This may well have been done already but I couldn’t find anything….

I was about to give up at the top of a cracking descent yesterday – put a hole in my tubeless tyre just big enough to spray sealant everywhere and not seal. My 1 spare 29er tube flats straight away and, being now covered in goop, I can’t get a patch to stick…..

I had a spare 26″tube and figured it gets pretty huge when you inflate it out of the tyre so figured I’d give it a go… Fits perfectly and got me home nicely.

Not sure I’d want to rely on it for too long but good to know I can just have 26″tubes as emergency spares for all sizes of wheel!

I won’t. Both my bikes are 26″. One is brand new and I’m just about to build up another. I like 26″ – its my favourite wheelsize!

Could you not just keep your 29″ tubes instead?

I ran a 26″ tube in my 29″ front wheel for months. Sold the bike over 18 months ago and recently bought it back but it was fitted with Small Block 8’s. Took those off to fit some winter tyres and the 26″ tube is still fitted!

They make 29er tubes???

They still make tubes?

But will the trail still come alive if it detects a 26 inch tube…

They still make tubes?

Yes for those that try to ride without them.

Whats this 29 thing you talk about and inner tubes ? Must be retro stuff ………

Would the same trick work with 650b / 27.5 ❓

why wouldn’t it?

go take a tube and inflate it outside of a tyre

I’ve never bought a 29er tube.

Caught a flat on a freezing wet solo night ride once, & discovered that the tube I’d grabbed on the way out was one of my lads 20″ tubes. After a round of profanity it did actually go in & get inflated…briefly.
Cue loud bang. 😥
Had to stuff the tyre full of undergrowth to get home.

Mate hired a 29 at Glentress and got a puncture near the end. No-one had a tube so we thought we would stick a 26 tube in, turns out the tube that was in was a 26 er anyway.

Would the same trick work with 650b / 27.5

Yep. Someone, somewhere is now riding my much missed XTC 27.5.3 with a 26″ tube on the rear wheel.

here we go,

i got bored

Sorry, we need to talk about your pedal choice.

I do like to see a bike in the kitchen! Fair play fella!

Pedals? Broke my road shoes earlier this year, not replaced them yet

There’s 2 others in the kitchen as well

I used to work in a LBS and every now and then we would get a customer who “just blew up the tube to check for any holes”,on a brand new tube they had bought earlier. They would roll back in with a tube that you could get around a small planet and complain it wouldn’t fit in their tyre!. Letting some air out might help!.