I am at my whits end at the moment with my bike after 5 ruined inner tubes on the past 3 weeks (and the bike has been off the road for 10 days!!!).
Problems started 3 weeks ago when i was heading off down the canal for a bivi. During the space of two miles, i had ruined 3 inner tubes. All of them had the same issue, they had split where the valve fixes to the tube. At first i put it down to a bad batch of tubes, however, in the last 24 hours i have had 2 other tubes fail on me.
Its almost like the tube/tyre is slipping on the rim, placing undue stress on the valve and ultimately snapping. I am ensuring that the tube/tyre are correctly seated before pumping up but once i hit the road/trails the tube just give. I have made sure the hole for the valve is smooth with no sharp bits and replaced the rim tape, but the problem keeps occurring. Has anyone else had this issue? Anything i can do to help solve it as i am loathe to put another tube in at the moment.
Did you happen to buy a couple of tubes at the same time from the same store? If you did it may just happen to be a faulty batch of tubes. I'd travel the extra distance and try a different manufacturer first before looking at the bike.
Ha ha! Im considering that option. Not sure i can do it with my rims though and if i buy new wheels, it will be for a 29er build.
jpw247 wrote:Did you happen to buy a couple of tubes at the same time from the same store? If you did it may just happen to be a faulty batch of tubes. I'd travel the extra distance and try a different manufacturer first before looking at the bike.
The first 2 were from on one, so i presumed it was just a bad batch. Since then ive had one from evans (FWE) and two from CRC so im beginning to think its something to do with the bike! Im contemplating putting a collar on the inside to stop the tube touching the rim where the valve is and seeing how that goes.
Is it a Presta valve in a Schraeder hole? You can get little plastic bungs to take up the spare hole. Can't see it being that mind - the other thing is how do you attach the pump? Do you rip it off or carefully remove it?
My guess though would be the tyre moving on the rim. Can you try a different tyre or put marks on tyre and rim to see if it's moving?
You don't need anything like new wheels to go tubeless. Go ghetto tubeless using an old 20" inner tube, a normal tyre and some Stan's sealant. Will cost £20 for both wheels and you can say goodbye to punctures.
Same thing happened to my Krampus tubes just after I got it (at £11 a shot!) Caused by a combination of sharp edges on the rim hole (presta in schraeder sized hole with just tape for a rim strip) and my idea of putting one of the little threaded ring things on the inside of the rim to hold the valve firmly in place, compounded by running the 29+ tyres at 12 psi. Make sure you have a good thick rim strip and a grommet if the hole is schraeder valve sized. Going tubless won't solve the problem, just avoid it! I sourced some schraeder valves so I was able to remove the presta valve and convert my tubes to schraeder but this is only worth it for £11 tubes.
after 5 ruined inner tubes on the past 3 weeks (and the bike has been off the road for 10 days!!!).
