Tire Tubes

the time has come to replace the tires on my 77 kz650. i know what tires im going to put on, but looking at the selection of tubes at DennisKirk, im not sure which tubes to get. Is there anything remarkably different between any of the tire tubes they sell? Should i just get the right size, with the right valve stem, and at the lowest price? i mean, an 18" metzler tube is $22 and an 18" drag specialties tube is $10. are they drastically different? i cant think of a reason why.

confused...

~mike

I think the differance is a "heavy duty" and standard tube, go for the heavy, it has more rubber thickness than a standard tude. seems like the tubes cost around 15-18 bucks.

interestingly, the cheaper priced drag specialties tube is advertised as a "heavy duty" tube, while the more expensive metzler has no such marketing identifying it as a "heavy duty" tube.

im just using drag specialties and metzler as examples. this pricing confusion runs across the entire supply of tubes in the DK catalog. nothing seems to make sense.

really, the only thing i can use to explain it is possibly the quantity of tubes manufcatured by each company. some of these guys probably produce more than the others, and as such, they are able to produce them at cheaper cost. the companies that produce fewer tubes will most likely pay more per tube and pass the cost on to the consumer... then people who are brand loyal (i.e. must have pirelli tubes for my pirelli tires) are going to pay the premium just because they are brand loyal.

anyway, enough rambling. im gonna buy the continental tube because they come with a valve core tool. plus they are low cost. hey, im selling this bike anyway... i just need to make sure they hold air.

~mike

I'd say use whatever. If you get a flat, you get a flat, no matter what tube you use. And the tire will wear out before the tube does in most cases anyways.