raria

Ah tubes, the beer of the cycling world: can't live without having a ready supply of them.

Where do people find they can get tubes (of varying quality) in online stores and in brick and mortar stores inexpensively?

I used to find Amazon had many vendors who would sell the kenda low quality tubes for $2-$3 and the high end tubes for $4-$5 and my local walmart used to sell similar tubes for $3-4 and $5-6.

Now the Amazon prices are above $6 and Walmart doesn't stock them anymore.

Colnago Mixte

Here's the cue for someone to ask why you need so many tubes, as they personally have tubes from 25 years ago that they're still using.

I bought a box of 20 cheap tubes on Ebay, I think they were around $4 each. They're quite thick and heavy though, and some of the valves leak where they're attached to the rubber. In 8 months, I would estimate I've already gone through half of them.

They are "ZOL" brand. Will not link, would not recommend.

tagaproject6

My LBS has them for $5 each. Excelsports have the continental tubes on sale currently at $27 for a 10 pack.

raria

Goat Head Thorns. That's why.

After 2-3 fixes per tube I throw them out. I can easily get that in a season.

DrIsotope

I have tubeless in 6 out of 7 wheelsets (spread between 4 bikes,) so tubes are only for emergency situations. The shrink-wrapped Cannondale tubes are $6 at my LBS. I probably have to buy 2-3 a year.

gregf83 

I have 5 bikes that I use occasionally with extra wheels. How do you keep the sealant fresh or viable in all those wheels?

Lazyass

Bell tubes at Walmart.

Maelochs

I have never had a problem with tubes, cheap or expensive. I keep track of sales and closeouts on various websites. EBay for patches and glue. Iget a lot of flats, compared to most, it seems ... and I have about a dozen spare tubes, two on each bike , plus another eight or ten on the shelf.

I find keeping up with tubeless a lot more demanding .... "When did I last refresh the sealant?"

DrIsotope

It's no problem from say, October through April. The rest of the time, it's just impossible. Riding in the summer heat, I'm refreshing the sealant in my 700x25s every 2 weeks.

I've simply gone to putting in ~1/2 the amount of sealant as usual, and adding it more often. Tubeless hassle? I rode 13 miles with a screw for a door hinge stuck in my back tire.

Got home, pulled the tire, and it's a goner. But tubeless did exactly what it was supposed to do.

You find out pretty quickly. The flap under the screw head, that's latex.

raria

But they stopped carrying tubes at my local walmarts. Those Bell tubes were great value if you didn't care too much about weight.

noodle soup

LifeLine Road Tube | Chain Reaction Cycles

wipekitty

I've been known to pick up those 5 or 6 packs of Continental tubes when they're on special either on ebay or Amazon.

Usually, though, I just buy them from my LBS. No goat heads here, and I generally don't go through tubes all that quickly. It gives me an excuse to visit the LBS and waste time talking about bikes.

Narhay

I have recently jumped on the latex tube bandwagon. Lighter, lower rolling resistance, better puncture resistance, better road feel.

Downside is pumping every day but you always get your optimal pressure that way.

I buy them from the UK.

faulker479

I guess I don't understand this. I put air in my tires before every ride and thought everybody did.

Wileyrat

Tubes are one of the few things I go to the LBS for. My local shop is on the way home from work, so I stop when necessary. I've been using Specialized regular tubes, but I'm considering trying their lightweight tubes.

tyrion

I too buy tubes at LBS. They have Bontrager tubes for $7.

Tubes and lubes is about all I get from the LBS these days.

Colnago Mixte

I hear ya, goatheads are the only thing will grow along the side of the road in my area, and they are everywhere. At one point, I was getting a flat on 80-90% of my rides, I was furious. Until I started using some different tires:

Best Anti-Goat Head Tire I Have Found

noglider 

Many of us say, "Support your local bike shop," and live up to those words to various extents, though most of us also buy online. If there is one place to do it, this is it. Sure the tubes cost more to us this way, but we're tossing the shop 3 or 4 extra bucks, and isn't that a small amount to say thank you for being here when I need you? I don't mean to say you shouldn't buy in bulk if price is important to you, but when I walk into a shop and the person at the counter asks for $8 for a tube, I don't shudder or give them a dirty look. They're entitled to make money, so I expect they're not charging bottom dollar for a tube. In fact, I know it's their highest margin item.

kingston 

I bought a bunch of these recently.Not the very cheapest tubes you can get, but they're good tubes at a good price.

Colnago Mixte

That's an excellent price, especially in the 700 x 28-32. Is shipping per item, or could I order a dozen of these and pay shipping once?

kingston 

One shipping charge at Ribble. They run free shipping with min purchase sales every once in a while, so sign up for the newsletter and wait if you're not in a hurry. In the meantime you can put a few other things in your basket.

Reeses

I buy tubes at LBS now because I'm tired of NOS tubes losing air