[North Coast Joe]

I’m not running tubeless yet, tubes still seem to be engraved in my biking for simplicity. I am running 26x2.1 on Araya rims, and Alex DH19’s on the other bike. Both bikes are at 20 psi front, 30 rear. Discs on one, vee’s on the other.

The first concern is tire/tube slippage. Routinely I find the tire/tube has slipped so the valve stem is canted towards the front. So as not to shear it off, I deflate and readjust it to vertical. It seems to help slightly when I seat them to 60psi, then back off the pressure to the desired level. Any tricks to keep things where they’re supposed to be?

The second issue occurs only on the bike with Araya rims. Occasionally, I find the rear tire has lost pressure dramatically after a ride. Down to 10 to 15 psi. Can’t find a leak, and the tire will hold pressure indefinitely after a pump up. Weird! Any cause you can think of? Haven’t really submerged the tube to look for the leak as a quick fill seems to last. Will impact on obstacles cause this?

Thanks, folks

 

[sturge]

Been riding 30 years and I was late to party plunging into tubeless for similar reasons. Since making swap 3-4 years ago, life is SO MUCH simpler compared to dealing with tubes. It can take a bit to get the hang of proper install but once you figure it out there's no going back.

On my previous bike (2012 Heckler 26") I ran tubes for the first couple of years with 2.4's and about 25psi front / 32 rear. I had some similar issues with 'slipping' of tubes (usually rear). I think that's normal when running lower pressures. I just lived with it... didn't take long to re-align every so often.

Regarding your leak...maybe it's easiest to just try a different tube. Could be something going on with valve, who knows.

 

[MSU Alum]

Swap the tubes front to back and see if the leak follows the tube. Or, dunk it in water to check. I wouldn't worry about slippage, but if you rinse the outside of the tube off before you put it in the tire, it'll tend to stick a bit to the inside of the tire. It may have some dust or powder on it. It's been many years since I ran tubes, but I think the ones I used had nuts on the presta valves to secure them.

 

[Grassington]

The second issue occurs only on the bike with Araya rims. Occasionally, I find the rear tire has lost pressure dramatically after a ride. Down to 10 to 15 psi. Can't find a leak, and the tire will hold pressure indefinitely after a pump up. Weird! Any cause you can think of? Haven't really submerged the tube to look for the leak as a quick fill seems to last. Will impact on obstacles cause this?

A thorn embedded in the tube can do this - it'll seal nicely when sitting still but will leak when the tube is flexed. Probably not this though if you've checked the tube, so the next bet would be a tiny hole in the tube that also self-seals when stationary. These can be hard to find, even in a bowl of water, so here the trick is to stretch the inflated tube under water to try and open the hole up so it reveals itself. Good hunting!

 

[North Coast Joe]

A thorn embedded in the tube can do this -

We have a Winner!

Since my "good" bike has Conti tubes with the nutted Schrader valves, I thought I'd throw a pair on this bike to try to limit slipping. Found the thorn in the rear tube! Thanks!

 

[CDSV900Rider98]

Request Help in tube search

I hope you folks don't mind me asking a question about 26 x 1.9 to 2.10 inner tubes: I am having great difficulty in my search for this size tube to insert into my Panaracer Fire XC Pro 26 x 2.10. I am trying to get back in the saddle again, so I can loose weight off of my saddle. I am also considering purchasing new tires, so please advice on where is "Mother-lode of 26in tires, tubes and wheels? I have a very good functional bicycle that meets my bicycling needs.

 

[fredcook]

I still have a couple of older XC bikes in the garage that are 26". I have no problem finding tires for them. Many of the better known brands still make 26". BikeTiresDirect.com has Continental, GT, Kenda, Maxxis, Michelin, and Schwable in 26". PerformanceBike.com is another good source for 26" tires. Your challenge may be finding a large selection of 2.1's. They usually start at 2.3-2.35. Maybe that'll fit your frame.

No problem finding tubes anywhere for 26" either. I usually get Continental tubes from Amazon. Getting them for 26x1.75-2.25 isn't a problem.

 

[CDSV900Rider98]

I still have a couple of older XC bikes in the garage that are 26". I have no problem finding tires for them. Many of the better known brands still make 26". BikeTiresDirect.com has Continental, GT, Kenda, Maxxis, Michelin, and Schwable in 26". PerformanceBike.com is another good source for 26" tires. Your challenge may be finding a large selection of 2.1's. They usually start at 2.3-2.35. Maybe that'll fit your frame.

No problem finding tubes anywhere for 26" either. I usually get Continental tubes from Amazon. Getting them for 26x1.75-2.25 isn't a problem.

Thank you for responding to my request for help in tubes and yes you are correct the problem is with the width - 2.1!

Yesterday, July 15, 2019, I removed the tire Panaracer Fire XCPro 26x2.1 and tube from the wheel; inspected the flat tube to determine the cause of the flat - discovered that the problem was that the valve stem was tearing away from its base; I also discovered that the inner tube is a EVO 26X2.0-2.4 HBF-26 Made in Thailand and in my humble opinion the tube is too big for the tire; surprisingly, I discovered a old inner tube Pyramid 26X1.5/1.75/1.95 folded along with the old spin-skin stowed in my bicycle parts bin. I inflated the Pyramid tube and learned that it is holding the air today. I am going to use this tube and it should be fine; additionally I may trim the old "Kevlar Spin Skin", and place it against the tire, then insert the Rhinodillo tire liner [brown] followed by the Pyramid inner tube. I need to inspect the condition of the rim/wheel tape.