Tubes - How Long do Yours Last?

Apparently sometimes tubes don't last but a few miles....and never get used!
Couple hammerHead riders ripped by me up STT today, and a half mile later found 2 CO2's, inflator and a tube. I stopped for the inflator but was going to fast to grab the other items.
So now I've got 3 CO2 inflators. 2 that I've found on the trail. Apparently tying your tube onto the bike is No Bueno.

 

That's funny... When I run with just a tube, I use small stretchy Velcro fasteners to attach it to the seat post. They've never slipped on me. They weigh next to nothing, but they probably aren't fashionable enough for the "lycra4life" crowd.

I usually have a couple extra on the bars for those just in case times... They are also great for securing a rain poncho to the bars.

 

I don't have tubes so they last along time.

 

People that leave their discarded schtuff along the trail/road/route should be shot through the lungs, eviscerated, drawn and quartered, and then made to clean up after themselves!!

 

Today on the Exploitation trail waiting for my buddy to fix his tubeless tire that he burped with a... wait for it..... a tube!

 

CNT are commercially used as an additive to enhance durability/wear resistance of a compound at the moment. Doubt you would be able to make the CNT to provide the traction, flexibility, and the level of damping that people seek in tires if you try to make it like a DLC coating over the tire or carbon fiber weave. Not really something you can just inject into a mold either. There's colossal carbon tubes being researched now too, which you might think of uses for on a bigger scale than powder. Material science is still chugging along, so there's still ways to increase the carbon content in your tire in your future, besides through carbon black. If sealant is a worry for a material, a barrier layer can be put between it and the rest.

Tire technology is still advancing, but it's manufacturing that's holding it back really. I heard that what they use to make "triple compound" tires is an impressive work of Japanese ingenuity, but haven't yet got to see it yet. Vittoria is utilizing the latest tech for their upcoming tires, with quadruple compound stuff and CNT used for wear resistance. If they cost $90 each, I personally wouldn't mind paying that, esp in their Mezcal3 and Morsa tread patterns.

The commercialization of tech comes slow, so don't expect what you see in the news to actually be utilized unless some bigger industry adopts and pioneers its use, which then can trickle down to some industry like the cycling one. Maybe if aircraft or racing vehicles use tires made from this stuff... http://www.exxonmobilchemical.com/C...er-exxcore-dva-resin.aspx?ln=productsservices Surprised there aren't nitrogen filling stations being marketed to bicycle tires to enhance air retention in meanwhile...

 

When riding to work on paved roads I got glass in my tires and needed to put in a new tube every now and then. I hate tubes.

2002 maybe I heard about tubeless and the promises in the ads made me try. It was a mess. Rim strips, tyres not meant for tubeless, rims not meant for tubeless, latex all over, clothes destroyed, wife telling me to never use such sticky material again. Give up, me: Never.

Finally got it to work and even though living in a rather cold climate, the latex dried up and clumped and made riding stupid.

Later I heard about Mavic UST wheels and even though ridiculous expensive, bought a set. Still latex was the bad part of it.

2005 moved to where I live now and having summer all year and very hot at least 4 months year latex sealant dried up in less than a month. Read about ATV racers in the US riding with Quadboss sealant, bought a bottle and tubeless was suddenly heaven.

Where I ride I get thorns and lava splitter damaging the tyres rather often. One evening when looking at my front tyre I saw it having lost a great deal of air and found 4 big thorns in it. I got home without noticing it so the sealant certainly did the job, Thorns out, fresh air in and next day out again. No problem.

Sorry: Tubes.

I do not know, prefer to forget, I don’t use tubes.

 

Damn, I thought there was gonna be a Tubes reunion tour!

 

I too gave up on tubes since I started this thread.

 

It's time for the Doob Toob!

 

I've been watching some videos on YouTube of your little island! That is some incredible riding you have there...

I agree... Tubes are bad business and I don't miss them at all. I'm curious about the ATV sealant. I've tried Conti, Stans, and Orange Seal. I've been happiest with the Orange Seal so far, but if there's something better...

 

My tubes live on as tie-downs and custom sized rubber bands.

 

Mine usually last about 6 months in my camelbak before being used to repair someone else's bike in the middle of nowhere.

 

Aye, rossage. 2" makes a great minimalist wallet.

 

It is really great the Quadboss ATV sealant, here in the heat it last till the tyres are worn out and then it is still mostly liquid. All the latex based liquids dries up in about a month or two in the hot months here. The biggest problem with the sealant from US was customs here. They did not like importing anything liquid. Not a problem anymore though, as a company in Spain seems to have copied the idea of latex and poison free sealant so I now buy it here. Almost as good as the Quadboss sealant.

 

When I was on tubes, I was usually lucky to get 3 rides out of one. Now I'm with Tom, usually a few months before I give one out to someone on the trail. I rarely have wheel/tire issues after tubeless setups.

 

TFPU @john_hovard . I'm gonna give the quadboss a try after I run out of the bottle I have now.

 

In a mash-up of frugality and tons of roadie mileage, my Dad once had 16 (SIXTEEN!) patches on a tube before retiring it. But then he'd also ride from Downey to Oceanside, eat 2 apples, and ride home.. 160 miles round trip.

 

Went ghetto tubeless soon after I started MTB in 2015. With Stans wheels I've yet to burp.

Road is random. Sometimes I'll go thousands of miles (1000/month), sometimes I can't get through my commute for a week without using an entire patch kit. I have about an once of Stans in the rear right now and need to put some in the front.

 

Tubes lasted me til 2013....when I finally saw the light and went tubeless.

However, the tandem is set up with tubes. Would love to covert to tubeless, but finding 26" tubeless rims with 36 holes is ending up being a futile search.

 

https://shop.mavic.com/en-int/ex-729-disc-j29000.html#1028=3283 with Mavic rimstrip should be tubeless, have not tried, but Mavic usually is tubeless ready (not like most others that claim the same). Rims are strong enough for Downhill. Other downhill wheels could maybe be strong enough for a tandem too? Even with less than 36 spokes. Just guessing. I have no tandem.

 

My wife's thorn-proof tubes lasted 10 years until the valve disconnected on Just Outstanding last year. Possibly her 120 pounds and avoiding Palm Canyon helped. Finally got tired of flats and am converting to thorn-proof myself (too many different bikes to go back to Stan's).