Bike tubing for divers
In this first blog post of the new series „toolbox for divers“ I will show you a part that is not made for scuba divers … in the first instance. This blog post is about bicyle tube. Yes, bicyle tube 🙂
In the picture above you can see two types of bicyle tube. On the left a 26 inches tube for mountain bikes. In the middle a 28 inches road bike tube. On the right you can see the packaging of the road bike tube. Both bicyle tubes are used in different ways for scuba diving. More about that in a minute.
If you do not have bicyle tube at home go and visit your local bike shop. The cheapest bicycle tube is okay for scuba diving. You do not need special tubes with „anti flat“ or things like that. The tube’s valve does not matter as well. It will be cut out.
Where do we use bicycle tube?
Both tubes shown in the picture above are used in different ways. Therefore we do need them in two different sizes.
Mountain bike bicycle tube
Backup Light is secured with two pieces of bicycle tubing
Bicycle tube for mountain bikes is used when you want to attach your backup lights to your harness. You just have to cut the tube in pieces of 1cm of width. After that you put it onto the webbing. How you attach a backup light to the harness can you read here: Secure Backup Light on the Harness (LINK).
As the bicycle tube tends to break from time to time it is wise to have 1-2 spare tube pieces with you. You can also put them onto the harness. You can store them below the D-ring for instance. Underwater you can replace a broken tube piece very quickly then.
Road bike bicycle tube for the mask strap
Bicycle tubing secures the mask strap
If you use a neopren mask strap bicycle tubing is quite helpful to prevent the straps of the mask from tangling. The bicycle tube is put on the both straps of the mask.
The advantage of a neopren mask strap ist hat you just have to adjust it once. Andi t will not break as easily as the silicone straps.
A blog post about how to attach a neoprene mask strap to your mask will follow.
As you can see, bicycle tube is – what a surprise – also very useful for scuba divers. Out of one bicycle tube you can prepare several masks or you can use them for years to cut off little pieces for your backup light. A new bicycle tube costs about 6-8 Euros.
And so we have the first piece for out toolbox for divers: Bicycle tube.