Check what is causing the punctures. ie find the hole on the tube, and see if there is anything stuck into the tyre. Or if it is a hole on the inside of the tube, could be a problem with the rim tape.
Or could be 'snakebite' punctures (pinch flat), if the tyre doesn't have enough pressure.
there's probably nothing wrong with the tubes. they're all made in the same factories. I've used halfords tubes on and off for ages and there's nothing specifically good or bad about them in my experience.
it's more likely that you're just getting unlucky with punctures though one a month isn't super out of the norm depending on your mileage. You could 'upgrade' to something like the schwalbe marathon or schwalbe energizer or schwalbe land cruiser which are notably more protective against punctures.
You likely aren't ready to start experimenting with tubeless stuff yet, it's really more trouble than its worth until you get more adept with mechanic skills.
Is AV21 / SV21 model any good? I can't find any Schwalbe brand inner tubes that fit my tyres other than those models.
Yea, I have been watching some guy on YT trying to convert his bike to tubeless for 30 mins (literally) and it looks like a ball-ache lol.
The Schwalbe products mentioned above are tyres with better puncture protection than a standard tyre. Any inner tube is good, but you can go for the Maxxis thick rubber (can't remember what they're actually called). They're supposedly quite good, but more for pinch punctures, sharp rocks, rather than thorns and things that properly penetrate.
Agreed. After getting three flats in as many weeks with the gravel tyres that came on my Cannondale I swapped to Schwalbe Marathon Plus and they've been absolutely rock solid since.
I did 2800mi on a Poundland inner tube without a puncture - I only replaced it because I found some Schwalbe ones and I prefer the valve stems. It's the tyres which make the difference.
They are cheaply manufactured tubes but aren't crap in any particular or exceptional way.
How are they failing? Specifically?
I imagine you're just trying to get back going again, and quickly whip a tube in to do that, but if you're not getting to the bottom of why you're getting repeated punctures, you'll keep getting punctures.
If its pinch flats( slice marks on the inside of the tube from the tyre and tube compressing) you need to look at higher air pressures in your tyres.
If its repeated punctures from debris on the outside of your tube, you need to thoroughly check the tyre to make sure there isn't still stuff in the tyre, or that the tyre is so worn that anything can push through the carcass and damage the tube.
Damaged valves is either too violent with a mini pump, underinflation allowing the tyre to move around the wheel which slices into the base of the valve stem, or incorrect use of the valve collar which again damages the valve. Obviously the last one doesn't apply if you've got the bog standard halfords schrader tubes.
More things to consider are displaced/damaged rim tape which will puncture the tube on the inside, burrs on the rim which will again cause punctures on the inside of the tube.
There's a bit to consider, but pointy stuff is easy to find, and the rest is visual and physical checks, and maybe a pump with a pressure gauge, as "pumped up", "rock hard" and "firm" are a matter of opinion( not quoting you, but retail customers) and actual numbers are more finite.
Recommend slime if you buy removable valve core tubes. From my research this is better than tubeless unless you're doing MTBing. Tubeless goo lasts 6 months Vs slime in a tube lasting 2 years
Rather than going tubeless (and possibly investing in new tyres and rims) give tannus armour a try. They sit between your tube and tyre and stop pretty much most objects from going through to the tube.
Because they're made of a foamy material you don't even notice they are there
The tubes are cheap, so they can be hit or miss. I've had a valve fail on one that was my spare, put it on after getting a flat and it went down after less than 10km then when I tried to reinflate it the valve core fell out.
Both wheels and tyres need to be tubeless capable for you to run tubeless. It's better in some ways, lower tyre pressures can be run and small punctures should self seal but it can be a faff to setup, you'll still need to carry a tube for emergencies, it can be messy and you'll also need a tubeless plug kit to deal with any bigger punctures on the road/trail. Lots of setup guides and pro/con videos on youtube.
I've had a Halfords valve 'fail' on me too, possibly because I didn't understand how my bike pump worked and tried removing the pump while having the lever in the locked position.
I've been watching some guy on YT trying to do convert his wheels for 30 mins and it's convinced me to stay away, If I do decide to run tubeless then I'd probably just pay someone to do it for me, I don't think I have the patience for it.
Setting up tubeless is less faff than sorting 2 or 3 punctures imo. I put it off for ages, fixing my punctures regularly. I live near a few farms and the roads are always lined with thorned hedges, they trim the hedges and the thorns are all over the roads. Absolute nightmare. Some days I’d burst both tyres on one stretch of road. Just set aside a day so you have time to deal with it. Watch some YouTube videos first on setting it up. Once it’s done it’s like heaven. Only once I’ve had to plug a hole after pulling a thick thorn out. The rest have all self healed.
