Yep, it's almost time for new tires. Tires, being as important as they are, it's best to have replacements on hand before they're needed. Tubes,... well, flats happen and you need spares.

I see lots of presta valve tubes for sale but they all have very long stems. 42mm is the smallest I see on Amazon but I don't need them that long. I would guess I need about 25mm. Does anyone still make short stems?

Who makes a good quality, low priced tube? My last tube, a Specialized brand which I installed today, was priced at $3.00. It had a short stem.

Let's move on to tires. My Challenge Parigi-Roubaix is starting to show the miles. The Challenge sells on Amazon for $70 each (in black and tan). Is there anything like it out on the market, maybe even better than it? I ride on mostly clean asphalt (no gravel or dirt).