Originally Posted by
Brembofro
..When I say grass, I don't mean that I'll be offroading, I just mean that I might be forced off the road for sometime because of cars and what not. I don't want to get tires that get dicey with regards to flats around grass.
Basically there are two types of flats that are most common:
1)something sharp poking a hole through tire and tube. Glass or other sharp shards is a usual culprit. The first line of defence is a tire that is difficult to pierce through the rolling surface.
2)so-called snake bites. They occur when you squish the tire flat and pinch the tube between rim and whatever you're riding on. The lower the pressure and the narrower the tire, the greater the risk.
Grass would lessen the risk of first kind, as small, sharp stuff can simply settle into the soil. OTOH grass can hide an uneven surface, and increase the risk for second kind. Still, on a daily basis I'd be more concerned about the risk of simply losing traction when running slicks on grass -even if you're just cutting across a green patch somewhere.
Originally Posted by
Brembofro
... Also, how should I go about purchasing a tube, will the same 700x25 measurement work in my search?
Yeah. Tubes are stretchy, so one size tube will fit several sizes of tire. Being spot on is nice, but not required. Stuffing a bigger tube in a smaller tire is more of a hassle than the other way around. Try not to stray too far from the recommendation though.
Originally Posted by
Brembofro
.... I see some like
these, what do those measurements under select size mean?
They refer to the length of the valve "shaft". You need one that will raech through your rim. Some rims need longer shafts for the valve to protrude enough, other rims can run shorter. The style police will point finger and snicker at you if you run longer valves than needed.
Do note that there are tw main different type of valves, Presta and Schrader. Anyone who's ever inflated a car tyre will recognize a Schrader, but the Presta is another beast entirely. As long as your pump match your valve both do fine. Might be the case that the range of sizes you're looking at only come in Presta.