tj90

Ive been using performance tubes forever. Always been happy and good deal. However lately in the last 3 months, Ive seen marginal quality in tubes. Ive gotten leaky tubes right out of the box as well as latent defects (tubes suddenly loosing air) out on a ride. What is strange is that all tubes that have had problems have a common defect. It looks like they are being repaired at the factory. I cant believe that someone in Taiwan is sitting there repairing tubes! See the pic below. The defect - pinhole leak - always appears around the "patch". Ive had 4 tubes that were defective. Ive included a pic of the problem areas so you can see what Im talking about. You might be able to see the pinhole leak on the left patch. You can see another patch on the right...

Save yourself grief and potential for being stranded on the road. Check the tubes in the store for inconsistencies in the casing. Inflate tube before installing and look for areas of the tube at smaller diameter than the others. The "patch" areas dont inflate as much.

Performance doesnt need to be passing factory seconds as premium quality. Its BS! Ive seen this on std thickness as well as lunar and ultralight tubes.

10 Wheels

28 flats this year.
Many were caused from new defective tubes.
Different brands and still defective, even the high dollar ones I bought to make sure I kept rolling had bad valves.

urbanknight

Huh. My luck has been much better with Performance tubes. I've been running them almost exclusively for over 2 years now and none of the flats were from a defect. Cycle Pro, however, had a leak in every tube I bought.

oilman_15106

Even the highest end stuff has quality issues at times. Do a search on Ultremo tire recall!

tj90

Urbanknight - I hope your luck continues. I was in your camp back in September, but now Im in 10 wheels camp months later. For me it seems to be a recent occurrence. Now that I know what to look for, Im screen the tubes in performance store. They also are good in returning tubes, but its such a hassle. Im going to notify performance. All this technology we depend on and a poorly made tube is the weak link.... Go figure.

spry

The issue I had with Forte tubes was leaking at the base of the stem.
They seem to have corrected the vulcanising problem and replaced any tube I brought in.
Those clear pre-glued patches are crap,avoid them.

urbanknight

I only use those to get me home, then I replace them with a real patch.

Mr. Fly

I've never had any problems with Michelin tubes. They cost a little more but they've been trouble-free and have those smooth valve stems that I prefer.

You should also consider Schwalbe tubes. According to their website, they claim "All tubes are inflated and stored for 24 hours in order to test for air pressure retention. Afterwards each, individual tube undergoes a careful visual inspection." I have a few Schwalbe tubes on my Brompton and they've been trouble-free for the past year or so.

Flak

You're surprised? It's Performance, the K-Mart of bike shops.

I don't expect K-Mart brand crap to be as good as real name brand stuff either. Performance are good for some things, but often times you get what you pay for.

enjoi07

performance sold me a $25 dura ace 7701 9sp chain in a dura ace 7900 10sp box for $60. thanks guys!

ptle

I bought two lunar light performance tubes. Work perfectly fine, and I was satisfied with the quality and price.

urbanknight

Actually, I recall some people claiming that the Forte tubes are literally made in the same plant as some name brand ones. I forget which brands, though.

agarose2000

Been ok so far with Innova tubes and Nashbar cheapos.

echappist

count your blessings. i bought 4 lunar lites, two of them blew out within five minutes of putting them on, and one of them was a slow leak.

my beef with this is that they raised the price. the middle of the road ultralights are $8 now. WTF?

urbanknight

At least online, they rarely sell things at their "regular" price, and if the in-store price is higher than their online price, they will match it. I just resent having to stand there at the register saying "That was xx.xx online. That was x.xx online. That too. No, I didn't check the patch kit. Go ahead and **** me for 50 cents on that one."

Velo Vol 

It stinks to be out in the field and discover that your new spare tube has a hole in it. But most of my Performance tubes have been OK (though I haven't bought any new ones in the last couple years).

echappist

yeah, but even still, those used to be 4.50 or even 4.00 per back in september when they have a sale. now it's 6.00. i should have ordered the schwalbe when i had a chance for a team order

tj90

Very good information. Michelin and schwalbe will be the next tubes I buy moving forward. Life is too short to be spending precious ride time on the side of the road changing flats.... (can you tell I got burned by forte tubes yesterday)

Ive also heard that smooth valve stems are more safer due to the lower stress that they put on the tube at the base of the stem. I guess the theory is that the rim cant grab the stem, torquing it as air pressures and weights change... Sloughs bike shop in San Jose will talk your ear off about this after valve stem failure brought him down on a descent on his tandem.

Jynx

When Performance had a sale a bought 10 Forte Lunar Light tubes. I figured if they sucked I got them for so cheap it didn't matter. I have had good luck with them so far (no flats). I even used one to test how fragile they are by mounting it forcefully and it still didn't pinch flat.

The Forte Lunar Lights are the same as the Maxxis Flyweight tubes right down to the orange valve cap.

brian416

I've had good luck with the Forte Lunar Lights up until this summer. I've run them for two years without a problem, but I got a bad batch this summer, all 10+ of them were bad, they would suddenly lose air at the base of the valve or the valve would go bad, randomly split wide open on the seam while riding, they were a nightmare.... I'm back on Specialized tubes with no problems.

MaxCycles

I've had issues with Bontrager tubes in the past. Valve problems. My LBS actually stopped stocking their tubes for a while and just sold Summit brand. Bontrager has since dealt with the problem as far as I know because the shop now sells their tubes again. I think Cheng Shin may of been producing the tubes for Bontrager but I don't know for sure.

Specialized tubes have always treated me well, but they could be produced by the same company that the Bontragers were. I've had a few Forte tubes and never remember them having problems.

nvrlnd7

I have blown a lot of forte tubes also, but after i started riding with my perscription glasses i've only blown 2, and one was
a 3 inch nail i caught on a downhill,it was clicking and clanking so bad as i skidded to a stop , i thought my drivetrain melted down,Extreme 2 second panic! Also i switched from forte tires to Seca serfas FPS,and i havent had a flat since.

On performance, most of there parts have been good quality,its the quality of some of the help that's a joke,there answer to
any question is "is it one of our bikes,no,it's probably not woth it ,you should buy a new bike"
I went in for gels,and the kid ask's me "do you want a new bike with that,there on sale today"

socalrider

+1 - had my forte tubes leak at the base too.. I have used tubes from Pricepoint with better luck..

https://www.pricepoint.com/thumb/3-Pa...ubes-False.htm

Garfield Cat

I like Specialized tubes.

CCrew

Cheng Shin also makes Specialized