new tubes-any of them any good?
 

years ago we had terrible tubes from east europe somewhere, they fell apart at the seams. then, vietnam was next, they were ok, i never had one fail. now lately i have had flats like crazy. the ones i was buying two years ago were from taiwan, now have new tires and tubes are from china. one tire only went 100 miles and had a flat. i broke it down, and found a pin hole, like a nail, but there is no hole in the tire. its new and clean, i can see no hole. looking closer to the tube it seems that there may have been an air bubble in the mold and its a thin spot. does anyone make a good tube today? i drive my cars a lot, gonna wear out my tire irons at this rate!

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

Try Bert's they use radial tubes.

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

Try Bert's they supply radial tubes.

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

interesting that a radial tube would be made in 19" or 21" size. wonder where they are made?

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

I believe Bratton's are having new tubes made out of fresh materials not the re-hashed stuff. They say they are the best. Probably where Bert's gets theirs.

Coming from overseas but at least the quality is good from all I've heard.

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

A couple of minor things here.

• The worst of the tubes were not from Eastern Europe - they were from Scandinavia.
• Tubes do not have seams. The lines you see are joints in the mold. If you cut a tube open and look at the inside surface, you will not see any sign of a seam. If there were a seam, it would be visible on both sides.

When my brother in law recently bought a set of 16" tyres and tubes, the tubes were from China. I didn't say anything to him but I was a little concerned about that. I also would like to hear what these tubes are like.
When the tubes from Scandinavia were about, I had one that didn't even withstand inflation. It split all the way around the wall apart from about 12". I hope they are better than that!

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

I'm with Syncro. On a long trip around the USA years back, I started out with 5 new tires and the most beautiful tubes I have ever seen. They were thick black rubber made in Danmark.

One went flat in the garage before I even started the car and I found it split right up the drop rim section 12 or 14 inches long. I put the tube from the old tire in it and away I went. Before I returned home I had 6 more flats, most shredded in the same manner. Along the way I made detours and bought tubes made in China at Brattons and Snyders. They are still on the car.

Richard
Anaheim CA

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

about 6 years ago I think, I bought new tires from Coker and new tubes from Macs, they both have been very good. I check the air pressure in them every spring and that does it. I don't remember where the tubes were made but it was right during the middle of the problem tubes from other suppliers. I was worried about them but they have been very good.

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

I almost hate to admit it, but the tubes in my tires are at least 50 years old (rubber stems) Never had a problem, and hardly need to add air from year to year. So what's the deal, how come we could make tubes back then and apparently can't do it now???

Joe B

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

LOWEST BIDDER is the only thing that SOME of the American Bean Counters care about and it is the Bean Counters who are selecting the vendors and signing contracts for making tubes or whatever in China, Vietnam or where ever.

I heard folks say that bad tubes was the Chinese guy making the tubes fault.

Then I remembered that China has millions or billions of bikes in country so they know how to make GOOD inner tubes! ... if the price is right.

Ain't so?

I also have a set of 600 16s on the Coupe ... Tubes are more than 60 years old ... no leaks.

Did you know that MBA stands for Masters in Bean Accounting?

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

Benson, you are spot on. Bean counters have a lot to answer for. It's all about the $ at the end of the financial year and to hell with the longer term. Look at how reliant we have all become on China and how they are now using that to squeeze us - (us more than you.)

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

China can make anything you ask for and in any level of quality all the way up to manned space flight standards. The purchasing agents ask for the cheapest possible product so they can have the highest possible profits. That means we usually get the cheapest shit possible.


When I bought my new radial 21s from Coker I also bought 5 new tubes. Says China in big letters on them. Probably good quality coming from Coker. However, the car has been sitting unused and unmaintained for 25 years and although the tires were all low, none of them were flat. The vintage tubes went in the tires and the Chinese tubes on the shelf. Coker doesn't sell tubes specifically for radials, so we'll see how the old tubes hold up in radial tires.

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

So Some clarification here on tubes. Due to issues with bad tubes about 15 years ago Bratton's started searching for a new company to make inner tubes. At that time we discovered there were no companies in the USA making inner tubes any longer, so they had no choice but to go overseas. They eventually found a company in CHina who was willing to make the tubes. These new tubes are made from 100% new rubber, unlike the other companies on the market who were using 60-70% recycled rubber. Just looking at the old reproduction and the new ones you can see and feel the difference in the quality of the rubber. The failure rate on these new tubes went to almost 0%. I know that Bratton's has been selling the tubes to Bert's, Gaslight and a couple of other smaller dealer's for years. There are quite a few comments above about Bean counters and buying the least expensive thing that can be found. But one also needs to remember crappie parts can be made here in the USA just as easily as overseas. The key the consumer needs to remember is to look at the reputation of the company that is selling the parts.

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

>>Coker doesn't sell tubes specifically for radials, so we'll see how the old tubes hold up in radial tires.

They do, pretty penny but.

https://www.cokertire.com/accessorie...stem-tube.html
https://www.cokertire.com/accessorie...stem-tube.html

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

I call it the Walmart syndrome...:mad:


TOB

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

Since we're talking tubes, does anyone know what the difference between a TR-135 stem and a TR-150 stem are? Or what those numbers are even referring to? I see defferent Model A tubes with different stem designation.

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

i dont know about the numbers, but generally the choice is metal or rubber stem

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

That is why I asked. Both the TR-135 and TR-150 are listed as rubber stems.

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

I guess I should clarify. In February I bought 5 each 4.50/4.75 x 21 radials (I think, stock size for Model A 21s anyway). At that time they only listed tubes for bias ply tires in that size. When I asked what tubes to use, they said they use the tubes for bias ply tires. That is my entire experience with Model A tubes in recent times.

Re: new tubes-any of them any good?
 

The Coker tubes for radials are worth every penny, IMHO. I have had zero issues since installing them.