Customer Reviews

Avenir Thorn-Resistant Schrader valve MTB tube (26 x 1.95-2.125)

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Real life story first: I had a staple in my tire that I missed no matter how many times I ran my finger along the inside of the tire and looked at the outside. I burned through 2 "regular" tubes and could not figure out why. I put this tube in and it stayed inflated despite the staple (which I still didn't know was there). It was just by chance that I saw the staple from the outside when I was putting the tire back on with this tube inside and fully inflated. These tubes are excellent! I have been riding for about 9 months since then with zero flats and almost no loss in pressure over time. They are very thick; hence they are heavier than a normal tube. Those of you who measure bike parts in ounces, look elsewhere! Everyone else, enjoy the freedom of riding without flat tires!

I used to get a bunch of flats every year until I discovered Armadillo tires (they use Kevlar). Even after that however, it was still 1 to 2 flats a year.

It was a tad difficult to get it in, but I notice no difference in my ride, and so far, after 1 month and 500 miles on Chicago's city streets, I have not had a flat tire and I do notice that I do not need to refill my tire quite as often.

It is too bulky to carry as a spare. I have a standard tube in my bag in case of a flat.

Time will tell.

<Update - Time has passed and I am less impressed. I did get a flat (understandable as it was a large nail), however as I was checking for holes to repair, I felt air coming from the base of the stem. On its own, I would shrug it off as a mistake on my part perhaps being too aggresive taking it off (which I wasn't). However I am now the third person reporting a problem with the connection between the stem and the rest of the tube, which points, to me at least, to a design or manufacturing problem.

Thick rubber tubes are a very nice idea, but for now, I would use a different company. Avenir has a problem with their process creating these tubes.>

<Update 2 - I had purchased two of these tubes before that 1st one failed on me - mentioned above - and the 2nd tube also just failed on me today at the same place (where the tube meets the valve stem). I was just riding a long and all of a sudden my tire was flat. Before taking off the tire, I did my usual check for something that gave me that flat (glass, nail, etc), but found nothing. Sure enough, the only point of failure was where the valve meets the tube. At least this one lasted a year before failing and I never got a flat in that year, which was over 2,500 miles>

There is no doubt in my mind that this is about as good a tube as you can get. If you blow this thing out, good job to you.

Update: It has been over a year since I purchased this tube for my bike, and I haven't blown it out yet. That is good considering I was going through about 1 or so a month before.

Ignore the "heavy tube" comments, this is a typical Thorn-Resistant tube that you used to get as a kid to help avoid flats. Nothing's changed. It's thick, because it's a "Thorn-Resistant" tube. These thick tubes provide more protection against punctures.

I've been using these since I was a kid. I ride fine with them. I don't wear Spandex, have a Co2 Bike Pump (I like a basic bicycle Hand Pump), nor do I have an expensive bicycle and weigh my bicycle frame (I carry 2 Thorn-Resistant tubes on my rack). I have a heavy bicycle and want to avoid flats on long commutes, that is what this tube is for.

Caution must be used when using a gas station air pump. Some are designed to cut off before the high pressures used in many bicycle tires are reached. Other operate at such a high pressure that the tire can be burst. There is also a slight difference between the modern standard for Schrader valves on an automobile and that on a bicycle which makes some more recent valves on gas station pumps a poor fit.

How to Fix a Flat Tire

Reinstall the tube. Put a little air in the tube, just enough to give it a little form, and put it into the tire.

Reinstall the tire. Stick the valve through the valve hole. With your fingers, work the lip of the tire into the wheel rim, on only one side. You may need to use a tire lever for the last bit. Once you've done one side completely, do the other side. Be careful not to pinch the tube between the tire and the rim, especially when you're using the lever. If it's too hard to get the tire on the rim, try releasing more air.

Reinstall the wheel. Put the wheel back on your bike. If your wheel uses nuts, then alternate between each side a few times as you tighten -- don't tighten one side completely before starting the other. If you have quick release, make sure you put it on tight enough. It's tight enough when the quick release lever offers some resistance and leaves a mark on your hand. After you put the wheel on, tug on it pretty hard to double-check that it's not loose. Also make sure it's on straight -- if it's rubbing on the brakes when it spins, it'll be a lot harder to pedal.

