ser_gio

I am not sure why they make it such complicated. Here is the issue: 26 x 1.75 Continental Ride Tour tires on 22-mm (inner width) Rhyno Light rims. Two tubes applicable:

Continental Tour 26 x 1.40 - 1.75 (175 gr)
Continental Tour 26 x 1.75 - 2.50 (200 gr) (Interesting to note this one covers a much larger range of widths)

Thanks in advance for sharing your perspective!

Arrowana

Smaller tube gets you weight savings, and will be easier to install. Bigger tube has more rubber, and therefore might be slightly less likely to fail for no reason. If you see yourself swapping to larger tires at some point, may as well get the bigger tube. If not, may as well get the small tube.

Crankycrank

+1 ^^^^ IMHO, I prefer the smallest size available. It's a little lighter (although probably not enough to be super noticeable) and easier to keep from getting caught under the tire bead when installing. Not a big deal either way but just my personal preference. Or, just go with whatever has the best price. Hope this helps.

choddo

Think the bigger one covers a wider range as the stretchability(?) is a percentage.

Kontact 

Smaller is less likely to pinch.

The ideal is if your tire is in the middle of the range, but I would buy the 1.4-1.75 if I were you.

Tubes will take some over-inflation: I once folded over a 700x25 tube to get it into a 26x1.9 MTB tire and rode it home. But the over-inflation and fold would never last.

Troul 

I'd go with the largest that doesn't hinder install. More material tends to take more abuse from foreign objects imo.

Iride01 

They don't make it hard. You are making it hard.

Just pick one. Eventually with experience you might find that one seems to work better for you in your tire.

My preference currently for the last ten or more years is to go with the larger size range in the belief that the more the tube has to stretch to fill the tire cavity, the more chance it has of similar to a balloon. Or at least that puncture stretching open to make a larger hole for air to escape when something punctures the tire and tube. A larger tube that is not stretched might not let air out as fast. And the punctures I had since, have all been slow leaks that I can just top off several times while returning home to fix the flat in comfort instead of on the roadside.

But I don't flat very often. Only twice in the last 5000 to 6000 miles. So I don't really get anything more than anecdotal evidence.

Andrew R Stewart 

My first choice is to use the wider tube as long as it fits well, for some of the same reasons already stated. I also look at the rim width and how that effects the tire's real profile. A wide tire on a narrow rim won't like the wider tube as well as if that tire was on a wider rim. Andy

smd4

This is no different than frames that come in S/M and M/L.

wheelreason

Either will be fine, and won't make a significant difference. What I do is go with the thinner one on road, and thicker for wider tires and MTB.

maddog34

hold up two balloons.. one inflated, and one not inflated... poke both with a needle... see which one gets a hole in it the easiest.

get the larger tube.

FBinNY 

Before answering this question, we have to accept that there's no defined relationship between the actual size and the nominal size on the box, nor the optimal fit. So, trying to make an intelligent decision based on what's printed on the box is nearly impossible.

Fortunately tubes are simply toroidal balloons that easily stretch to conform to the space available, so there's plenty of latitude.

If one really cares, one can estimate the unstretched diameter as 0.6x the flat width. That would then be the largest option (don't forget that tire inner dims. are smaller than outside). My guideline for the smallest is 2/3rds, though you could probably go smaller in many cases.

Within that range, smaller saves weight and larger reduces bleed.

Lastly, the rim plays into this. With larger tires on narrow rims, the tube has to stretch down between the beads and fill the rim. We've had numerous threads here about tubes developing leaks or splitting on the rim side because of this, so with a deeper rim, it would be wise to go wider.

FBinNY 

Sorry, but not relevant or meaningful.

An inflated balloon is held firm against a needle stick by the pressure inside, while an empty one isn't.

Regardless of its thickness, a tire's inner tube is likewise pressed firmly against the inside of the tire, so any object coming through the tire is going to puncture the tube.

Of course, the thickness might make a difference if a nail were to puncture a tire and protrude by less than the thickness of the tube. But then again, a tossed coin might land on edge.

maddog34

the higher the surface tension, the higher the opposing pressure to promote a hole.

sorry that you didn't catch the obvious and direct relevance,.
you seem to have fixated on the mental image of popping a inflated balloon.
stretched balloons pop easily.
a deflated one just moves aside.
the larger tube stretches less, and can absorb more energy...
the smaller tube has to stretch before it can contact the tire.

you'll need to find someone else to endlessly discuss the nuances of your descriptions.
ser gio has already decided to get the larger tube so any further discussion is what is irrelevant.

Kai Winters

whatever one I have on hand that fits the closest...

soyabean

Half the time I am swapping out a tubes on clients' bikes, what is printed on the tube does not match the tyre at all.

At least the OP here is going to choose one that is advertised range.

I would not waste any time on waiting for the golden answer and just finish the repair and ride.

ser_gio

Thank you everyone for spending your time to share your experience. I learned quite a bit from this discussion. When I look at prices online, I see the larger tube is more commonly available and cheaper. Therefore, I have ordered the large ones. My rims are also on the larger side with 22-mm inner width.

Thanks again for your feedback. I wish everyone flat-free rides!

ShannonM

Empirically and anecdotally:

I got fewer pinch flats, while commuting on supple 700x23c tires (Schwalbe Ultimo R.1s, FWIW,) when I used 700Cx28-32mm tubes, on Humboldt County's terrible, awful, no good, very bad roads. A lot fewer.

There's a plausible reason for this, in that the wider tube will stretch less to fill the volume of the tire, and therefore will be thicker when fully inflated. So, there must be some impact which will pinch a thinner tube that would not pinch a thicker one. In my experience, this difference is noticeable, and has no downside that anyone who isn't getting paid to ride their bike needs to worry about. (This is not true of the supple tires, BTW. Those make a difference that is worth having, even if it's only a matter of feel.)

I've never had the extra width be a problem, and I've been mixing and matching tubes and tires since the Reagan administration.

--Shannon