Bike inner tubes: sizes, valve types and materials explained

Everything you need to know about what you pump up on your bike

Pirelli SmarTUBE is showing folded up in this image being held close to the camera by someone who is blurred in the background
(Image credit: Pirelli)

It’s one of those bits of cycling equipment that looks simple and standardised. But there far more to the cycling inner tube than meets the eye. We pull back the rubber and delve in to what it takes to make the best cycling inner tube, and how to find your ideal match. 

There are lots of variables when it comes to the most concealed element of your bike. From size to valve type, weight to puncture resistance, finding the right inner tube will make a massive difference to your cycling.   

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

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Hannah Bussey

Hannah is Cycling Weekly’s longest-serving tech writer, having started with the magazine back in 2011. She has covered all things technical for both print and digital over multiple seasons representing CW at spring Classics, and Grand Tours and all races in between.


Hannah was a successful road and track racer herself, competing in UCI races all over Europe as well as in China, Pakistan and New Zealand.


For fun, she's ridden LEJOG unaided, a lap of Majorca in a day, won a 24-hour mountain bike race and tackled famous mountain passes in the French Alps, Pyrenees, Dolomites and Himalayas. 


She lives just outside the Peak District National Park near Manchester UK with her partner, daughter and a small but beautifully formed bike collection.