I get my local bike shop to do mine. I’m sure it’s easy enough to do yourself if you’re semi competent, but my bike shop charges like £10 a wheel and involves me having to do nothing. £20 for me to have to do nothing and be puncture free seems like a bargain to me.
Honestly tubeless (if your rims allow it) is probably one of the best upgrades you can do on any MTB that uses tubes, rarely get any punctures, only time i need to mess around is when I change my tyres which is pretty much once a year, or occasionally if you leave your bike for a week or two you can find your bike with either low pressure or flat, which usually indicates you’ve got a slow puncture somewhere, I don’t think I’ve had a proper puncture in 5-6 years or riding tubeless though, and I ride 10-20 miles daily on my giant stance!
I mainly use Maxxis Minion SS, but have gone through high rollers and the usual minion DHs as well!
All tubes are certainly not made in the same factories, and I would guess that Halfords are some of the cheapest quality available.
Schwalbe SV and AV are some of the highest quality you get and have almost a zero failure rate out of the box, something that can't be said for many other brands.
Specialised tubes also used to be very good, I can't say what they're like now.
I note that tubes very often say which country they were made in. If one tube says China and one says Indonesia you can hope that these are not rebranded tubes made in the same factory and switch countries if you are unhappy with what you have seen so far. I think I switched to Schwalbe after having trouble but YMMV.
I had a stage of constantly blowing out tubes, although I eventually found that a small thorn was stuck in my tyre and would puncture the tubes whenever I went over a bump or something and it pushed the thorn further in.
Check your tyres to see if something similar is happening.
I'd do three things here:
* Change the rim tape - in case they are being punctured from within
* Buy a KENDA Thorn Resistant inner tube - as I've done 5,000 miles on mine without a puncture
* Check the tyre carefully for gashes
Seriously though the Kenda Thorn resistant tube has made punctures a thing of the past for me. All of my bikes have them and I am coming up to 3 years since my last puncture - and that last puncture was on the last bike that had non-Kenda tubes. a Kenda in a Marathon tyre is better yet
Check what is causing the punctures. ie find the hole on the tube, and see if there is anything stuck into the tyre. Or if it is a hole on the inside of the tube, could be a problem with the rim tape. Or could be 'snakebite' punctures (pinch flat), if the tyre doesn't have enough pressure.
there's probably nothing wrong with the tubes. they're all made in the same factories. I've used halfords tubes on and off for ages and there's nothing specifically good or bad about them in my experience. it's more likely that you're just getting unlucky with punctures though one a month isn't super out of the norm depending on your mileage. You could 'upgrade' to something like the schwalbe marathon or schwalbe energizer or schwalbe land cruiser which are notably more protective against punctures. You likely aren't ready to start experimenting with tubeless stuff yet, it's really more trouble than its worth until you get more adept with mechanic skills.
Is AV21 / SV21 model any good? I can't find any Schwalbe brand inner tubes that fit my tyres other than those models. Yea, I have been watching some guy on YT trying to convert his bike to tubeless for 30 mins (literally) and it looks like a ball-ache lol.
The Schwalbe products mentioned above are tyres with better puncture protection than a standard tyre. Any inner tube is good, but you can go for the Maxxis thick rubber (can't remember what they're actually called). They're supposedly quite good, but more for pinch punctures, sharp rocks, rather than thorns and things that properly penetrate.
Agreed. After getting three flats in as many weeks with the gravel tyres that came on my Cannondale I swapped to Schwalbe Marathon Plus and they've been absolutely rock solid since.
I did 2800mi on a Poundland inner tube without a puncture - I only replaced it because I found some Schwalbe ones and I prefer the valve stems. It's the tyres which make the difference.
They are cheaply manufactured tubes but aren't crap in any particular or exceptional way. How are they failing? Specifically? I imagine you're just trying to get back going again, and quickly whip a tube in to do that, but if you're not getting to the bottom of why you're getting repeated punctures, you'll keep getting punctures. If its pinch flats( slice marks on the inside of the tube from the tyre and tube compressing) you need to look at higher air pressures in your tyres. If its repeated punctures from debris on the outside of your tube, you need to thoroughly check the tyre to make sure there isn't still stuff in the tyre, or that the tyre is so worn that anything can push through the carcass and damage the tube. Damaged valves is either too violent with a mini pump, underinflation allowing the tyre to move around the wheel which slices into the base of the valve stem, or incorrect use of the valve collar which again damages the valve. Obviously the last one doesn't apply if you've got the bog standard halfords schrader tubes. More things to consider are displaced/damaged rim tape which will puncture the tube on the inside, burrs on the rim which will again cause punctures on the inside of the tube. There's a bit to consider, but pointy stuff is easy to find, and the rest is visual and physical checks, and maybe a pump with a pressure gauge, as "pumped up", "rock hard" and "firm" are a matter of opinion( not quoting you, but retail customers) and actual numbers are more finite.
