I run tubeless but needed my backup tube yesterday. It didn’t seat the tire properly (the ridge around the sidewall wasn’t even the whole way around) and there was a weird “dent” in the tire by the valve stem like the tube didn’t fill evenly. I didn’t trust it so I called for a ride home. I’m not sure if I had the wrong tube or maybe got a bad one.
The tube had a 60mm stem and was marked 700x23-28 (but I figured it would blow up to 32mm). My wheels are Bontrager Aeolus 51mm deep and I was running Schwalbe Pro One TLE 700x32.
What should I look for in a backup tube? They seem to be marked 23-28, 28-32, or 32-47 (give or take) and the bigger ones tend to have shorter stems. Should I get a 60mm+ stem or rely on a valve extender? Any recomendations?
I’ve been running tubeless so long I don’t know much about tubes! Thanks!!
Touch wood Ive only had to use a tube in tubeless once but when I regularly used tubes I’d go for the middle range (in your case 28-32). Larger tubes as well as taking up too much room in my pocket were more cumbersome to fit in the tyre. Smaller tubes would probably be fine too but my mind wouldn’t rest easy
Also if I needed a longer stem I would also carry a tube with a longer stem rather than having to rely on an extender. The extender probably be fine but IMO its another failure point.
I am carrying a Pirelli TPU tube now. Light, and covers a very wide range of tire sizes, so theoretically great. No idea how well it will work. Have not needed it.
Just be sure the seat the tyre bead properly where the valve is. It’s easy to have a bit of tube trapped under the tyre which becomes evident when you inflate the tube. Pushing the valve up, then pushing tyre into place before inflating does the job. Putting a tiny bit of air in tube before fitting also helps with this.
