I've somewhat of a tube snob and prefer nice inner tubes like those made by Michelin or Schwalbe. They cost a little more but I found them to have better thickness uniformity and better reinforcements at the valve stem junction. Nevertheless, despite this preference, I did purchase three Bontrager tubes for use with Jack Browns, simply because Michelin and Schwalbe tubes in a compatible size are fairly hard to come by around where I live.

I am sorry to report that my straying had caused me grief. The first was a puncture on the inner side of the tube a few weeks ago. The tube had apparently weakened and developed a small hole at the slight bulge that complimented the intention into a spoke hole. The Velox rim tape was still intact so I was surprised by this failure. A quick replacement and a quick patch at home and I thought nothing more of it.

Today, the inner side of another Bontrager tube from the triplet developed a 1" tear that culminated in a sudden loss of air pressure on the front wheel during a corner and my going down. The good news is that there appeared to be no broken bones. For those in the area, I was steaming down Kings at a good clip and only slowed down due to vehicular traffic before my accident. I was lucky the tube didn't give way on the 35+mph sections or had cars behind me at that time. The bad news is that I'm a bit scraped up, my $$$ bib shorts are torn, and the bike will require repairs (frame looks OK though). Alas, from experience, I know it will hurt tomorrow.

Anyhow, if you're using Bontrager tubes, inspect it for weaknesses after inflating it free from the tire; my uneducated conclusion from inspecting my failed tube was that it was a manufacturing defect but it did not develop overnight. My tube has "5130580922" printed on it; I do not know if this is a lot number but there you go.

I have never come across such issues in my decades of using Michelin and Schwalbe (and occasionally Specialized and Continental) tubes and did not see any need to inspect tubes, especially since most of my tires can be installed tool-free and I do a thorough job of making sure that everything is seated properly. It's likely plain bad luck so I hesitate to state that Bontrager tubes are crap, but two-in-a-row is a bit hard to swallow.