Which tubes are the most rugged, maintenance free?

I've only seen friction drive GoPeds, and they sure did eat up the back tire, alright.

I'd imagine driving style had a little to do with it, but the tire compound has gotta be the most important factor here. It'd be sweet if there were a list of good/bad tires for friction drive.

Could the Big Apples really be better than 3 pair of the Innova Swiftor?? That's what I wanna know.
 
should i but schraeder or presta valve tubes? this is for a mountain bike and im getting 26x2.0 tires. im at alfred e bike now and it would be super if they had some hevy duty, thorn resistant tubes to get. but im not sure which ones to go for!
 
Presta valves are only necessary if you have a super thin rim, like on a road bike, where you need all the structural integrity you can afford. So, get the Schrader tubes.

And I honestly believe that the tire liners are more important than the tubes. I've got a regular tube in my front tire, and a thorn-resistant tube in my back tire (I have no interest in taking my back tire off for any reason)... no flats since I got the liners, and I have purposely ridden over a broken glass bottle and anything else that looks dangerous to most bikers.

I also laugh while riding over the glass, too. It's an evil laugh, like nobody should be able to do what I'm doing. A demon walking on glass...
 
You might want to check out the Bell Flatblocker MAX. It's a heavy duty tube with a sealer. Owners give it excellent reviews. I just bought one to replace a standard Slime tube. I have not had good results with the Slime tube even with tire liners. I had two flats with no apparent external punctures. The Flatblocker can be found at Walmart and Kmart. Just installed mine today with the tire liners and I use the electrician tape wrapped around the inside of the rim to cover the spoke ends. Hopefully, this will end my rear tire flats.....

66
 
In all honesty, unless you live in an area with lots of tire puncturing thorns or broken glass you're financially better off using regular tubes and watching your air pressure.

The most common type of flat I saw when I worked the bikes shops was what we call a snake bite otherwise known as a pinch flat. These are caused by not having enough air in the tire for a given situation, most often by hitting a pothole or curb and having the tire smash down till it hits the rim. The difference in speed between the tire's diameter and the rim's cause the tube to get sliced in the direction of travel. Usually the tube will get cut in two places (tire side and rim side), but I've seen one side cut and the other scuffed. Heavy duty and thorn proof tubes, did not prevent these flats from happening. The only thing that cuts down their occurrence is increasing tire pressure or increasing air volume to prevent the pinching from happening. This is the reason those super skinny road bike tires have such high psi while cruiser/mtb tires can go much lower.
 
I've only had puncture flats, but I also knew about pinch flats when I started seriously biking. My road tires are usually kept at 110psi or there abouts.
 
In all honesty, unless you live in an area with lots of tire puncturing thorns or broken glass you're financially better off using regular tubes and watching your air pressure.
I have had about 20 puncture flats on bicycles, while I just got my first pinch flat a couple months ago (either 'cause I didn't air it up properly, but I really think the tire came with a bubble in it).

The most common type of flat I saw when I worked the bikes shops was what we call a snake bite otherwise known as a pinch flat.... Heavy duty and thorn proof tubes, did not prevent these flats from happening.
You prolly saw pinch flats in a shop most, because people can replace their own tubes easily. If they need to replace the tire... perhaps they'd rather just let you guys do all the work??

I feel like tire liners are far more important than heavy-duty or thorn-resistant tubes. BUT, I have a question... don't kevlar tires only have the kevlar on the sides... for pinch flats?? ... or is it there for punctures too?

I think kevlar tires with regular tubes and liners on both sides of the tube wil prevent you from 99.999% of flats.
 
I have had about 20 puncture flats on bicycles, while I just got my first pinch flat a couple months ago (either 'cause I didn't air it up properly, but I really think the tire came with a bubble in it).

You prolly saw pinch flats in a shop most, because people can replace their own tubes easily. If they need to replace the tire... perhaps they'd rather just let you guys do all the work??

I very rarely ever get a puncture. My tires are Kenda K-Rads and I use standard tubes.

Most of the flat repairs I performed did not include tire replacement. People that replace their tubes are usually people that will replace there tires as well.

I feel like tire liners are far more important than heavy-duty or thorn-resistant tubes. BUT, I have a question... don't kevlar tires only have the kevlar on the sides... for pinch flats?? ... or is it there for punctures too?

Most Kevlar in bike tires is not used for flat prevention, instead it is used instead of steel in the tires bead. Primarily this is done to reduce weight, it also allows the tire to be folded taking up less space for shipping and for bringing along a spare.
 
(1) Kevlar tires are AWESOME.
(2) Tube liners are GREAT.
(3) Heavy-duty tubes are GOOD, but they're not as good as the first two pre-requisites to never changing your tubes again.

I got some "folding" tires, but I never really thought about taking one along as a spare since I've rolled over an entire 500+ ft hallway covered in glass and staples.

I trust that my tires will outlive everything on my bike.
 
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