Originally Posted by
rekmeyata
First of all, a puncture resistant tube is not very effective, it might stop 1 percent of the flats.
Secondly, puncture resistant tubes are made very poorly. I bought a pair of Sunlite tubes for my wife's Ebike, and both blew their seams. So, I bought a pair of Bontrager, both tubes separated at the valve and the base of the tube. These were horrible tubes.
Thirdly a puncture resistant tube can add 450 grams more weight than a standard tube, that's more than most tires!
What to do then instead of a tube you scream...buy a pair of Clear Motion Rhinodillos tire liners, these will work 100% better than any tube, and they weigh around 120 grams. The Rhinodillo comes with a soft edge on one edge of the tube so the tube can't chaff a hole into the tube.
I actually have an unopened pair of Rhino's for some 26" x 25mm 'Tom Slick' clinchers, for a racing recumbent that I am putting on the road this summer. That is a special use case that justifies this utilization. Otherwise, no. A reinforced tube, or tire liner is not superior to a reinforced
tire, when not flatting is mission critical. When I put the Marathon Plus on our commute tandem (9mi r/t urban) I put 60psi in each and I haven't touched them since. When I remember I give them a squeeze, and they never seem to need any air. I gave them some anyway after like six months, because it was driving me crazy. Six months later (1/yr.) and they are still rock hard and, needless to say, not a single flat. So why buy a fragile tire and buck it up with a tire liner when buying a reinforced tire gives you the same end result in an easy to mount, care free product?