There is no rocket science to buying bicycle tubes, but if you’re the type that loves off-road riding or cruising 20 miles outside of town you may want to buy with a few extra features. Of course maybe your real passion in life is changing a tire in the mud hole on the side of the highway or pushing your bike back to town. What features might keeps you riding? Here’s a list.

Size of Bicycle Tube: If weight is not a big issue, buying a tire that is wider then you will need gives more puncture protection. If the tube is not inflated to its maximum capacity the rubber wall thickness will be greater than normal and thus less prone to damage.

Material Used: The most common bicycle tube is typically made of butyl rubber, a synthetic version of the real thing. It is much less expensive but not as flexible, thus more prone to pinch flats. It holds its air well and rarely requires refilling and easy to purchase in any and all of the local bike shops and hardware stores. Butyl tubes typically weigh 100 to 150 grams.

There are some specialty ones as well. Some manufacturers make a thick-walled version with a significantly thicker rubber layer on the tread side to resist glass and thorn damage. Other tubes are made with more sophisticated technology to shave 10 or 20 grams off the weight.

You’ll pay twice the price for a natural latex rubber bicycle tube but with its greater elasticity it will last longer. Natural rubber is more resistant to punctures and pinch flats. As an added bonus it weights significantly less giving you greater peddle efficiency. Some, like the Michelin bicycle tube weighs as little as 65 grams when using natural latex. As with everything it has its down side. Natural rubber is somewhat more porous than butyl, thus tends to lose air pressure over time. Be sure to bring a pump for top ups!

Tire Sealant: Additives are available to inject into your tire. In fact some tires like the Slime Self-Sealing Tube come with a tire sealant already inside. The compressed air inside the tube drives the sealant through small puncture wounds and seals the hole on contact with the outside air. You’ll never know you ever had a puncture. It can be added afterwards to some tubes but it depends on the type of tube stem. Presta valves are usually a no-no as the sealant clogs the valve.

Tire Liners: You can add a thin strip of Kevlar or plastic between the tire and tube to offer an extra layer of protection, but they can be a pain to get in place when changing your tube, so I’d prefer to use a tire sealant or heavy walled tube to start with.

Types of Bike Tire Tube Stems: There are typically two choices of tube stems, the Schraeder valve and the Presta valve. The Schraeder valve is the old fashion design you are familiar with on your car tire. It is readily available, can be filled up with the standard gas station pump, and always has a valve stem that can be removed if you wish to add tire sealant.

Presta valves are newer; more aerodynamically designed and require smaller port holes in the bike rim. This is particularly important to the road rim manufacturer. The road rim is so thin that the port hole can affect significantly the rigidity of the rim, creating a weak spot where the valve penetrates the rim. The smaller the valve the smaller the hole. Thus presta valve rule here! They do have other advantages as well, but also do have their own problems. Nothing is ever a clean win!

Visit for a more complete discussion of the pro’s and con’s of the various types of bike tire tube stems and bicycle tubes in general, or for that matter anything in connection with bicycle riding.