RandomTroll

The subject says it all. I want a particular tube model but the place I want to buy them from (I buy mail-order) only has the next size larger. A guy there suggested that it would fit and end up being stronger because it wouldn't stretch as much.

hueyhoolihan

you could end up with a slight fold in it, but i wouldn't worry about it much even if you do. i've made do with a worse mismatch.

OTOH, i would get the proper size if given the opportunity though.

Turtle Speed

Size tolerances for manufacturing innertubes vary, so it's difficult to say exactly. But it's very likely you can make it fit, although it may well take some messing around to stuff it in there.

Advantages to an "oversized" innertube:
- loses slightly less air over time (less stretching = thicker innertube wall = harder for air to permeate through). Since you're riding road bike tires, it's debatable whether this is any gain at all. If you're the type that pumps before every ride, it won't be unless you go on looong rides.

Diadvantages:
- tiny bit heavier
- may cause slowness, annoyance, or frustration when you get a flat; you probably don't want to be playing the innertube stuffage game on the side of the road in bad weather.

Personally, I'd just ask if they can send them after they restock or order the correct size from a different supplier. I like my tubes to match correctly.

willywilly

it'll fit if you stuff it in there. it's not ideal though. u have to be careful when installing as to not get a fold pinched in between the rim and tire bead.

bhchdh 

Slightly inflate the tube, just enough to hold it's shape, and see how it fits in the tire.

Andrew R Stewart 

Some of the answer is due to the rim's width. A narrower rim will have less internal to the tire volume then the same tire mounted on a wider rim. But as has been said you'll have to try it to really know how the tube/tire/rim fitting will go. Andy.

10 Wheels

Pass on it

Reynolds 

It'll probably work, but as said above could be hard to install (depending on rim/tire) and form a crease that over time might damage the tube.

nymtber

Just buy new tubes. Most cheap tubes are made in Taiwan, and almost every brand I have used in the last 12 years or so (cheap tubes here) have had KENDA marked on them...

$5-8 each, even locally. Get a proper size spare, too. You can get tubes for $5 online, and if you buy 3 at a time, even with shipping its probably less than buying local, if you can wait. Qtubes have served me and many others well.

If you have deep section rims, make sure to buy a longer valve stem. They usually cost the same!

themishmosh

I think he is talking about buying new tubes--but just one size larger. I would agree with you though, if installing new tires, just put new inner tubes in also.

cny-bikeman

Tubes almost never fail from not being "strong." It might be very, very slightly more resistant to puncture and abrasion. You seem to be limiting yourself both by model and provider and then asking us to justify your choice. As I know neither why you are determined to use a particular model nor a particular provider I am down to the choice of size - which I think is a poor one. I see no advantage to a larger size other than the provider getting another sale, and a disadvantage of more difficult mounting. I'd say more weight but I'm not into promoting false belief in the magic of gram reduction.

lopek77

I'm really happy with undersized tube. According to many it may be easier to get flat this way, but I never got one. Plus, try to inflate regular tube to the max...it will be so big that you can ride your bike thru it lol Tube stretch A LOT...undersized tube shouldn't be a problem, but oversized may be an issue if you keep low pressure.

RandomTroll

I've had a run of punctures every 90 miles, on average, over the last 2,000 miles. The punctures are small and the leaks slow (I usually don't notice until the next day.) They happen through new tires, double liners, to new tubes. I want to use thicker tubes. I can't find them locally. I don't want any advice on how to prevent punctures.

Just about the only company on-line that sells thicker tubes for 700x25 tires has bungled my orders 3 times and is far away. I'd rather not buy from them. Many other on-line vendors don't have them this small.

A company that gives me good service and is close - so close that regular shipping is 3-day - has these tubes for 700x28-32 tires but not 700x23-25. They aren't out-of-stock: they don't stock them.

I don't care whether they're 'stronger'. I'm not looking for correspondents to 'justify' my decision. I know that Kenda makes all tubes (<-- ironic hyperbole). I know that I can buy as many regular tubes as I can possibly want anywhere. I'm not going to buy a new tube every 90 miles. (At 5,000 miles annually, $5/tube, that'd be $275).

Is there any chance that even if I mount a 700x25 tire with a 700x28-32 tube correctly that the tube will pop the tire's bead off the rim? This is anti-fun.

Sun CR-18 rim, 18mm internal width, 36-hole.

I don't want any advice on how to prevent punctures.

Retro Grouch 

If I needed just one I'd stick in a 28-32 inner tube and wouldn't even think about it afterward.

If I were planning to buy a quantity of inner tubes, I'd hold out for the exact size that I wanted. It's not your job to make the vendors happy. They earn their money by making you happy.

bobotech

Troll indeed! Dude, a tube is a tube. A thicker tube isn't going to make one iota of a difference. The tube is the most minor part of the tire assembly in preventing punctures. By the time a puncture has been created and is through the tire and all the piles, the tire is pretty much done. I would imagine that a tube will prevent a puncture 5 percent of the time if that.

Your issues are not going to be solved by new tubes from what you are describing.

I would first see if you could ride bigger tires that are puncture resistant. Don't buy tires based upon weight but rather how good they are at being puncture resistant. Heavier tires are probably better at resisting punctures. Try tire lines. Run a lower pressure with bigger tires.

