Continental Tubes - Long Story

[Andrew_P]

Anyone had any problems with these, I bought two from Cycle Surgery.

Puncture on the way home, fair enough not had one for a while. Quick inspection of tyre nothing in it.

So out with the new Continental tube, in it goes no pinches. screw on my Lezyne road drive pump it up, undo it wtf it unscrews the valve. Now I am struggling to get it out of the pump a lot of faffing (pliers is about the only thing I do not carry) get it out put the pump on around the other way, but every pump you can hear a little air escaping which is a little moral sapping.

Anyway I get up to around 80 psi, 4 miles from home and set off, 150 yards up the road it is flat. So toss that one back in the ruck sack for later inspection. This time I strip the tyre off and turn it inside out looking and feeling for anything sharp, I then completly wipe and check the outside nothing there check the rim for a spoke or some such. So I put the other one on, set off 150 yard and it is completely flat again.

I have given up and have now phoned home and said that I was going to walk home cleats an all.

500 yards later and another cyclist stops (THANK YOU! A 23 Northbound in case you are on here )and insists on giving me a spare tube. I was resisting thinking it must be something I missed. Anyway decided to give it a go. In goes his specialized tube couldn't even be arsed to get it rock solid as I wasn't expecting it to last,not only did it last all the way home its still up now..

Is there any point in being able to unscrew the valve, and what is the point in having thread on the vlave stem if all its going to do is unscrew the valve when you take off the pump?

My dilema is I have five bought from Wiggle sitting upstairs, and I tried one in the screw pump and when I unscrewed out came the valve... looked on wiggle and there are people moaning about these tubes about rvery third review, mostly similar to my problems.

 

[pac-man]

may be an batch issue...
haven't had any problems, use conti tube in all my bikes

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I've got at least one Continental tube on my tourer but my track and road pumps don't have screw on attachments - they're push on and seal with a lever types - so I've not had a problem.

 

[User6179]

Anyone had any problems with these, I bought two from Cycle Surgery.

Puncture on the way home, fair enough not had one for a while. Quick inspection of tyre nothing in it.

So out with the new Continental tube, in it goes no pinches. screw on my Lezyne road drive pump it up, undo it wtf it unscrews the valve. Now I am struggling to get it out of the pump a lot of faffing (pliers is about the only thing I do not carry) get it out put the pump on around the other way, but every pump you can hear a little air escaping which is a little moral sapping.

Anyway I get up to around 80 psi, 4 miles from home and set off, 150 yards up the road it is flat. So toss that one back in the ruck sack for later inspection. This time I strip the tyre off and turn it inside out looking and feeling for anything sharp, I then completly wipe and check the outside nothing there check the rim for a spoke or some such. So I put the other one on, set off 150 yard and it is completely flat again.

I have given up and have now phoned home and said that I was going to walk home cleats an all.

500 yards later and another cyclist stops (THANK YOU! A 23 Northbound in case you are on here )and insists on giving me a spare tube. I was resisting thinking it must be something I missed. Anyway decided to give it a go. In goes his specialized tube couldn't even be arsed to get it rock solid as I wasn't expecting it to last,not only did it last all the way home its still up now..

Is there any point in being able to unscrew the valve, and what is the point in having thread on the vlave stem if all its going to do is unscrew the valve when you take off the pump?

My dilema is I have five bought from Wiggle sitting upstairs, and I tried one in the screw pump and when I unscrewed out came the valve... looked on wiggle and there are people moaning about these tubes about rvery third review, mostly similar to my problems.

Tighten the cores and dont use the dust caps or screw on pump as both will unscrew the core again, had 6 of these all same and all from wiggle.
If they havnt removed them there is a few reviews which tells of this issue.

 

[the_mikey]

The valve cores can work loose, but aside from that I've had no problems with conti tubes. None of my pumps have screw on attachments.

 

[Davidc]

I've had that issue with a number of manufacturers over the years. Putting the valves back in with a drop of Locktite usually works.

I have 2 contis on the tourer and one of the 2 spares is one, no problems. Can't remember where I got them from, about 4 years old.

 

[Smurfy]

Buy a Zefal HPX pump and be done with the Lezyne. No more screwing connectors on and off, just put the pump head over the valve and pull the lever. Roadie purists may point and laugh at your frame-pump, but it will knock spots off anything less than a proper workshop pump.

 

[Andrew_P]

I've had that issue with a number of manufacturers over the years. Putting the valves back in with a drop of Locktite usually works.

I have 2 contis on the tourer and one of the 2 spares is one, no problems. Can't remember where I got them from, about 4 years old.

I was going to ask if a drip of Superglue would do the job, I cannot understand why you would really want a valve to be un-screwable, or whythey are finger tight.

 

[ushills]

I did exactly the same miles from home and another helpful cyclist loaned me his pump while I blew up another tube as the core was firmly stuck in my road drive.

I now avoid tubes with removeable cores and have lubricate the seal on the pump tube as it is a very good seal.

Consider it a lesson learned as I did.

 

[Andrew_P]

I did exactly the same miles from home and another helpful cyclist loaned me his pump while I blew up another tube as the core was firmly stuck in my road drive.

I now avoid tubes with removeable cores and have lubricate the seal on the pump tube as it is a very good seal.

Consider it a lesson learned as I did.

Yup lesson learned, never buy Conti tubes again! In 3 years of cycling it was my worst ride ever, I have never pinched tube let alone two on the bounce, having looked at them they look like they are a patchwork of rubber strips.

I have offered help to other and tubes, but I am still left being impressed that out of the few cyclists that passed me going both directions 75% offered help or asked if I was alright

 

[Bodhbh]

I like the conti tubes. Nice bright coloured dust caps so you don't loose them. And the removable valves are handy if you want to fill up the tubes with No Stans sealant.

 

[PpPete]

I got a good deal on a batch of Conti tubes once.
Apart for removable valves I did have some other rather baffling deflations.
I shan't be buying any more.... especially as I now have a Lezyne Road Drive.

 

[Crankarm]

The only 100% reliable tubes are Schwalbe. Period.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

No one has ever snapped a valve stem with a push on pump have they?

 

[Davidc]

I was going to ask if a drip of Superglue would do the job, I cannot understand why you would really want a valve to be un-screwable, or whythey are finger tight.

I think most are unscrewable, but most don't come off/ out easily. I suspect it's a manufacturing issue.

I still have some Conti 700c tubes from a batch I bought a few years ago. I've had a number of deflation issues with them, not valve related and not caused by tyre penetrating objects. The affected tubes have developed small splits in the rubber. Two of them are on the bike and have done thousands of miles, two have failed and one is still unused, but I don't trust it to take it as a spare.

I have to agree with Crankarm's view on tubes. Schwalbe tubes are (in my experience) 100% reliable, and after my foray into a cheap batch of Continental ones I'm back with them. The household collection of bikes is now also 100% Schwalbe Marathon tyred as well, based on experience with not getting many punctures.