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I have a 700 x 28c tyre on my road bike with a Presta valve. And I am looking for tube.

Some people have recommended me to go for Schwalbe tube for my use. On below website I came across tubes that have tube width range like 700x18-28c and 700x28-45c. https://bumsonthesaddle.com/

The URLs for the 2 tubes are as below.

https://bumsonthesaddle.com/collections/all/products/schwalbe-sv20-700x18-28c-80mm-presta-road-tube

https://bumsonthesaddle.com/collections/all/products/schwalbe-sv17-700x28-45c-40mm-presta-road-tube

I can see that these 2 tubes have different length of valve. I will check my cycle to see what valve length I have in existing tube. But my query is regarding, what tube width range should I go with, 700x18-28c or 700x28-45c.

I feel like going with 700x28-45c will be the best option, since my need is for 28c and this tube wont be at its max capacity for my tyre. Whereas the other one will be at max capacity and could cause issue due to heat or bumps on road.

2 Answers 2

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You can literally use either size of tube.

The smaller would be slightly lighter and therefore faster up hills, but the difference is small.

The larger tube would not be as stretched as the smaller, and therefore should be slightly more puncture-resistant.

But the manufacturer says both tubes will work fine in your 28mm tyre.


As you noticed, the only difference is the length of the valve stem, and that's only an issue on rims with an aero profile.

The other consideration is if you intend to change to wider or narrower tyres in the future.

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    The other consideration is if you intend to change to wider or narrower tyres in the future. This is a good point that you mentioned. I will surely be changing to 25c tyres in future. But for now, I'll go with 700x28-45c. The reason being I am facing a lot of punctures on my rides, I dont know if its my riding style, air pressure, or the road condition. So to be on a safer side, will use the larger width. Thanks for your inputs.
    – BikeRider
    Commented May 15, 2023 at 3:17
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    If you're getting new tyres to change to 25s, you might to want to look into your options for puncture protection. Unless it's pinch flats, where higher pressure, avoiding potholes, and/or unweighting the saddle for harsh bumps would help
    – Chris H
    Commented May 15, 2023 at 6:59
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    @BikeRider Changing to 25c itself is unlikely to matter for punctures. What matters is the puncture protection of the tyre brand and type you select. The size 28c is now used even by professional road racers as the fastest choice and is likely the better choice for almost everyone (for speed, comfort, adhesion), provided that the bike allows such wide tyres. Commented May 15, 2023 at 8:42
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A couple of other inputs to your choice:

I have 2 bikes with 700C presta tubes. One runs 28-32mm, and the other 35-38mm. I'd much rather not have to worry about whether I'm carrying the right spare tube, or what size my patched ones are (not all brands label them permanently). I can't cover my gravel wheelset with the same tubes, unfortunately.

If you ride with regular buddies, it might make sense to carry spares that will help out someone having a bad day in case they've used theirs and puncture again. I'm at the wide end of what people I ride with use, so can't help those with the skinniest tyres (they also get more punctures because their lightweight choices have less protection than my tyres).

Also note that you can exceed the limits a bit in both directions, but too small puts the tube under stress and too big makes it easy to catch in the bead when mounting.

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