Thanks for the responses everyone. Tim, do you think you could elaborate a bit more when you wrote, "I used tubes with plastic protectors at the stem holes." Are you talking about tubes inside the tire? Is that some kind of special tube or would any tire store know what I'd be talking about? Is the plastic protector at the stem something that came with the tube or something you fabricated? Your statement about "6 years and thousands of miles" holds a lot of weight for me, so I'd really like to know the rest of the details! I thought I'd post my follow-up questions to you here for everyone's benefit instead of PM'ing you. Thanks!
