Road Fan

Taking an old tire off a bike, I see the tube is kinda stuck to the inside of the tire. I can't say this is bad, but I wonder if talc or baby powder in here is a necessity?

Also, I have read that talc has been associated with some cancers. I know we're not doctors, but, ... anybody read anything definitive?

Jeff Neese

I use it. Baby powder no longer has talcum in it because of the carcinogenic properties, but products sold as "tire talc" still use real talcum since it's not designed to be applied to skin. If you were concerned you could wear rubber gloves while changing your tire. (I've started doing that any time I work on a bike anyway.)

Iride01 

There are quite a few people that don't use anything and don't have any issues. So I can't say definitively. But I use a old container of baby powder that we've had since the youngest was in diapers 34 years ago. I found that putting the tire and tube in a bucket, adding some baby powder and shaking it up with a lid on the bucket is about the easiest way to get a even coating of powder on everything and actually the least messiest. Once the tire is mounted and inflated it just wipes off the outside of the tire easily.

For me it seems to let the tube slip into the position it really wants to be in as you inflate it. And it doesn't stick to the tire making road side flat repairs a pain. Also the talc on the bead of the tire seems to help them seat. The spare tube in my seat bag is kept in a plastic zipper bag with baby powder in it. So it's ready to go if I ever need it. Talc probably wouldn't be good for tubeless applications.

I think they aren't really certain about the talc and cancers. Seems that talc deposits also can be where asbestos occurs naturally. And some of the companies that got dinged for the talc where using talc that was contaminated with asbestos. As well, IIRC, all the incidents were ovarian cancer. So if you aren't powdering your nether regions it shouldn't be an issue. Unless of course it is contaminated with asbestos and you breathe in the powder.

Bald Paul

In fact, J&J are suing the researchers: Johnson & Johnson sues researchers who linked talc to cancer | Reuters

I breathed in so much asbestos dust replacing brakes and clutches in my early years as an auto tech, I figure a little baby powder won't kill me.

Moe Zhoost

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Association, classifies perineal use of talc-based body powder as "possibly" carcinogenic to humans but this was based on limited evidence. Most of the fervor for this label was the result of litigation. This same agency found that inhalation of talc was not classifiable as a carcinogen. Some talc has been found to contain small quantities of asbestos fibers, which certainly raises the probably of carcinogenicity.

As far as the use of talc on inner tubes, some folks swear by it. I personally don't use it. Jobst Brandt called the benefits of using talc on tubes an urban legend.

Velo Mule

Back when I worked in a bike shop in the early '80's, the inner tubes had white powder on them. I don't know if it contained talc, but it probably did. By the way one of the tech's called it Vazulli dust. When I asked why the tubes needed Vazulli dust on them, and I asked because when you work in a bike shop and you do all the flat tires all morning, your hands and cloths are covered in dust, I was told that the power allowed the tube to find it's resting place more comfortably within the tire when there is powder on the surface. Anyway, with new tires and tubes I don't see the white dust anymore, and things seem to work well.

RCMoeur 

My experience has been that corn starch-based powders aren't as useful as talc-based for tire applications, as the corn starch powders are greatly affected by moisture.

I use it per the original directions when I install SpinSkins to prevent the SpinSkin from adhering to the tire - although out of production, I reuse SpinSkins until the center strip finally goes, which takes a lot of miles.

At Recycle Your Bicycle, we also use a lot of talc powder for mounting 12 1/2" and 8" tires on childrens' bicycles - some of those tires make mounting a set of brand-new Contis or Schwalbes look easy.

DiabloScott

I argued with JB himself about this on RBT - his view only applied to the idea of using talc to keep the tire and tube from sticking together after installation. The value of the talc or baby powder is when you've got a new tube that has that tacky feel, and especially with a new tire that also is kind of sticky... on a new installation the talc helps the tube and tire find their comfortable position and prevents folds and pinches.

JB also didn't think there was any value in tire wiping... that one was more contentious.

tFUnK

I see a point in using powder for latex tubes to avoid pinching, but never found a need for butyl or TPU tubes. I've experienced some butyl tubes being stuck to tires before but it's uncommon and not an issue when it did occur.

t2p

I use baby powder any and every time I install tubes and tires

baby powder on inside of the tire

baby powder on the tubes - butyl, latex, tpu

Sy Reene

I use talc (I think it's stuff that's actually labelled for billiards players). If I'm installing a new tube, it would be because the prior one flatted. The new tube will come out of my ride kit -- where the tube is stored small in a tight wrap of saran/cling wrap (with talc dusted on beforehand). Could just keep in a sandwich ziploc too.

