Originally Posted by
HardrockBoulder
After many attempts at patching an inner tube lately, I decided to put in a new tube for my front wheel. Now that I'm left with a tube that I cannot patch anymore, I was thinking of the idea of putting this old uninflated tube into the tire before putting the new tube in. By having both tubes in the tire, the old tube would provide an additional 2 layers of inner tube material for a sharp object to have to penetrate before causing a flat. Of course, I would have to cut the stem off the old uninflated tube in order for it to fit. But I don't know if both tubes would fit inside the tire and allow the tire to be reinstalled on the wheel. I didn't try it because I didn't think of it until after I put the new tube in and mounted everything and put it back on the bike.
Has anyone else tried this idea yet?
The logic seems sound, however, this would be very difficult to do unless the tube is larger than the one you are seeking to protect, and maybe you could spot cement or tape `he liner tube to the tire. There is Inner Tube Protecting, Bicycle Tire Liner (
https://www.amazon.com/Thorn-Buster-...=A27N5HIM6ZB21) but the price is too much. We should be able to buy the material by the foot.
City kids around here like to "drift,: locking the brakes up which can can an abrasion flat, and ruin the tire, which they often have no money to replace. So i have used the center tread of an old tire (somewhat carefully cut out with a sharp box cutter), and used a piece of T-Rex tape to join the (cleaned) ends, after fitting. Patch the tube (which should rarely fail, though latex ones take more time) and it gives them some more riding.
However, this liner can chaff against the tube and cause an abrasion flat itself. Once, with a small electric bike (harder to deal with) that was getting flats too often, I placed an old military belt (w/out any buckle) inside as a liner. Never got a flat since, thank God.