Originally Posted by
uoficowboy
These tubes have never been pumped up with anything but a floor pump. They were installed by a LBS.
I just noticed that they're 700x23/25C, whereas I think all my other tubes are 700x28/32C. My tires are marked as 700x28C. Did the LBS give me the wrong size tube? Would that cause this sort of failure? The LBS was replacing my wheel, and apparently they accidentally killed my old tube while doing so, so they installed this XLC tube in its place. It did not have a nut on it which disturbed me, but whatever.
The tube will work, since it stretches to fill whatever space required.
Personally, I don't like to be that much undersize since the air seeps out faster and requires more frequent topping off.
IF I were using a 28mm tire, I'd prefer a tube that was marked 25-28. To me, that gives the best balance between not over stretching, but easy to install without the risk of creases etc.
One thought though- it seems to me that the more you stretch the tube, the more likely you are to have failure with the valve attachment tearing out??