Inner tubes and tyre valves
It has been a long time since I updated the blog. I would like to thank all those who have used the comments page to let me know what you think of the site.....your positive comments are gratefully received. There have been a few questions so I am going to try and answer them over the next few weeks.
Innertubes
I had fitted new 'Continental' innertubes (marked Made In India) and right from the start I noticed that they both were loosing significant pressure over a period of a week...maybe 6 psi or so. Not enough for there to be a puncture but something was not right. I changed the valve cores but no difference. I had read on internet forums that other people were experiencing the same thing with Continental tubes and I was lead to believe that Central Wheel Co in the UK had stopped supplying them because of quality issues. I changed the front one for a Michelin (marked made In Serbia!) and this has appeared to solve the issue. It will still loose a few PSI over a couple of weeks but nowhere near as bad as the Continental.
With tubes you really need to check the pressures before every ride, especially for those of us who do not ride on a regular basis. However, it is easy to see the sun shining and just go out for quick ride without getting the gauge out. OK, I did just that...only 20 miles but when got back I saw this!! The tyre was down to 16 psi and the rim had rotated forwards within the tyre as shown by the angle of the valve stem. I was lucky that no damage had been done to the tube but it had been a close call, I changed the rear tube for a Michelin.
I am a member of the Ariel Owners Club and a few people reported problems of valve stems pulling out of / separating from the inner tube. The photo's I saw were typical of a tyre rotating around the rim due to low tyre pressure, pulling the inner tube away from a valve stem which had been secured to the rim with the locknuts. In my view the nuts that screws down on the valve stem should never be tightened against the rim but should be left near the top of the stem, the two nuts being locked together. This method was verified in an email from Michelin who sent me the image below:
