Inner Tubes

Inner Tubes for Every Bike

You probably don’t give much thought to the tubes inside your bike tyres – that is, at least until you have a flat. But inner tubes are a critical component of your bike that play a role in handling, speed, and more. Whatever your riding style,bikester.co.uk has the perfect inner tube for you.

Choosing the Right Inner Tubes for Your Bike

There’s a surprising number of things to consider when choosing new inner tubesfor your bike. You not only need to get the size right, but also think about what type of valve you want and how you want to balance weight, cost, and punctureresistance.

Inner Tube Sizing

The size of inner tube you need will depend on both your wheel and your tyres. Start by figuring out what diameter of inner tube you should use – this should match the diameter of your wheel and tyre. For road and gravel bikes, 700c (28”)and 650B (27.5”) are common wheel diameters. For mountain bikes, 27.5” and 29” are the most common wheel diameters.Next, you need to determine what tube width you need. Tubes usually work for a range of widths – for example, 20-28c is a common width range for road biketubes. If you’re not sure what width you need, you can measure the width of your wheel from rim to rim.

Presta vs. Schrader Valves

Schrader valves are frequently used for mountain bike tubes, kids bike tubes, and any other inner tubes that will run at relatively low pressures. Presta valves have a narrower stem and are typically used on road bike tubes and in other high-pressure tubes.Neither valve type is “better” than the other, but if your road bike wheels have a valve opening designed for Presta valves you probably won’t be able to squeeze a Schrader through. So, check what type of valve your wheel is designed for. Many bike pumps are reversible to inflate either valve type.

Valve Length

Most cyclists will never have to worry about valve length – even the shortest valves will fit through your wheel. But, if you have wheels with a deep rim section, which is common on high-end road bike wheels, then you need to make sure your valve stem is long enough to reach through the wheel while still leaving enough room for your bike pump to latch on. Schrader valves are often only available in a single valve stem length because there are few deep-section mountain bike wheels.

Butyl Rubber vs. Latex Inner Tubes

Butyl rubber is the standard material for bike inner tubes. It’s cheap and durable,and there are even a few lightweight butyl rubber tubes available for weight-conscious cyclists. Latex inner tubes are more expensive, but they have several advantages over butyl rubber tubes. Latex is thinner, which translates to weight savings. It’s also more flexible, which improves handling on corners and reduces rolling resistance. However, latex tubes are more puncture-prone than butyl rubber tubes, so they’re typically reserved for racing.

Inner Tubes at bikester.co.uk

Bikester.co.uk carries hundreds of inner tubes of all sizes for road bikes, mountain bikes, gravel bikes, urban bikes, kids bikes, and more. No matter what type of bike you’re riding, bikester.co.uk has the right inner tube to fit your needs.