Will a 2.4″ inner tube inflate a 2.8″ tyre?

I want a lightweight inner tube to carry for emergencies and Conti seem to do the largest one available, up to 2.4″? Will it inflate a 2.8″ tyre to get me home and do they pack down small? And no, I don’t want a Tubolito, tried those and they fail.

Yes. I use a Specialized 3” DH tube in a 4.8” fat tyre so it’ll be fine.

Cheers

Yes, you’ll be fine. A superlightweight inner tube isn’t going to let you smash through things but as a get back home/to the car backup it’ll be fine.

I know what you mean about Tubolito, they are shall we say, fragile.

Worth taking some tissue paper and a small pair of pliers. Use the tissue paper to find all those thorns that the sealant handled without you noticing and the pliers to pull them out. I took six out of one tyre and I didn’t think I’d ridden anywhere with thorns around.

The Tubolito got me home the only time I needed to use it and it packs really small. But I took it out of my bag to test it and it had a hole. I put one of their specific patches over it and it sealed, but the area around it ballooned to the point I thought it was going to pop. It then lost air and I chucked it.

I use Topeak or Park Tool self-adhesive patches on the Tubolito, they work fine. Tubolito’s specific patches are just Tenacious Tape.