Are Specialized tubes and tyres rubbish?

[Mr Celine]

The rear tyre on my bike developed a flat while parked outside my house. On inspection it turned out to be because there was a large split in the tube at the base of the valve. The tubes and tyres are Specialized, the tyre being a Nimbus armadillo - seems pointless developing a p******* proof tyre if the tubes just disintegrate.
As I had the wheel off I took the opportunity to carry out some other maintenance and changed the brake pads, then re-assembled everything and and gave it a quick test. All seemed satisfactory but when putting the bike away I spotted a large hole in the tread. One very brief skid (the new pads had made the brake considerably tighter than before) had ripped a 50p piece sized section of tread off the tyre.
So it was off with the tyre again - closer inspection showed that the rubber tread is coming away from the carcass of the tyre at several other places too. The tyre had done 3600 miles and if it hadn't fallen apart should have lasted a lot longer- there was still plenty of tread pattern on it.
Are all Specialized tubes and tyres this poorly made or was I just unlucky?

BTW I replaced it with a Conti Ultra Gatorskin - £19.99 at Halfrauds but came up as £11.99 at the till!

 

[kyuss]

I've had more problems with Specialized tubes than with any other, always around the valve. You seem to get the odd bad batch now and then. Get one from a good batch and they'll last for ages, others will split or tear around the valve within a matter of weeks, and I'm always very careful when pumping so it's not cack-handedness on my part that's destroying them. I don't trust them anymore so use Nutrack these days.

Can't comment on the tyres, never used them.

 

[yenrod]

>3600 miles

At least you got that far on them....

 

[Dave5N]

No problems with either. The tubes are a bit thin and have a rep for splitting at the valve. I like the tyres, light and grippy.

 

[monnet]

I got a 2007 Allez Elite last year with Spesh tyres and tubes. I've had no problem with either. I replaced the tyres after about 3500 miles, on the gerounds that they were starting to wear a bit and that's what you usually get out of a tyre. I've still got them in case of an emergency. No probs with the tubes either - the worst tubes I've used are the cheap Conti's. The valves in particular are absolute sh1te - I got a box of 25 in Feb and I've got less than 20 left and I've not had a visit from the p-fairy either.

 

[HLaB]

I had spesh (nimbus Armadillo rear/ plain front) tires and tubes.
I got one puncture on the rear in about 3,500mls and thought they were pretty bomb proof. I had a speight of punctures on the front when I had 2 plain nimbus, bizarrely after I put the armadillo on the rear, I can't remember another puncture on the front. I did find the tires a little skittish, especially the rear and I replaced them early this year with conti 4 seasons.
With the tubes I stopped using them after 2 valves snapped on me. Stupidly I decided to pump up my tires the night before a club run. I replaced that tube but the spare tube valve failed too. Down to my last tube I tried to fix the tubes at the valves; sod's law I got a puncture on the run and spare tube fix didn't work.

 

[goo_mason]

My cycling pal at work was complaining about his Nimbus tyres this morning. He's about to go off riding round the isles in a few days and the tyre split away from the beading. The tyres are only about 4 months old, so he reckons they must have been sitting in the shop for a long time before he bought them.

I've personally never used Specialized tyres or tubes; Conti Travel Contacts on the MTB (which were rubbish - punctured and cut up far too easily) and then Schwale Marathon Plus which are brilliant. On the road bike - Kenda tyres that came on it (awful - a puncture or two a week), and they've been replaced by Schwalbe Stelvio Raceguards which I've been more than happy with so far.

Tubes - mainly Halfords or Continental (because Halfords was closest when I needed any spares). Tried Slime tubes in my early cycling days but all they did was spew out green grunge when I got a puncture and didn't seal anything !

 

[Milo]

What are halfords tubes like though. Do they do long valved prestas?

 

[Mr Pig]

I do think that a lot of Specialized accessory's are overrated but I've never had a problem with their tubes. You can damage the area around the valve stem if the hole in the rim is a bit rough and you're a bit ham-fisted fitting it and maybe you do just get bad batches of tubes.

For what they were designed for I think that the Nimbus tyres are fine but the tread is quite thin and I doubt that helps them deal with skids. Remember when you were a kid, I can remember guys taking perfectly good tyres down to the string with one good skid! ;0) Those were the days eh?

 

[goo_mason]

Not sure - I've had long-valved Continental prestas from Halfords, but never noticed if their own-brand have them.

Tubes seem fine, though had one on the MTB where the valve tore off the tube as I was trying to pump it up. But that was probably just bad luck and a faulty one, as others have been OK.

 

[515mm]

Are spesh tubes rubbish? In my experience, yes. I bought a box of five and every single one of them leaked or split at the valve. The continental ones I bought to replace them appear to be much higher quality. hope this helps...

 

[Mortiroloboy]

Their tyres are generally OK, but the tubes are well known for poor finishing, especially around the valve seat, where (I think) the weld should be better.

 

[dodgy]

Lots of stories of valves ripping here. Here's what I do, when I get a new pack of tubes, I reinforce the valve stem area with either a pu***ure repair patch or a piece of inner tube rubber. Simply make a hole in the patch/piece of tube and slide it over the valve and glue it in place.
I never have any problems.

Dave.

 

[Mortiroloboy]

Lots of stories of valves ripping here. Here's what I do, when I get a new pack of tubes, I reinforce the valve stem area with either a pu***ure repair patch or a piece of inner tube rubber. Simply make a hole in the patch/piece of tube and slide it over the valve and glue it in place.
I never have any problems.

Dave.

 

[numbnuts]

I never have any problems in the last 10 years with there tubes, but I have heard storys....