Describe WHAT is puncturing your tires. Metal? Glass? Thorns? Abandoned dreams of has-been singers? Nails?

I had a tire in my friends bike that would go flat but only after riding on for a while. Turned out that the tire had a tiny piece of metal embedded in the carcass that was small enough to not be felt when rubbing your fingers across where it was located inside or outside of the tire but once you started riding, it would slowly abrade the tube to the point that after 10 miles, you would end up with another slow leaky tube.

Don't be so close minded.

lopek77

FIRST STEP - put a good tire on your rim
SECOND STEP - change your route
THIRD STEP - Don't worry too much about quality of tube...most of them are pretty much similar.
FOURTH STEP - buy Parktool gp-2 patch kit. It cost $2-$3 for a package /6 pieces/, easy, quick and lasts forever.

This thread got little weird lol

gsa103

The first step is to isolate why you're getting so many punctures.

Figure out where on the tire/rim the punctures are occurring. Mount your tires so the logo aligns with the valve, it makes locating the spot easier.
Where the puncture is says a lot about what caused it. Holes on the outside of the tube are road debris or something tire caused. Side edges are likely pinch flats or improper installation. Inner side (valve side) are probably a sharp spot due to a spoke poking through the rim tape.

If you really are getting that many flats you need armored tires, or look at going tubeless (which will help with tiny punctures).

Given your precautions, such as liners, I'm wagering that there's something wrong with your wheel causing flats. I've got flats from goat heads where the thorn went straight through a MTB knobby, no tube can possibly stop than.

cny-bikeman

+1 A solution without isolating the cause can be a waste of time and money. Both the location and exact appearance of the puncture (and the area around it) give clues as to the cause.

Retro Grouch 

Oversize inner tubes are more difficult to install without pinching the tube under the rim. For this reason in an emergency, if I can't get the exact size tube I want, I prefer to go one size under rather than one size over. I'd still only buy just one.

RandomTroll

Quoth Retro Grouch They make their money by selling what makes them a profit. They carry
other sizes of the same tire. I've asked them for this size. They
know better what products keep them in business. They've always
answered me straight and delivered the correct product in a timely
manner.

Quoth bobotech I disagree. The 26 punctures I have suffered in the last 2,300 miles
have been slight and slow, just the kind of puncture I expect a
thicker tube to withstand. A nail that goes all the way through will
damage a thick tube as quickly; that's not my problem.

Quoth lopek77 Why hadn't I thought of that?

Quoth lopek77 Some of my routes are fun, some are necessary.

Quoth lopek77 And discard my Slime, Rema, Pyramid, and Delta patch kits, all of
which have patched my tubes perfectly? I want to have fewer punctures
to patch.

Quoth gsa103 I've inspected the tubes, rims, rim strips, tires, liners. I've even
scrubbed them clean and held them over a bright light to illuminate
problems I can't feel. I've replaced every part except the rim;
the punctures don't happen where the tube touches the rim.

Quoth cny-bikeman I have done all this of course. Trying a thicker tube is a diagnostic
measure. Because I go through tubes anyway (62 in the last 10 years)
I won't waste any money; because I won't bother to install a new tube
until I have to unmount an old one I won't waste any time.

lopek77

Originally Posted by lopek77
buy Parktool gp-2 patch kit



And discard my Slime, Rema, Pyramid, and Delta patch kits, all of
which have patched my tubes perfectly? I want to have fewer punctures
to patch.

Well...so this - what I posted before makes PERFECT sense, but you still didn't agree with that...
Originally Posted by lopek77
put a good tire on your rim



Why hadn't I thought of that?

Tire is the first thing that will be cut and get sharp things in it...not a tube or liner...So why you looking for less or no punctures, while insisting on keeping "crappy" tires and shouting that: "I don't want any advice on how to prevent punctures" .
I kept getting a lot of flats ONLY on one set of tires...they went to the garbage quick...
And "62 flats in 10 years" should tell you that you missing something...Read all responses again . Folks are trying to help you, but you just keep ignoring a pretty good hints and tips.
That makes no sense to me...you are either professional Troll or just a lost soul.

xenologer

Yes it will fit
I've also successfully installed 35mm tubes in 25mm tires
just be careful about folding or pinching tubes
a puff of air inside helps hold the shape to avoid this

as a bonus the tube will stretch less resulting in slightly better air retention, and less mystery slow leaks

+1 this

one unwritten trick I'll use at work
if I get a repeat customer with slow leaks
and I really cant find the invisible piece of wire
or perhaps the user just doesnt understand natural air loss
I'll use the next size up tube
works wonders

Retro Grouch 

[QUOTE=RandomTroll;16561218]Quoth Retro Grouch
They make their money by selling what makes them a profit. They carry
other sizes of the same tire. I've asked them for this size. They
know better what products keep them in business. They've always
answered me straight and delivered the correct product in a timely
manner.[QUOTE]

If you already had your mind made up, why'd you ask?

dbg

I agree you need to find a real cause for so many punctures. Is there a pattern for puncture location? Have you changed the rim tape? Are there tire liners (they sometimes splinter and puncture tubes)? I guess it's possible thicker tubes will help a little bit -but I doubt it will completely stop the problem.