Dirt Bike Tube Buyer's Guide

hey everyone I am chaser Rocky Mountain atv/mc and today we're talking all about tubes alright so Rocky Mountain we get a lot of questions in general when it comes to tubes there's a lot of different options for you to choose from and a lot of questions about the different materials at different sizes different thicknesses the different types that are available so today we're going to go through we're going to cover those categories we're gonna give you the information that you need so that you know what tube is gonna be best suited for you and the type of riding that you do along with your budget we're also gonna answer some questions about installation a couple tips to help you out along the way so let's get started and talk about materials so in the world the dirt bike tubes you have to remember that not all tubes are created equal and you're gonna have two different materials that you will find that tubes are constructed from you're gonna have synthetic or butyl rubber you're gonna have natural rubber now synthetic rubber which is the two that I have here on my right is actually man-made from petroleum and the biggest benefit to a synthetic tubes gonna be costs they are gonna be less expensive and synthetic tubes are a great option for a lot of riders now with natural rubber natural rubber is made from the sap of a rubber tree now it is gonna be a little bit more expensive and you typically tend to find natural rubber and your heavy-duty and ultra heavy-duty tubes but there are some benefits that we really like that we feel make it worth that extra money and the biggest benefit is gonna be that natural rubber it's more pliable and flexible so it's gonna make it form to the tire better which ultimately is gonna help resist pinch flats so those are going to be your two different types you're gonna have synthetic and butyl and you're gonna have natural all right so now that we've covered materials let's talk about sizing now a very common question we get is can I run a different sized tube than the tire size that I have on my bike now the short answer to that question is yes but we're going to talk about this more because there are some things you want to consider now in every case we're always going to recommend that you're gonna run the same size tube as a tire that you have on your bike so for example if you have a 19-inch rear rim and you have a 120 tire on there you're gonna want to run a 120 by 19 inch tube now in some cases you might say manufacturer will actually have Windows four sizes on their tubes you might see a 110 to 120 or 100 110 so if you find yourself in that situation just select the tube size that your tire fits into so now let's cover the reasons why you don't want to run a different size tube then your tire size so if you run a smaller tube then the tire size that you have chances are you're gonna have to overinflate that tube they get the PSI that you want and when you over inflate a tube it can weaken it and make it more susceptible to pinch flats now if you run a larger tube then your tire size that made you're gonna have excess material in there so when you're installing that tube it's gonna be easier to pinch also it is gonna be more susceptible to pinch flats just like if you're running the tube that was too small now there is one exception to this rule a lot of riders will take a spare tube with them when they're out riding in case of a flat and in most cases they carry a 21 inch front tube now the reason they do that is because a 21 inch front will work for an 18 or a 19 inch rear rim and they're lighter and they pack smaller but you just got to remember like we just talked about this is a temporary fix we definitely do not recommend leaving a front tube and your rear tire you just want to use that long enough to get you back to your truck or back to your camp and then you're gonna want to change it out as soon as you can now also remember that in some cases when you're looking at tube sizing you're gonna see that they're gonna use inches for a measurement instead of millimeters so for example you might see a three and a half inch measurement and I remember there's twenty five point four millimeters per inch so if you see a tube size as 3.5 times that by twenty five point four that's Kamiya roughly a 90 millimeter tube alright so a quick recap yes you can run a different sized tube than your tire size but remember in every situation it's always best if possible to run the same sized tube as your tire size all right so now let's talk about different thicknesses now a dirt bike tubes you've got three thicknesses that you can choose from you've got your standard you've got your heavy-duty and your ultra heavy-duty so let's talk about all three because a big question we get is well which one should I buy which one's gonna be best suited for me and the type of riding that I like to do so with standard tubes they're gonna be between one and two millimeters thick your heavy duty is gonna be two to three millimeters and then your ultra heavy duty you're gonna be around four millimeters thick now standard tube they work great I've used standard tubes for a lot of years they're gonna work great for a lot of riders they're gonna be budget-friendly but they are the thinnest so they are a little bit more susceptible to pinch flats so just make sure that if you're running a standard tube that you're not running too low of a PSI what I see a lot of riders do is they go to the standard tube because they are budget-friendly but when they're riding more aggressive terrain offroad they like to crank up the psi on the tire to help avoid pinch flats now this will work but you have to remember that the more psi that you put an attire the harder is gonna be so it's gonna make it feel more harsh so instead of absorbing some of those objects it's gonna deflect more so if you find yourself in that situation what I recommend is going to a heavy duty or an ultra heavy duty tube now with heavy duty tubes these are a great option for riders that are looking for a little bit more pinch flat protection or maybe want to run a little bit lower psi in fact heavy duty tube is what I prefer I think it gives a good balance of pinch flat protection but also not being too heavy and we'll