Choosing a Mountain Bike Inner Tube and Tire

There is a huge range of tires on the market, and several different types of inner tubes to go inside them. It's not possible to give details of them all here, but I'll do my best. The simplest choice is made in choosing an inner tube. There are three types of inner tubes. Standard butyl rubber, which is the most common, natural latex rubber, and polyurethane, which is nearly clear in color and much stiffer than the other two.

Butyl tubes have the advantage of being cheap, very widely available, and are somewhat easy to repair. Check the length of the valve if you are using narrow, deep rims. Some valves do not leave enough shaft protruding from the rim, which makes it impossible to pump them up.

Latex tubes are a relatively recent innovation in mountain bikes. It is much more flexible than butyl rubber, so it tends to give rather than tear when it touches a sharp object. This makes latex tubes more puncture-resistant than butyl ones. Because most puncture repair kits contain glue that is intended to work on natural rubber rather than butyl, latex tubes are somewhat easier to repair that other types. Latex tubes tend to be a bit oversized, so it is sensible to use the smallest ones you can find. However, latex tubes do have a problem; as they stretch to fill a tire, some of the tube can stick to the inside of the casing, while part of it expands to fill the well of the rim. This section can then stretch permanently, become weak, and finally tear. To prevent this, it is advised to use plenty of talc to lubricate the tube inside the tire.

Polyurethane tubes are made of a tough material, which aids in reducing punctures, but they are hard to fix when they do puncture and a special repair kit is required. They are usually lighter than butyl tubes, but must be an exact fit in the tire because they don't stretch much when inflated. This can make them complicated to fit. They generally aren't worth the trouble.

Tire choice is a bit easier subject to explain. In choosing a tire, there's a simple rule to follow. The heavier you are and the rougher the terrain you ride on are important factors. Generally speaking, as these factors increase, so should the width of the tire you choose. Overall, properly choosing the right tire is very important when you take into consideration the huge responsibility they have in making your bike move.