thinner more expensive tube would
I don't know any of this to be true. I'm just sayin'...it could be.
Last edited by Skipjacks; 05-13-19 at 08:41 AM.
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The more of a cheapskate one is, the less value time has relative to money. I am the cheapest of skates.
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#111
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#112
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I had the exact same thing happen on my commute home one day. Made the mistake of inflating without my glasses on. Bad mistake.
#113
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If you want to geek out on tubes, here you go: Although this type of explosion is usually the result of a section of tube being stuck between the bead and rim, excessive pressure can force a bead off a rim, and when the tube escapes it expands and explodes. (BTW a tire set up tubeless will come off a rim much easier because inner tubes tend to force the bead to stay under the rim hook). Tires do in fact get bigger in diameter as pressure increases, but not enough to damage the tube. Factories have cost-cutting tricks to produce cheap tubes, including; 1) inexpensive additives to make the butyl rubber "go farther", 2) the extrusion process is sped up, causing the wall of the tube to vary excessively, resulting in thin spots, 3) inadequate filtering of the butyl, leaving granular contaminants in the rubber, which cause pinhole failures, 4) cheap or poorly controlled valve production resulting in rubber around the valve not galvanizing properly with the rest of the tube, which is why you see "cut" failures around there. Tubes do deteriorate over time, especially if left in the sun. Using a tube that is slightly undersized is generally not a problem if the quality is good, although if extremely undersized, you will feel the area around the valve as a *whump* when you ride, because that area is reinforced and does not stretch as much as the rest of the tube.
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#114
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Very interesting, thanks!
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#115
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I was 12 or 13 when I first repaired a flat by myself. I had to walk my bike a half mile to the local gas station for some air. That was uneventful and while riding my bike home I stopped to watch a guy flying a gas powered model airplane on a tether. Around and around it screamed until all of a sudden BANG!!! and the plane augered into the ground somewhat spectacularly, with pieces flying everywhere. Of course it was my new inner tube that had exploded from being twisted and the pilot must have jerked the tether when it startled him. He and his friends were much older than I was and I realized that I might be in danger of a beating if they figured out that the explosion was from my tire. I tried to look just as bewildered as they did. I was fortunately far enough away from them that they couldn't see that my tire was flat and I was able to innocently walk my bike away from them without being accosted.
After I figured out what happened to that tube I learned to make sure freshly changed tubes weren't twisted before fully inflating them.
After I figured out what happened to that tube I learned to make sure freshly changed tubes weren't twisted before fully inflating them.
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That's funny! I also started repairing tubes frequently at age 12-13 because I used a bike to deliver newspapers. I learned the hard way that you cannot have ANY amount of tube sticking out and rubbing on the frame.
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This happened in a store once. I was there with my then 2 year old. We were next to a rack of bikes when BANG!!!! A random tube on one of the bikes gave out.
My 2 year old looked up at me, saw I wasn't scared, and just smiled and ignored it.
The store manager gave me a 10% off coupon because it DIDN'T scare the kid and make him cry.
Ironically...I was there to buy a spare inner tube that day. The same spare inner tube I will be putting on my bike in about an hour.
My 2 year old looked up at me, saw I wasn't scared, and just smiled and ignored it.
The store manager gave me a 10% off coupon because it DIDN'T scare the kid and make him cry.
Ironically...I was there to buy a spare inner tube that day. The same spare inner tube I will be putting on my bike in about an hour.
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Happened to me quite a few times, until...
So I'm sitting here in my office in my bike in front of my desk....everything is nice and quiet
Then BANG!!!!
Sounded like a gun went off...followed by a slow 'pffpffffftftftftftfff' as I watched my bike drop an inch and a half
My rear inner tube exploded
It's possible I may have SLIGHTLY over inflated it.
Scared the snot out of me! hahaha
Oh well good thing I keep a spare with me. Guess I know what I'm doing at lunch time.
Then BANG!!!!
Sounded like a gun went off...followed by a slow 'pffpffffftftftftftfff' as I watched my bike drop an inch and a half
My rear inner tube exploded
It's possible I may have SLIGHTLY over inflated it.
Scared the snot out of me! hahaha
Oh well good thing I keep a spare with me. Guess I know what I'm doing at lunch time.
#119
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An exploding tube is much more exciting if it blows in the church nave. (I was cleaning the sanctuary).
#120
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So I'm sitting here in my office in my bike in front of my desk....everything is nice and quiet
Then BANG!!!!
Sounded like a gun went off...followed by a slow 'pffpffffftftftftftfff' as I watched my bike drop an inch and a half
My rear inner tube exploded
It's possible I may have SLIGHTLY over inflated it.
Scared the snot out of me! hahaha
Oh well good thing I keep a spare with me. Guess I know what I'm doing at lunch time.
Then BANG!!!!
Sounded like a gun went off...followed by a slow 'pffpffffftftftftftfff' as I watched my bike drop an inch and a half
My rear inner tube exploded
It's possible I may have SLIGHTLY over inflated it.
Scared the snot out of me! hahaha
Oh well good thing I keep a spare with me. Guess I know what I'm doing at lunch time.
The bead popped off the rim at a high point while I was riding, allowing the tube to exit and explode with a sound like a gun going off, shredding the tire in the process.
#122
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Anybody can post any sort of baloney to fit their preconception, bias or agenda without a shred of evidence just by qualifying the fabricated factoid with "just sayin' ".
#123
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#124
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Saying Wal Mart Tubes fail because the glue used by the aliens who make them disintegrates in Earth's nitrogen heavy atmosphere is baloney.
Saying that cheap parts might have some quality assurance issues isn't exactly going out on a limb.