Beware of crappy inner tubes...
 

I've somewhat of a tube snob and prefer nice inner tubes like those made by Michelin or Schwalbe. They cost a little more but I found them to have better thickness uniformity and better reinforcements at the valve stem junction. Nevertheless, despite this preference, I did purchase three Bontrager tubes for use with Jack Browns, simply because Michelin and Schwalbe tubes in a compatible size are fairly hard to come by around where I live.

I am sorry to report that my straying had caused me grief. The first was a puncture on the inner side of the tube a few weeks ago. The tube had apparently weakened and developed a small hole at the slight bulge that complimented the intention into a spoke hole. The Velox rim tape was still intact so I was surprised by this failure. A quick replacement and a quick patch at home and I thought nothing more of it.

Today, the inner side of another Bontrager tube from the triplet developed a 1" tear that culminated in a sudden loss of air pressure on the front wheel during a corner and my going down. The good news is that there appeared to be no broken bones. For those in the area, I was steaming down Kings at a good clip and only slowed down due to vehicular traffic before my accident. I was lucky the tube didn't give way on the 35+mph sections or had cars behind me at that time. The bad news is that I'm a bit scraped up, my $$$ bib shorts are torn, and the bike will require repairs (frame looks OK though). Alas, from experience, I know it will hurt tomorrow.

Anyhow, if you're using Bontrager tubes, inspect it for weaknesses after inflating it free from the tire; my uneducated conclusion from inspecting my failed tube was that it was a manufacturing defect but it did not develop overnight. My tube has "5130580922" printed on it; I do not know if this is a lot number but there you go.

I have never come across such issues in my decades of using Michelin and Schwalbe (and occasionally Specialized and Continental) tubes and did not see any need to inspect tubes, especially since most of my tires can be installed tool-free and I do a thorough job of making sure that everything is seated properly. It's likely plain bad luck so I hesitate to state that Bontrager tubes are crap, but two-in-a-row is a bit hard to swallow.

Well that's weird. I've used crappy Sunlite (J&B generic) tubes for forever now and never had any incident.

I use Bontrager tubes on my MTB too-- no complaints either.

Was your tear at the triplet horizontal or vertical along the lines?

FWIW, I have tremendous success with Forte (Performance) tubes, and awful luck with the Bontragers that came with a bike. Goes to show ya that there's no science to it.

Sure it wasn't a pinch flat?

I never use the same tube twice. I'm rich like that.

I leave no room for exaggeration from the claim I'm about to conceive:

The cheaper... the better.

In almost 2 years I have bought around 100+ tubes. I used to commute everyday... rain or shine and would flat every other day and many times... multiple time in the day. Did not matter what brand, what style... what thickness. Onces a thorn/nail/glass cuts the tire layer.... the tube is toast. if it doesn't - that is PURELY LUCK. Ive had many opprotunties to test this theory and it holds up.

The longest I went without a flat was 3 weeks. Conti GPs and a forte tube for 2 bucks on sale. Nuff, said.

everyones experience is gonna be different, but just last week my buddy went thru 2 tubes that we purchased from the same store, same brand, same installer...yes they were the cheap stuff, rips at the valve stem area...no its not a pinch flat since the bike was not ridden for a couple of days after the tubes were installed, and the leaks were one day apart...when it was time for us to ride the bike was out of order...so frustrating...got 60mm presta bontragers and have not had any probs so far, rode at least 40+ miles on the tubes already

:fingerscrossed:

we are just glad the tubes didnt decide to bust while we are in the middle of our work out

I have had very good luck with Kenda tubes, also like Michelin but cost a little more..

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/179...Butyl-Tube.htm

or light version: http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/135...Valve-Tube.htm

I bought a bunch of Kenda tubes when I started out in the beginning of '09. Each one eventually failed at the valve stem. I really did get what I paid for

i have been using giant and specialized tubes... those are the only ones i can get locally that have 60mm valve stems. i need the longer stems because of the Soul S4.0

I've had good luck with the Forte tubes also. However, I am totally paranoid of flats so I usually run Slime Lites and forget about it. Yes they weigh a little more...

i patch my tubes. since I changed tyres earlier this year, I don't seem to get flats anymore.

Two failures on the inner side of the tube would seem to indicate a problem with your wheel.

In recent years, I've used tubes made in France, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. I've never found one brand to be much worse than any other. Tubes splitting open are often caused when the tube pinches against the rim, either from a pot hole "snake bite" or not properly seating the tire inside the rim. Punctures on the rim side of the tube can be caused by debris that got inside the tire when installing or by spoke ends (especially if you inflate your tires to a lot more than 100 psi). Torn off valve stems are often caused by improper pumping technique, especially with a hand pump.

Myabe, but the not-Kenda tube in one of my wheels has out lived a couple of the Kendas