Spare Tubes

[Ham]

I have just bought a Giant SCR 3 2008 with Kenda 26mm Tyres. I have to say, after reading posts here that I am a bit concened over visits from the p**cture Fairy. What spare tubes should I carry for the above tyres and whats the best tools you can buy to have at hand?

Ta!

 

[4F]

Hi Ham, it depends on the width of the tyre. Have a look on the sidewall of the tyre you have and it should say something like 26 x 1.6 or 1.95 etc etc and then th size of the inner tube will correspond to this.

Tools as a minimum. tyre levers, pump, spanner or multitool to remove the wheelnuts unless you have skewers.

 

[stanno]

Also depending on the wheel material you may need plastic tyre levers as the don't damage the rim.

 

[John the Monkey]

Hi Ham, look to change the tyres for better ones fairly soon (I like 25C Schwalbe Stelvios on mine). My Kendas were grippy, but not too UDE resistant, and I found after one repair that the bead was starting to separate from the rest of the tyre!

Tubewise, anything that fits 700C with a range that includes 26 will do. (The second number on the tube indicating a range of tyre sizes, e.g. 18-25 etc). I carry two tubes, and have four in total (when I ran the Kendas, usually one or two were awaiting repair )

Your wheels should have quick release skewers, so you won't need much other than tyre levers and repair kit to remove wheel and tyre and fix the problem. The Fiz:ik ICS saddle bags will clip in the slot at the rear of your saddle (assuming you have the Selle Royal Viper on your SCR) and can fit that plus multi tool and tube fairly easily.

Edit: And a pump, d'oh

 

[Big T]

The giant will have 700c wheels, so you'll need 700 x 23-28 tubes. I'd carry at least two, plus a mini pump or CO2 inflater and at least 2 tyre levers. There are various devices for getting the tyre on and off and they work with varying degrees of success, but tyre levers are the most dependable. I prefer metal ones, as plastic ones bend and sometimes snap.

Another tip is pump your tyres up hard (90-100psi), using track pump (something like the Topeak Joe Blow) before you set out.

 

[Dave5N]

Metal levers and lightweight alloy rims are not always happy bedfellows.

The Park plastic levers are fine and lighter. I only ever carry one. If the tyre is very tight, I find something to help hold it off the rim.

 

[John the Monkey]

I've only tried the Kendas and Stelvios on mine, but the Alex DA22 rims on the SCR2.0 never seemed terribly difficult in terms of fitting and removing tyres.

(That said, I do carry 3 plastic levers, usually use two).

 

[Mortiroloboy]

I have a Crank bros tyre lever, (plus standard lever's) it telescopes out and clips over the skewer, depending on whether you are removing or replacing tyres depends on which end of the tool you engage onto the rim, they make getting tyres on and off my Mavic and Campag rims a complete doddle, and you only need carry the one lever, at about £5 a real bargain. You'll also ned a pump or CO2 inflator, plus a couple of spare tubes, which, as others have pointed out are 700c. I have the Kenda Kontenders with wire bead on my winter hack, and I find them OK for a budget tyre, as it's my winter bike, I'm not overly worried about weight, it helps when you come to climb aboard your 'best' bike.