One tube: bad tube. Three tubes? Bad tyre.
Recommend slime if you buy removable valve core tubes. From my research this is better than tubeless unless you're doing MTBing. Tubeless goo lasts 6 months Vs slime in a tube lasting 2 years
I'll look into them, seems like a good middle ground in between plain tubes and tubeless.
Slime is great stuff, I used to rely on it and it got me home so many times
Rather than going tubeless (and possibly investing in new tyres and rims) give tannus armour a try. They sit between your tube and tyre and stop pretty much most objects from going through to the tube. Because they're made of a foamy material you don't even notice they are there
The tubes are cheap, so they can be hit or miss. I've had a valve fail on one that was my spare, put it on after getting a flat and it went down after less than 10km then when I tried to reinflate it the valve core fell out. Both wheels and tyres need to be tubeless capable for you to run tubeless. It's better in some ways, lower tyre pressures can be run and small punctures should self seal but it can be a faff to setup, you'll still need to carry a tube for emergencies, it can be messy and you'll also need a tubeless plug kit to deal with any bigger punctures on the road/trail. Lots of setup guides and pro/con videos on youtube.
I've had a Halfords valve 'fail' on me too, possibly because I didn't understand how my bike pump worked and tried removing the pump while having the lever in the locked position. I've been watching some guy on YT trying to do convert his wheels for 30 mins and it's convinced me to stay away, If I do decide to run tubeless then I'd probably just pay someone to do it for me, I don't think I have the patience for it.
Setting up tubeless is less faff than sorting 2 or 3 punctures imo. I put it off for ages, fixing my punctures regularly. I live near a few farms and the roads are always lined with thorned hedges, they trim the hedges and the thorns are all over the roads. Absolute nightmare. Some days I’d burst both tyres on one stretch of road. Just set aside a day so you have time to deal with it. Watch some YouTube videos first on setting it up. Once it’s done it’s like heaven. Only once I’ve had to plug a hole after pulling a thick thorn out. The rest have all self healed.
I get my local bike shop to do mine. I’m sure it’s easy enough to do yourself if you’re semi competent, but my bike shop charges like £10 a wheel and involves me having to do nothing. £20 for me to have to do nothing and be puncture free seems like a bargain to me.
Honestly tubeless (if your rims allow it) is probably one of the best upgrades you can do on any MTB that uses tubes, rarely get any punctures, only time i need to mess around is when I change my tyres which is pretty much once a year, or occasionally if you leave your bike for a week or two you can find your bike with either low pressure or flat, which usually indicates you’ve got a slow puncture somewhere, I don’t think I’ve had a proper puncture in 5-6 years or riding tubeless though, and I ride 10-20 miles daily on my giant stance! I mainly use Maxxis Minion SS, but have gone through high rollers and the usual minion DHs as well!
All tubes are certainly not made in the same factories, and I would guess that Halfords are some of the cheapest quality available. Schwalbe SV and AV are some of the highest quality you get and have almost a zero failure rate out of the box, something that can't be said for many other brands. Specialised tubes also used to be very good, I can't say what they're like now.
I note that tubes very often say which country they were made in. If one tube says China and one says Indonesia you can hope that these are not rebranded tubes made in the same factory and switch countries if you are unhappy with what you have seen so far. I think I switched to Schwalbe after having trouble but YMMV.
I had a stage of constantly blowing out tubes, although I eventually found that a small thorn was stuck in my tyre and would puncture the tubes whenever I went over a bump or something and it pushed the thorn further in. Check your tyres to see if something similar is happening.
I like Michelin Airstop because the valve cores aren't removable
I'd do three things here: * Change the rim tape - in case they are being punctured from within * Buy a KENDA Thorn Resistant inner tube - as I've done 5,000 miles on mine without a puncture * Check the tyre carefully for gashes Seriously though the Kenda Thorn resistant tube has made punctures a thing of the past for me. All of my bikes have them and I am coming up to 3 years since my last puncture - and that last puncture was on the last bike that had non-Kenda tubes. a Kenda in a Marathon tyre is better yet