Road Fan

Thanks gents, I think if my baby powder is handy I'll dust it in the tire, but not worry about it if it's not handy. I like the tube not sticking to the tire, but have as well not seen any problems. When I just pumped up my 42 Hetres today I heard some pops from (I guess!) little creases pulling themselves out smooth due to pressure application on one tire, but only one time on the other tire. I think my innertubes are YST or Cheng Shin brand, essentially whatever supply chain REI local store gets them from. Some little boxes on the shelf say REI and others do not.

Crankycrank

I have only used baby powder and find it useful for applying to excess dried glue that's still sticky after applying a patch. After some miles the baby powder always seems to disappear from the tube IME so use it if it helps but not always necessary.

1989Pre 

Personally, I've heard the same thing about talcum, so I stay away from it (used to put it in my work socks). Interestingly, I bought some N.O.S. Michelin tires (made in Britain) recently, and in the instructions it said to put chalk on both inside of tire and on inner-tube.

79pmooney

So ... keep your underwear on when you install tubes. Not too arduous. (I've been doing that forever without even thinking about it.

I use the J&J bad stuff whenever I remember. It never hurts and sometimes helps. Seems to minimize issues when installing tubes and helps keep them from sticking when it's time to take them out.

bikelif3

inflate, deflate...inflate, deflate...and repeat...

JohnDThompson 

That white powder was likely to facilitate release from the mold during manufacture, and could very well be talcum. I find talcum on inner tubes and/or inside the tire casing to be helpful in preventing the tube from getting stuck under the tire bead during installation, as well as preventing the tube from sticking to the tire casing when removing the tube to fix a puncture. Bikes that have been left outside in the sun and weather seem to suffer this more than bikes that are stored inside when not being ridden.

pdlamb

IIRC one of JB's points in favor of NOT using talc was that the tube sticking to the tire would slow leaking air from a puncture. I chalked that one up to a personal foible, since the tubes I've wrestled out of tires leaked just as quickly as those that were easier to remove because I put talc on them after repairing the leak. I normally change a flat tube on the road and take the leaker home until I have half a dozen tubes and a rainy weekend. In that environment putting talc on the tube is the last part of the repair. Again, talc on the tube seems to make getting the leaker out of the tire easier, when the inevitable happens.

ThermionicScott 

I've never applied talc to tubes, but then, it's possible that I have benefitted from whatever powder was left on the tubes I've used.

Mostly, I credit putting air in tubes before installing them with helping them find their place in the tire and not get pinched in the rim.

My ONE blowout EVER was from pumping up a 27" tire too much on an old steel straight-sided rim, and that happened right away in the shop, not mysteriously out on the road.

marathon marke

I've pretty much always used talcum powder when installing a tube. But I can't honestly say that it has helped the tube position itself correctly, as I've always made sure of that during the installation.
Yesterday, I installed my first set of TPU tubes, and I didn't use talc, mostly because the instructions that cane with the tubes never mentioned it. So I was prepared to wake up this morning to see a flat, but fortunately both tires were still fine.

Raya2

wearing gloves is good advice

Russ Roth

Personally I think the use of talc is something that may have had value is the old days when rubber compounds weren't the same but I haven't seen a use in dealing with it in my more modern riding lifetime. I've never seen the stuff in any shop I ever worked in and it never seemed to matter. I'm personally allergic to the stuff and prolonged contact causes my skin to peal off in large patches so I have good cause to avoid it in general.
I have noticed that latex tubes still come with it but when I pulled the cross tires off my daughter's bike at the end of last year they didn't have any left on them, same with the road tubes when I yanked those 3 week ago to reinstall the cross tires. I didn't have talc to toss on the old tubes so I of course installed them with out and had no trouble with the install despite the lack of talc. 3 weeks, one race and several rides later the tubes still seem to hold air as well as latex tubes do.

Tire wiping is a new one to me? Can't say I ever heard of anyone wiping tires in 15 years of shop time at 4 different locations. What are you wiping and why?

That's the tire bead seating, when you fill the tire you should be inspecting that as you fill the tire to make sure it doesn't pop off. I check the bead seat around 20psi to make sure it isn't slipping off the rim. Again around 40psi to make sure the tire is staying in the rim but that the bead is sitting evenly and the guide line is even all the way around. If it isn't I'll try to force it out by hand and fill to 60psi and try again. I'll go higher slowly if the tire is still stuck in the rim so the bead isn't seating properly but having stops also makes sure the opposite side isn't trying to slip out before it goes off like a shotgun blast.

DiabloScott

I was referring to the practice of wiping stuff off of your tires while riding - like after you roll through a patch of debris that might include sharp objects, before they cause a puncture.

Not for novices.


My instructional video.

Jobst and Sheldon discussion:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/wiping.html

tiger1964 

That's clever, I will consider doing just that.

choddo

Amazing. Only ever seen this done on a stationary bike before, even by experienced riders. Maybe group riding etiquette precludes such avant garde techniques.