talk about weight differences here in just a bit now I know that when you compare it to a standard tube and you're thinking man that's only one millimeter difference but when you see these things side-by-side you're gonna notice how much thick or a heavy-duty tube is then just a standard tube now from the heavy duty you've got the big dog you've got the ultra heavy duty tube these are gonna be awesome for riders don't want as much protection from pinch flats as possible even when running lows lower psi so think of your hardcore enduro riders your off-road desert racers works GNCC your dual split adventure riders if you want more protection than what an ultra heavy-duty tube can offer when it comes to pinch flats from here you want to either run a bib moose or a tubeless system in fact we even have a video it's a great video it shows you our top ways to avoid pin flats altogether so make sure to give that a watch now there are a couple more things when it comes to heavy-duty ultra heavy duty that I do want to point out now probably the biggest drawback that riders will talk about with these types of too it's gonna be wait so when you go from a standard tube to a heavy-duty then to an ultra heavy-duty as long as you're using the same size tube you're typically about a pound difference in weight between them so you're a pound more for a heavy-duty from a standard and then another pound when you get to ultra heavy duty so that is one thing you have to consider now you may notice that even within heavy duty and ultra heavy duty tubes when you're comparing different brands now you're gonna see different price points you got to remember like we talked about earlier that not all tubes are created equal for example I've got two heavy-duty tubes right here in front of me one is made from a blend of synthetic and natural rubber this other one here is all-natural rubber so the all-natural rubber is going to be more expensive but remember like we talked about that natural rubber does have its benefit so that is something you want to consider even when buying your heavy-duty tubes and your ultra heavy-duty last thing I want to cover with these is install now some riders will talk about how ultra heavy-duty 2 is gonna be a little bit more difficult to install or even a heavy-duty now I myself personally along with a lot of riders here at Rocky Mountain we've installed a lot of these tubes honestly for us we really can't tell a difference so the only drawback for us when it comes to a heavy dude your ultra heavy-duty tube is gonna be the added cost and also the weight so if those are two things that you can live with these are really great options now there's a few more things we want to cover before we let you go the first one is with tire pressure you got to remember that no matter what tube you are running it's important to have a good tire pressure in there that's gonna help extend your tube life and also like we talked about earlier if you have too much psi that'll make your tires feel harsh and make them deflect too low a PSI and that's gonna make you much more susceptible to pinch flats now when it comes to your - of life in general you got to remember that tubes they do wear out over time so if you have a tube in your tire now that you've had for a long time even if it's still holding air it's not a bad idea to check the integrity or to check the condition of that tube that's contaminants get in there like water dirt and sand those will grind and make that tube wear out so if you're not sure it's never a bad idea to put a new tube in there and then you can just keep your old one as a spare now with your valve stem a couple important things you want to remember so first once you have your tube mossad you've got your tire on there you're gonna have that locking out on the valve stem you want to install that loosely just in case your tire slips on the rim under braking or acceleration I see a lot of riders will actually tighten that down real snug that can increase the chance of you tearing your valve stem if your tire does slip on the rim the other thing you want remember is once you have it all mounted up you want to make sure that your valve stem is nice and straight in the rim I've been there before you get everything done you look your valve stem is crooked I know it is a hassle but if you want to prevent tearing that valve stem it's important you want to deflate the tire remove it loosen up that rim lock and straighten up your valve stem last thing we'll cover is with patches now patch kits they work great we have used them numerous times here at Rocky Mountain but what we recommend is that patch kits there are temporary fix because they do become a weak spot in the tube so once you get out of that pinch no pun intended you get back to where you need to get or you finish your ride we always recommend just replacing that tube entirely all right so there you have it that is our - buyer's guide now that you have all the information that you need to know what tube is gonna be best for you for your style of riding and also your budget head over to Rocky Mount ET MC comm and pick some up remember we do have that how to install a tire video so if you need tips for that give that a watch that's really gonna help you out do you guys have any other further questions leave your comments below we will help get those answered if you like this buyer's guide well do not hesitate give it a thumbs up subscribe to our youtube channel and that's going to keep you up to date and in the loop and the lens gear guides product reviews and how-to videos that we're constantly rolling out I'm chase we'll stay on the trails

Channel: Rocky Mountain ATV MC

Views: 26,145

Rating: 4.9142857 out of 5

Keywords: Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, rmatv, rmatvmc, atv/mc, atvmc, motocross, rockymountain, dirt bike, motorcycle, parts, accessories, rocky, mountain, motorcycley tube buyers guide, tube guide, mx tubes, dirt bike tubes, motocross tubes, tubes, ultra heavy duty tubes, heavy duty tubes, standard motorycycle tube, mx tube, tube buyers guide, guia de tubos, natural rubber tube, synthetic rubber tube, butyl rubber tube

Id: B81M8GtxAkA

Length: 9min 29sec (569 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 10 2018