Originally Posted by
rickpaulos
Anyone have a pressure gauge accurate enough to measure the maximum pressure in an inner tube before it explodes? With the tube NOT in a tire. Any guesses on what that pressure might be? IMO, any bicycle or automotive air pressure gauge won't even register at such pressures.
Inner tubes are basically just rubber balloons, they can barely contain any pressure at all. When you add air to them, they mostly just grow bigger, rather than seeing substantial increases in pressure. They pop when they stretch out so much that the material tears, much like party balloons.