Inflate and Release. Pump up the tire, then let most of the air out again. This will help work out any kinks where the tube might have been pinched. (A pinched tube will pop as soon as you air it up all the way and sit down on the bike.) There's some debate over whether this really helps, but it certainly can't hurt.

Reinflate the tire. Inflate the tire until it's very firm. You should be able to just barely make a small dent in the tire by pressing on it with your thumb while your fingers hold the wheel under it.

Put the valve cap back on. This will help keep the air in if the valve has a slow leak.

Reconnect the brake cable. Don't forget this part!

If the stem was probably installed at an angle, it will cut it off after awile, make sure the new tube is installed with the stem straight and you should not have a problem.

Bought this tube to replace a stock tube that had a slow leak. For the first 5 days it worked just fine, held the air and didn't lose pressure. On the 6th day riding it (this morning) the valve stem decided to shoot off the tube - completely off the tube. I found it on the ground when I was looked down to see why I was having trouble moving forward. Luckily it happened while I was waiting for a light to change, rather than seconds before when i was dodging taxis and delivery trucks in the fun Manhattan morning rush hour. I ride a mountain bike, and don't over-pressurize my tires due to the plethora of pot holes on the streets. It could have just been bad luck - there are defects in every manufacturing process, but... I'm going to go with a different brand for it's replacement.

I wish I had read the reviews on this product. I installed the tire and was having some trouble pumping in more air. I could hear a lot of air leaking through the pump. I gently yanked on the valve to make sure that it was completely through the tire rim. I was suprised when the valve came completely off. I did not even yank on it all that hard.

I was initially impressed with the heaviness of the rubber. It certainly is a more substantial tube than that which I was replacing. However, when it comes down to it--- it does not matter how thick the rubber is if the valve is so flimsy that it falls off.

These are heavy duty tubes. I did not expect them to be as thick as they are and I mean they are thick. I installed these tubes on two of my bikes so far but haven't had a chance to go for a long ride yet. But I didn't have any problems with installation. I removed the original tubes and installed these and I used one of the ORIGINAL tubes as a spare in case I do have a flat. I would not use one of these as a spare as they are about the weight of three regular tubes combined.

I have a Burley trailer that uses 20x1.75 tubes and even ordered tubes for it as I don't want any flats. And even if I do these are so thick that I could probably run the tires flat and still keep going.

I was leary about ordering these at first but at this time I am very please with this product. Just take your time and make sure that the tire seats itself properly on the rim and I would recommend these to others and I will also update my review of them after I get some miles on these tubes.

Since these tubes are so thick and heavy it might take some more effort to pedal because of the rotational force that is involved. I don't think I would use these on my road bike because of that. But for the commuter bike that I plan on riding to work (7 miles one way) or the bike for pulling by trailer it won't matter that much to me. I don't want to fix a flat. If you are planning on riding a long distance (10 to 20 miles or more) stay with the lighter tubes and just carry a spare tube in case you have a flat.

I didn't go through all the reviews before buying this but now that I look through them again, I seem to have had the same problem as a couple others have mentioned. The new tube lasted me 15 minutes before it blew out. I took it to a bike repair shop thinking there was something else wrong and the guy told me the valve had torn off. The package also arrived looking like someone had opened the box already (and like someone else also mentioned, there were also no elastics around the tube as depicted in the picture).

The tube seems extra thick toward the ground, but the side that is towards the rim is paper thin. It wore through at a weak spot after 2 months. I checked the inside of my rim to make sure there were no rough spots or bumpy spoke ends that would have caused it... nothing. Just a piece of garbage inner tube. The return period was only a month, so I'm out of luck returning it, too. I'd HIGHLY recommend getting a different tube.

These tubes are nice and thick. They are heavy compared to standard tubes, but they are very durable and puncture/pinch resistant. More time riding, less time fixing flats!