How to Buy a Bike Tube
(in simple Pedal Queen terms)

We all know that we should carry extra tubes in case we get a flat while riding, right? Well, what people don’t often tell you is how to buy tubes, and, frankly, there are a few perplexing details involved. Hopefully, the following will clear up any confusion:

1. First and foremost, understand that the tire is the rubber thing with tread on it, and the tube is the inflatable inner part. Tires are changed infrequently. Tubes are what you change when you “get a flat” and also what you inflate when you pump up your tires.

2. Tubes come with 2 different valve types: presta and schrader. Rims come with a certain size hole that only one valve type will fit correctly in. Thus, depending on what type of rims you have, you will need to buy tubes with the corresponding valve. The easiest way to know what type of valve you need is to look at what is currently on your bike. Presta valves are tall and thin with a small cap-like structure at the top. Schrader valves are the same as the valve in your car (i.e. short and stumpy with a removable cap). Because of this, tubes with Schrader valves can be pumped up at your local gas station just like your car tires without any sort of adapter. Tubes with presta valves cannot. Most current bike pumps have adapters for both types of valves. There are pros and cons of each valve type that are kind of boring and not worth discussing here. To help you identify and remember your rim’s valve type, here is a little tool: Presta valves are tall and skinny like a princess. Schrader valves are short and fat like a Raiders fan.

3. Next there is tube size. Mountain bike tires are typically 26 inches around. Road bike tires are typically 27 inches or 700c around. A new wave in mountain biking is the 29’er, requiring (surprise!) a 29 inch tube. Again, look to your tire for help. Written on the sidewall will be something like 26 X 2.25. The 26 is the diameter of the tire and the 2.25 is the width. Many tubes will actually have a range of possible widths (such as 1.9-2.125). As a side note, the recommended psi (pounds per square inch) of pressure for the tire is also written on the sidewall. That is the number you inflate your tires to with the pump.

So, in summary, look at your tire and write down the numbers written on the side (not the numbers preceding psi, but the numbers that say something X something). Look at the valve and see if it is a presta (like a princess) or schrader (like a Raiders fan). Go to your local bike shop with this information, and you will be able to buy the correct tube for your bike. Carry with you in case of trouble. Easy as pie…
(Note, tubes are fairly useless without a pump with which to fill them. Along with jelly beans, your tiara, and a few essential tools, at least one spare tube and a functioning pump should be carried in your pack at all times.)

In related topics….when does 0.75 not equal 3/4? In bike tires, of course. Yes, in efforts to make cycling as confusing as possible, there is some crazy, backward, stupid way of numbering bike tires that defies mathematics. We don’t make the rules, we just smile through them and roll our eyes. More later…
Send those tips in, ladies...Tech tips or riding tips, I don't care. Email me at dominique@pedalqueens.com
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