Originally Posted by
nlerner
True enough. I was thinking that having a spare folding 650B tire for the bike I was riding today would be wise for future long rides. I don't plan to tour, but I'm hoping to do a brevet series. Thoughts of trying to fashion a tire boot after being on the bike for 200K miles or so doesn't sound like a good idea. Now, folding 650B tires are a bit harder to come by.
Neal
Neal, how many times did you have a tire vs. a tube fail in long rides? Tire failure is usually because of the sidewall being in its last legs and encountering a nasty bump, or the installation is not proper.
For a brevet series I would recommend getting new tires with a lot of puncture resistance (like gatorskins) and new tubes and carry an extra tube, plus a couple of the spray inflating things that seal tube leaks and inflate the tires.