In search of inner tubes

[ericmurphy]

Ever since I got my Legend in June, I've been plagued with defective inner tubes. I've had four Michelin tubes installed, and three of them have had defective valve core seals. I switched to Vredstein, and the one tube I used also had a defective valve core seal. In 2,500 miles, I've had to replace seven tubes, and only two of them have been due to actual punctures.

I would have thought the manufacturers had the technology of presta valves dialed forty years ago. What gives? Has anyone else had similarly wretched luck with tubes lately?

[alembical]

I haven't had bad luck (well I hadnt until I said this) but are you sure it is the valve core? With that amount of bad luck, I would be sure to check the rim real well where the valve comes through.

Alembical

[Chief]

What kind of rims do you have? If they are Mavic K's, try placing a piece of rim tape at the valve opening to eliminate the effects of possible sharp edges.

[ajs122]

The question you need to ask yurself, is this the product or is it me ? Are you taring your pump away when you finished pumping air? If so, you are stressing the valve where it meets the tube. Try firmly holding the stem while gently pulling the valve away the stem. This might be your problem, it was mine.

[davep]

I have had similar experiences to Eric's. My wife, who rides 650C wheels, has gone through probably 6 tubes in the last 3 months. Only a couple of those were punctures from identifiable causes. I check the rim and tire each time for rough spots, embedded objets, etc. One time I found a staple, which may have caused two flats. The others - nothing. Its not limited to one wheel. Just last week I put a new tire and tube on the front wheel. While I was changing the tire on the rear wheel the front blew, really loudly. Upon inspection the tube had a 6 inch split. My only hypothesis is that the LBS doesn't sell many 650C tubes and these were old. Do tubes have a shelf life?

[shaq-d]

Ever since I got my Legend in June, I've been plagued with defective inner tubes. I've had four Michelin tubes installed, and three of them have had defective valve core seals.

exact same issue with the M1 michelins. i now use cheap IRC tubes, which haven't given me probs, and am thinking of going to my local canadian tire to pick up even cheaper tubes.

sd

edit: oops, i mean A1 michelins.

[Too Tall]

I've never had a defective Performance standard road tube. At the sale price I don't repair them if they pop.

[Dude]

The reason why the rear 650c tube blew out (with the 6 inch slit) was because when you installed it, the tire was not seated properly. The slit was where the tire came up off the rim and the tube blew out. When you change your tires, pump it up to 60 psi and check that the tire is seated properly, then continue up to 100+ psi.

Hope i don't sound too critical, just letting you know.

[davep]

Dude,

I suppose that's possibility, but I do check to see if the tire is seated before pumping up to full pressure. I was in a hurry and its possible I didn't check the seating as thoroughly as I should have. It was a couple minutes after inflating the tire that it blew. I would think that if the tire wasn't seated it would have happened quicker.

[rePhil]

Of Performance tubes. The presta valves pulled out. They offered to take them back.Not much consolation when sitting on the side of the road. The latest ones I ordered came with extra long valves and I haven't had a problem with them

[ericmurphy]

I haven't had bad luck (well I hadnt until I said this) but are you sure it is the valve core? With that amount of bad luck, I would be sure to check the rim real well where the valve comes through.

Alembical

I'm sure it's the valve core. The leak is where the valve core screws into the valve stem, and nowhere near the seal where the stem enters the tube itself. I had two different tubes from two different manufacturers where the core literally unscrewed right out of the valve stem when I unscrewed the valve lock.

The question you need to ask yurself, is this the product or is it me ? Are you taring your pump away when you finished pumping air? If so, you are stressing the valve where it meets the tube. Try firmly holding the stem while gently pulling the valve away the stem. This might be your problem, it was mine.l

Well, I supposed it could be me, but that seems unlikely in that I've been pumping up tubes, on various bikes, at least once every couple of weeks, for the past ten years. It seems strange that I would suddenly have difficulty with this procedure. I've been using the same floor pump for at least a decade, and my procedure is to undo the lock on the pump, and then remove the pump head vertically away from the stem without applying lateral stress to the valve stem. Normally I'd say it was the different rims on my new bike, but as I said, every failure I've seen so far has been of the valve core itself.