Tubes
 

I am interested on forum members experiences with brand name tubes eg. Schwalbe,Continental,Vittoria ,etc. vs generic tubes.

I've had very good luck with CST presta tubes -- thin, supple, light, hold air well. Continentals have been inconsistent with some seemingly made from regrind.

A puncture is A Puncture , no matter what the Brand ..

I recently bought Schwalbe AV 4 Tubes for My Brompton since 349 35 Schrader tubes are hard to find . [AV= Auto Valve ie Schrader]

they are a skinnier tube , so tire fitting is a bit easier , But as they must expand to fill a larger Volume,
the actual tube is expanded, Like Balloons, to be thinner wall ..

Schwalbe does include a ring nut* on the threaded Schrader stem, so pumping them up with a Press on hose head is easier,

*same with the Dunlop/Woods Valve stems, also bigger than the Presta Stems. .

I prefer a little bit lighter butyl tubes, just whatever I find on sale so it works out the same price or only a dollar more than generic tubes. It's usually Michelin, Kenda, or Maxxis tubes weighing between 65 to 85 grams in a 700x19-25 size presta valve.

To be entirely honest, I'm not sure I can tell the difference between these lighter butyl tubes over the generic 100+/- gram tubes. I can feel a difference between these and those crazy thick flat resistant tubes though.

Edited to add: The tubes play almost no factor in the flats I get. Every flat I get is random from road debris, so no brand has been better or worse. I've only snake bit a tube once in my life, and that was not from a pot hole but from not clearing the rear wheel when hopping up a curb.

I find that Schwalbe tubes hold air better than any other I have used, in over 60 years/ expensive, but worth it to me. MHO

I'm lucky to have a Performance Bicycle shop a couple blocks from where I work so I've started using their Forte brand tubes in all of our family bikes. I've yet to have a single issue with either Presta or Schrader valved tubes in both road and MTB sizes. They don't seem to lose air any faster than any other brand I've used, and we've yet to encounter a flat that could be attributed to the tube as a fault. So, the price is right, they always have the sizes I need, and their point club points add up to some nice discounts over time.

I just use whatever I can actually find. I hate all the seams along most tubes making patching more difficult, but they seem most difficult.

I find that many Dept stores now carry the 25mm 700c tubes, but inevitably are sold-out 90% of the time (whoever is stocking needs to do a better job).

I have a not-so radical aero profile, but the short stem tubes work fine, so I'd prefer a Bell short-stem tube than the super long stem tubes that are often available elsewhere.

My last Ribble order included several cheap tubes, although I'm still working on my current spares. As flats have slowed down, I've done less patching. If my glue dries up between uses, then it isn't much cheaper than new tubes.

My understanding is that pricier brand-name tubes are lighter, and thus more prone to flats. Cheap tubes are made of thicker rubber, and thus heavier and more flat resistant.

So if you prioritize weight and acceleration and speed, then a higher price may be worth it for deluxe tubes. But if you prioritize flat resistance, then it's a win/win for you, because that's also cheaper.

Yes Performance tubes (Forte) are good value. Not perfect, but good value and nearly always excellent.

I buy the cheapest and they work.

I like Hutchison's.
They're wicked thick and heavy, just like me.

Agreed. I've got some paper thin, sub 70gram 700c butyl tubes from Schwalbe and these and any other S tube I've used will hold air longer than any other brand I've tried and I've used most every big name and no name tube available. Not a deal breaker in buying tubes for me but it is nice to have to pump up my tires less often.

Discounting weight, tubes are pretty much fungible. They all hold air until punctured, at which point they don't.

There are some quality differences, but unfortunately, as a consumer you have no way of translating the brand on the box to where it actually came from.

My advice, buy a low cost tube, but not the cheapest. If you're lucky with it, stay with it. If not, try another brand next time, not necessarily spending more, just trying another factory.

I usually buy Performance Bike's Forte brand tubes. For "odd" sized tubes (like on my Brompton) I buy whatever cheap tubes I can find on Amazon. I've had really cheap tubes that have lasted forever and I've had expensive tubes that were DOA right out of the box.

Has anyone had any experience with the Michelin A3 Air Stop tubes? I have heard good things and the price seems right. I don't see the wide variety for the 700x35 like I do the narrower and wider tubes. Thx gjmen

I have found that Bontrager tubes seem to not leak down as fast as other brands.

I have had good luck with airstops. I use A4s in my commuter, and other sizes in other bikes. Work good, valves don't separate, take patches well when required.

Either Michelin AirComp or Challenge latex. If you buy twenty of them during a good sale, they're only ten bucks each.

I've had good luck with both Specialized tubes and Michelin. I'm not sure if Specialized makes their own or rebrands someone else's.

I've always used the cheaper tubes from the big box stores and the past 8 to 10 years or so, I've used Continental or Michelin tubes from the LBS. I immediately noticed a difference in the way the Continental tubes and Michelin tubes versus the "cheaper" big box store tubes. With the cheaper brands of tubes, I was airing up my 700c x 32c tubes ( 72 PSI ), at least 2 or 3 times weekly after losing about 5 to 8 PSI of air. With the better brands from the LBS, I found myself only airing up about once every 10 days, and then it was only 3 to 5 PSI. No differences noticed except less loss of air with the more expensive, quality tubes from the LBS.

Yes, I use them on my road bike. Not because there's anything magical about the rubber that makes them better than other tubes, but because I prefer their non-threaded presta stem.

Can anyone give me any info on removeable valve core 700c tubes? I'm looking to start putting small amounts of sealer in the tubes for a little protection and I'm wondering if there's a tube more preferred than others.

I use generic and commute everyday, and have yet to have a problem.