bernmart

I'm so tired of getting beat up by the crummy roads in LA that I'm going to try switching from Continental 700x23 tires to 700x28 Gatorskins. Problem is, I have a bunch of new tubes labelled 700x23-25.

Any chance these will work OK in the new tires, or should I get fatter tubes?

BCRider

They are fine. What'll happen is that if you get a puncture the air will tend to leak out a little faster. But if the gatorskins do their job you won't need to worry about finding out how much faster. In any event they'll work fine. For the future purchases you'll want to get the correct size though.

Joe_Mo

It really depends on the quality of the tube, if it will stretch enough. some tubes are specifically only for that size and will burst if they go any higher.

fuzz2050

I tend to ride larger tires, I also tend to buy cheap tubes, and in all my time mixing cheap, undersized tubes with much larger tires, I have never seen this happen.

Also, I've seen the stock Huffy tubes expand to several times their original size when someone misunderstands, 'put a little air into it so you can find the leak.'

furballi

Old tubes will work great with 700x28. I even use the cheap $1.80 Nashbar 700x25 tube with Michelin City 700x32. No problemo.

You may need the Brooks Flyer or equivalent to tame LA roads. The Nashbar Grand Vintage is a cheap knock-off of this Brooks. Works reasonably well for me. I paid $13 last week.

bernmart

Many thanks for all the replies, and for the encouragement. Now if I can just get the damned things on the rims!

BCRider

Watch out for pinching the tube or for the tube not wanting to sit under the bead wire. Pull the bead back from the rim to ensure that the tube is not trapped under the bead wire where it can herniate out. Mounting bigger tires to smaller rims seems to encourage this sort of behaviour.

Also remember that the key is to keep centering the bead that is already on the rim. If you keep centering the bead of the already mounted portion it'll make the last part slip over a lot more easily. The tighter it feels for the last bit the more important it is to re-center the mounted portion repeatedly. A little air in the tube can aid with the first part but once you're trying to flip the last bit of bead over the rim let all the air out. Just be careful that the tube isn't being pinched between the rim and tire bead with your tire lever. And take SMALL bites with the lever. The smaller the easier.

As you can see it's about the small things that seem so basic. But when done well the tire will go on with hardly a care or bead of sweat. You think bicycle tires are bad? Try mounting tires on a dirt motorcycle ! ! ! ! ! Bicycles will seem like eating cake after those!

furballi

Lube the tire's beads with soapy water. Mount one side of the tire. Add tube. Slightly inflate the tube before mounting the other side of the tire. Avoid the use of tire lever if possible.

The Continental Gator Hardshell with wire bead provides better flat protection. I ride in OC and prefer the Michelin City 700x32/700x28. A fast, light tire with low rolling resistance is of little value if you constantly have to navigate around potholes and road hazards. Wider city tires provide better traction on rough roads, which will often result in a faster commute.

I see too many novices with skinny expensive 700x23 tires at 120 psi bouncing up and down like a ping pong ball. Keep the pressure between 70-80 psi on those 28 Contis.

mjoekingz28

My bike has a 23c tire and I needed tubes on Sunday and Walmart was open. The closest they had was a 25c-34c. Bought two and they're working fine, so I don't see how going the other way would be bad either.

cny-bikeman

Not actually true. I can take any tube at all, inflate it outside of the tire to 2 or 3x the spec'd diameter without it bursting, and no tube will ever burst inside a tire. At worst it will fail at a seam or from excessive stretching or folding and deflate somewhat quickly.

bernmart

All's well! Tires installed easily, despite (because of?) having wire beads. Smaller diameter tubes seem to work just fine, as several of you assured that that they would. Many, many thanks for your suggestions and reassurances.

BTW, switching from 23s to 28s makes a distinct difference in comfort over bumps, and even some welcome extra stability in fast downhill turns.

Joe_Mo

I am basing my experience from desperately trying to use nashbar 23s on a 25 tire.

scottspeedster

I feel you I'm surprised with Pasadena, a lot of streets need fixing.

prathmann

They work fine inside the 38mm tires on my touring bike. But they do deflate more quickly in the event of a flat.

cny-bikeman

As FB said a tube will never "burst" inside a tire - it has to escape to do that, which requires either a tire defect or improper mounting.

Yan 

Yes.

zukahn1 

The tubes are just fine no problems yet Gatorskins are overpriced and overaited and only soso when it comes to toughness.