Bicycle Mechanics - Giant™ inner-tubes - problems?

I put a brand new set of slicks on my mountain bike a month or so ago, and fitted new inner-tubes at the same time. Within half an hour, I noticed that the front tyre had gone flat, and I subsequently found that there was a leak right next to the valve-stem. This was the first time I'd ever had that type of puncture. Well, I fitted the old tube, and took the bad tube back to my LBS who replaced it without question. I've done less than 100 road miles on the bike since fitting the slicks, and this evening, I noticed that the rear tyre was flat… so, I took it off and found that exactly the same thing had happened - a small hole right next to the valve-stem (see picture). The new inner-tubes were made by "Giant" and I was wondering if anyone else has had similar problems with this brand? The bike is over 12 years old, and I've had at least four different brands of tyres/tubes on it, but this is the first time I've ever seen this type of problem. At least it didn't happen 30 miles from home…

- Wil

I've never had a Giant tube, but a shop by me regularly has sales on specialized tubes. Without fail, they live a very short life, dying just as your tube did. It leads me to believe that some tubes are just not worth buying.

C

Most tubes come from one of a few factories. I used Specialized for years and years with no problems at all. I currently use Bontrager, but have used Giant, Kenda, Wrenchforce and a few others without noticeably more problems from one to the other.

My tires are M.O.B. slicks, 1.5; and I'm using the exact same tubes. Haven't had a flat yet (knock on wood). When I bought the tubes the guy at the LBS said to take care in inflating them, bracing your hand on the rim so the stem doesn't bend much while pumping. And not to tighten the ring/lock thingy at the base of the stem too much against the rim.

Hi, I had a similar problem on my Holdsworth road bike a few years back and went through several tubes. Some of the flats occurred on the road and to the point that I did not venture too far afield without extra tubes. It had the LBS owner puzzled, and he finally took a closer look at the tube and realized I had been sold the wrong size sometime in the past. After that folks had simply looked at the size of the ruined tube and replaced it. I am sorry to say that I cannot remember whether the tube was too large or too small. He replaced the tube with the correct size, and I have not had a problem since. I donot ride this bicycle a lot, but the tube has been fine over several years and a few hundred miles.

Sold literally hundreds, if not thousands of Giant tubes. Only times we've had problems of that nature is when someone tightens the heck out of the nut.

Good reason to just toss the nut.

I've had no problems with Specialized tubes, but I've got a Cheng Shin that's been on 3 bikes over 4 years and still no flats. Go figure.

Oh, I've never seen a Giant tube, but they're probably all from one or two factories.

Good reason to just toss the nut.

Good point…

- but in 40+ years of using Prestas, I've never had problems with my nuts… so to speak…

I have a couple of the tubes with thread-less stems on one of the road-bikes, and found I had to put some tape around them to stop the rattling (even when they're at 120 psi) -

- Wil

I put a brand new set of slicks on my mountain bike a month or so ago, and fitted new inner-tubes at the same time. Within half an hour, I noticed that the front tyre had gone flat, and I subsequently found that there was a leak right next to the valve-stem. This was the first time I'd ever had that type of puncture. Well, I fitted the old tube, and took the bad tube back to my LBS who replaced it without question. I've done less than 100 road miles on the bike since fitting the slicks, and this evening, I noticed that the rear tyre was flat… so, I took it off and found that exactly the same thing had happened - a small hole right next to the valve-stem (see picture). The new inner-tubes were made by "Giant" and I was wondering if anyone else has had similar problems with this brand? The bike is over 12 years old, and I've had at least four different brands of tyres/tubes on it, but this is the first time I've ever seen this type of problem. At least it didn't happen 30 miles from home…

- Wil

I have some new Giant presta-valve tubes and they leak at the valve stem, even when I twist the stem tight. It's bad enough that I have to add air every couple of days. I put a new one in water and it leaks at the stem.

I've also had many tubes of various brands separate where the stem's round rubber/metal base joins the tube. The separation causes the tube to lose air slowly and you have to look at the tube closely to see the point of separation. http://rayhosler.wordpress.com/2009/02/19/you-can-have-yourtube/
My blog has a photo.

I complained to the distributor and some tubes were replaced. I do this just so they'll know they have an issue.

I put a brand new set of slicks on my mountain bike a month or so ago, and fitted new inner-tubes at the same time. Within half an hour, I noticed that the front tyre had gone flat, and I subsequently found that there was a leak right next to the valve-stem. This was the first time I'd ever had that type of puncture. Well, I fitted the old tube, and took the bad tube back to my LBS who replaced it without question. I've done less than 100 road miles on the bike since fitting the slicks, and this evening, I noticed that the rear tyre was flat… so, I took it off and found that exactly the same thing had happened - a small hole right next to the valve-stem (see picture). The new inner-tubes were made by "Giant" and I was wondering if anyone else has had similar problems with this brand? The bike is over 12 years old, and I've had at least four different brands of tyres/tubes on it, but this is the first time I've ever seen this type of problem. At least it didn't happen 30 miles from home…

- Wil

What type of pump are you using? Rough handling while pumping, especially if using a mini-pump or frame-fit pump, will often cause the tube to tear at the valve.

Did not see a pic - it's important to know exactly what the hole looks like to be able to diagnose the cause. The most common leak near the valve stem is from stress due to poor pumping technique or riding on underinflated tires. The leak typically is a very small tear, rather than a puncture, and there is sometimes a small stretched area of tube forming a "bubble" adjacent to the leak.

Most tubes come from one of a few factories. I used Specialized for years and years with no problems at all. I currently use Bontrager, but have used Giant, Kenda, Wrenchforce and a few others without noticeably more problems from one to the other.

Even if they're coming from the same factory, there are lots of options in the quality of the tubes. there are a depressing number of tubes on the market these days that are just total pieces of ****. the valve stem -- whether it be presta or shrader -- is poorly attached to the body of the tube, and fails like this. I've seen a number of brand new schrader valve tubes fail this way, straight out of the box. they were unbranded tubes oft Tawainese orign.