Basic questions on tyres and tubes

[michael3429]

I bought a 2nd hand bike from a friend and have been hiting the road with it a few times doing max 25 miles at moment.
I wanna start pushing to boat out and know doing this i will need to carry a little bit extra kit for eg tubes.

So come to my qustion as i am a total newbie to bikes. Tube sizes. I believe i currently have Continental 700 x 18/25c tubes but when searching to buy new ones i see there is available 700 x 18/23c and a few others i was wondering if anyone could advise me of that all these numbers mean and can i put any 700 tube in the bike, i know some valve sizes are different as mine are currently 42mm but all i can find is 52 i think.

Tyres aswell, can someone point me in the right direction of advice mayeb on this website or another to find the in's and out's on tyres. I know there is properbly some books out there that i should get my head into but i don't know where to start. I just want to understand my bike and treat it with care so it looks after me

many thanks in advance as always

 

[accountantpete]

It's a nightmare starting out isn't it?

Firstly - rims, tyres and tubes are usually measured in two ways which mean exactly the same!

All you have to remember is that a 622 rim (the diameter of the bead) is exactly the same as a 700c wheel ( the outer diameter of the tyre).

So a 700 x 23 tyre and a 622 x 23 tyre are exactly the same.

Regarding tubes - they are made to suit tyres of varing widths. So an 18/23 will suit all tyres of widths between 18mm and 23mm. So if you have 25mm tyres then you need the 18/25 tubes.

The valves come in different lengths for different rims - the aero wheels with deep rims need a longer valve etc.

 

[michael3429]

Yeah your right starting out is a nightmare, i have just been going out riding and enjoying it but i think now it's time to learn a bit and get to know the bike and all it's parts. I'm looking for some books and been searching the web for my answers so im getting there.

Thanks for your reply