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Schwinn puncture resistant tube$40

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Price
40
Location
Albany
Zipcode
12206
Thorn Resistant tubes were a very big deal in the Southwest, lots of sales $$$. It became a standard "up grade" when a dealer sold a new bike.

There is a huge difference between a Carlisle (USA) made thorn resistant tube than a Imported Thorn Resistant tube. The USA made tube was thicker all the way around the thickness of the tube (think like a thick hose). Not only thick on the outer edge that would be against the tread where the thorns would penetrate but thicker inside against the rim and spokes where it had no benefit. They were unnecessarily thick.

The import thorn resistant tubes had a much greater difference in thickness between the outer edge and the inner edges. The inside edge was not really much thicker than a regular tube thickness. But the outer edge of the import tube was "much thicker" than the USA made tube. The weight, and ride quality was better using the import thorn tubes over the USA made thorn tubes.

I was a sales representative for United Import (Cycles Peugeot USA) before I hired on at Schwinn West and carried cut away tubes to show that the import Thorn Resistant tubes that I sold were lighter in weight, cost less, rode better than the Carlisle Thorn Tube. Eventually Schwinn sold the import version after Carlisle left the bicycle business.

John
 
Must have if you live near a "Nail producing factory". As a kid I think I got 1 flat in ten yrs of riding everyday.
It all depends on where you lived and where you rode your bicycle. In the Southwest we have a weed that grows wild. It's everywhere, and during the hot desert summers it dies from the heat and little thorns fall off. They get in your feet when walking araound bare foot. Dogs pick them up, etc. They are a real nuisance. Maybe as we have spread out our cities, and built houses, streets, sidewalks, and paved everything it might be a lessor problem today.

I grew up in Phoenix, AZ as a kid. We rode sew-up tires on our road bikes. We were very careful to not ride on the extreme right edge of the road, and never rode on dirt. One accessory that was on many of our bikes was a bent wire scraper that was attached by the brake center bolt. The scraper was adjusted to ride just above the tire tread and scrape off the broken glass and thorns before they could make a couple of rotations of the wheel. They were kind of cheesy, but actually worked.

The thorns were as sharp as cactus.

John
 
Never got flats mountain biking in the woods of PA growing up, but I work hard not to get flats on or off road riding the past 30 years in PHX.
 
It all depends on where you lived and where you rode your bicycle. In the Southwest we have a weed that grows wild. It's everywhere, and during the hot desert summers it dies from the heat and little thorns fall off. They get in your feet when walking araound bare foot. Dogs pick them up, etc. They are a real nuisance. Maybe as we have spread out our cities, and built houses, streets, sidewalks, and paved everything it might be a lessor problem today.

I grew up in Phoenix, AZ as a kid. We rode sew-up tires on our road bikes. We were very careful to not ride on the extreme right edge of the road, and never rode on dirt. One accessory that was on many of our bikes was a bent wire scraper that was attached by the brake center bolt. The scraper was adjusted to ride just above the tire tread and scrape off the broken glass and thorns before they could make a couple of rotations of the wheel. They were kind of cheesy, but actually worked.

The thorns were as sharp as cactus.

John

Those tire scrapers actually worked quite well. My dad had them on his Peugeot 10 speed back in the day..........

tire wiper.jpg
 
Never got flats mountain biking in the woods of PA growing up, but I work hard not to get flats on or off road riding the past 30 years in PHX.
Over time, many different things were tried to prevent thorn punctures. They all killed the ride. The performance ride of any bicycle is in the weight of the rotating mass of the wheels/tires. When you add weight to the outer edge of the wheel/tire it just rides sluggish.

THORN RESISTANT INNER TUBES. Likely the most common product. It was a very common dealer installed, or factory "Chicago Option". Unfortunately, the American made (Carlisle/Good Year/U.S. Rubber) thorn resistant tubes were made with a very thick cross section all the way around the tube, even the sidewalls, and the inside area next to the rim was thick rubber. They worked but likely were the worst of the various options. The imported Thorn Resistant tubes were extruded with a much greater oval ellipse. Thicker on the outer edge near the tire for greater puncture protection, and almost as thin as a standard tube near the rim side.

MR. TUFFY'S TIRE LINERS. These were a urethane plastic liners placed between the inside of the tire and the tube. They worked OK, but still were only common on utility style bicycles. They had a smaller decrease in ride performance feel.

INNER TUBE SEALANTS. These have been around for over 125 years, sold with many brand names. Never Leak, was the old standard. You took out the Schrader valve core, and screwed the tube onto the valve stem and squirted the liquid into the tube. The trick to installing this nasty stuff is the tire valve has to be position at the top of the wheel. Then as you squirt it into the tube it will run inside the tube to the bottom. If you remove the Never Leak tube from the valve when it's positioned at the bottom it all comes back out "spraying at you". Slime, the green stuff was made from vegetable fibers. It might "be green" but it's still a mess. If you have a large puncture with a nail or tack and need to patch your tube all of these liquid sealants as a freaking mess inside the tire. We never patched any tube that had any liquid in it. Speaking of patching, we installed a lot of new valve stems on tubes that were ridden underinflated and cut the stems off. Originally Dell vulcanized tube stems were common for the replacement, but in time Rema stems took over that repair business.

John
 
Those tire scrapers actually worked quite well. My dad had them on his Peugeot 10 speed back in the day..........

View attachment 1798774
Yup! That's it, we purchased them by the wall card from Peugeot as an accessory. They were called Tire Savers. They actually worked. It took a little tweaking to get them adjusted just right.

Thanks for posting the photo.

John
 
When I lived down south, the main culprit for a flat would be the dried-out pod of the Sweet Gum tree, which looks like a little spiked ball, about the size of a ping pong ball. They would turn the road near a tree into a mine field when the pods would drop. Hitting one was not a guaranteed flat, but there was maybe a 20% chance you'd catch it just right and the spikes would puncture the tire. Where I live now in New England, the main culprit is man-made debris, usually broken glass, nails or screws on the shoulder of the road.
 
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