Buyer's guide | Inner tubes
All about our inner tubes
There are innertubes in many sizes. We can provide you with any innertube you need. From a tube for your road or mountain bike to your urban, e-bike or even the bicycle of your child. As a spare tube or just when you need to replace the inner tube of your bicycle. But when buying an inner tube online, it can be a struggle to find the correct size. We’ll help you with this. After you have taken a look, you know exactly which tube to get.
Innertube sizes
When selecting the right inner tube for your bicycle, you need to find some answers first. First thing is to determine what size of inner tube you need. When selecting the right size of the inner tube, you need to know the size of your wheel in mm, the ETRTO-size or the size in Inches. Here you will find all these measurement methods.
Size - ETRTO ( Industrial )
The European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation (ETRTO) is an international institute which standardises the sizes of tires. The ETRTO sizes are very precise because the sizes are based on the diameter of the rim instead of the outer tire. An example could be 42-622. The first number here stands for the width and height of the tire in mm and the second number for the diameter of the rim in mm.
Which innertube fits my tyre?
Once you know the ETRTO-code of your tire, you can determine the size of inner tube you need. Because inner tubes are very stretchable, they can always fit a range of widths and sometimes even wheel diameters. Some tubes will display 28-622/630 or even 20/28-622/630. These numbers show a range of rim diameters and tire widths in which the innertube will fit.
Size - mm ( Race )
This measurement looks a lot like the ETRTO sizes but are only used for road cycling nowadays. Just as the ETRTO system, the diameter of the rim is used. For example, 700 X 25C could be a size. The first number is the diameter from the outer tire in mm, and the second number is the width of the tire in mm.
Size - Inch (") ( MTB )
The classic method is to measure in inches. This is nowadays mostly only used in the MTB world and USA. This is how it works: the size is made up of two or three elements. Always think of the wheel diameter and the width of the tire. Sometimes a third is used, and that would be the height of the tire. An example of this could be 28X1½ or 28x1½x1¾. The first number is an old measurement of the outside diameter of the tire. The second number is the width of the tire and the third number is the height of the tire.
Materials
Inner tubes are mainly made of one of two different rubber materials. You can use either natural latex rubber or synthetic Butyl rubber. At BBB Cycling, all our inner tubes are made of Butyl rubber. Butyl rubber tubes don't leak as much air as their latex counterparts. Butyl inner tubes have become lighter over the years, and there are even ultralight Butyl tires on the market. But they still don't leak as much air as the latex tubes. We have two variants in our innertube assortment. This way you are able to choose between a normal tube and a superlite one.
Valves
When you know the right size for your new inner tube, you have to select the valve type you need. Every inner tube has a valve through which you inflate your inner tube. A Dunlop, Schräder or Presta valve, all with their own pro’s and con’s.
Presta valve / FV
For the Presta valve (also known as French valve), we use the shortcut abbreviation. This type of valve is mainly used on road and touring bikes. An inner tube with this type of valve is suitable for high pressures. When inflating an inner tube with this valve, you need to open the valve by unscrewing the nipple on top.
Available in: 33 mm, 48 mm, 60 mm and 80 mm lengths. R - Removable valve for use with extenders.
Schräder valve / AV
Or the Schräder valve (also known as Automotive valve), we use the abbreviation AV. An inner tube with this type of valve is mainly used on cars. The type of bikes that make use of these valves are mountain bikes and other kinds of bikes with wide tires. This type of valve makes it easy to inflate your tube at a gas station without any use of extenders.
Available in: 33 mm, 48 mm, 60 mm and 80 mm lengths.
Dunlop valve / DV
For the Dunlop valve (also known as Dutch valve), we use the abbreviation DV. This type of valve is known for its wide usage in the Netherlands. Most urban bicycles and e-bikes in the Netherlands (and other countries) use this kind of valve. You can use any floor pump to inflate inner tubes with this valve.
Available in: 31 mm and 40 mm lengths. BV - Bent Valve.