Vittoria Competition Latex Tube - Performance Bike Tire Tube - Lightweight Bicycle Inner Tubes for Racing

Based on rolling resistance cyclings studies a good inner - latex or tpu + a supple fast tyre will be as near as damn it as fast as similar tubeless. Based on my experience I'd agree.. I've used on mountain bikes and the feel and pace has been good. And perfectly fine on puncture resistance. Because of the lower pressure, I never encountered the installation issues I did at 70-90psi on the road. In use, it's the same on the road. Fast, comfortable and no issues with punctures. There are downsides - they do leak air faster than butyl. (Tpu holds air well). Expect to put air in every few days as a minimum. So to installation your rim tape must be the right size, spec and correctly fitted. I did not get this right and had an unexplained blow out. I traced it back to a spoke hole that was covered, but the tape had domed. I covered the entire rim with an extra layer of electrical tape. There is still doming. This is an issue for failure. What i should have done was strip off all tape. Buy a high pressure rim tape (it must be high pressure). Clean and install it meticulously - no wrinkles no dips, perfect coverage of holes and lapping to the sides. No rough edges or areas for an inner to snag or rub against. On a 15mm rim (yes old road bike), 18mm tape is needed to completely cover the holes and lap up shoulder (but not foul the bead hook). If you look at schwalbes guide, they make it clear if you look closely at the pics. And once you see the diagrams and ompare to your rims you'll see what you need. On mine the holes completely fill the well in the rim base- edge to edge. So without a wide tape there is no security. And with continual use the latex will find a gap and eventually blow. Tpu is apparently even more prone to wrinkles, edges etc.. Now I've found my way there, I'm sure it will be fine, but do bear in mind the swop from butyl to any new format will need a little prep. For comfort and speedy I am happy that's a price worth paying. They are also obviously more expensive than butyl. If you want that improved feel and pace it's probably as cheap an upgrade as it comes.

They do the job perfectly. Fit easily, never had a puncture with these and roll really nicely when fitted.

Originally I was sceptical about making the change from butyl to latex tubes but I needn't have been. People will tell you that latex tubes are fragile and puncture easily but that's all a myth. If you install them correctly they are more puncture resistant than butyl and they weigh significantly less. They key is to dust the inside of your tyre with talc, seat the tyre, inflate the tube slightly, install the tube and then fully seat the tyre. You must then ensure that the tube is not pinched under the tyre bead. Then inflate as normal and you're good to go. They ride smoother than butyl and I have not punctured yet in 3000 km. Suffice to say I'm not going back to butyl and time soon.

First time user of latex tubes seem good quality, surprisingly they don’t include valve washers.

I've been using these for 3 or 4 months now without issue. There is a noticeably nicer comfortable feeling on the rough roads we are subjected to these days, with a nice cushioned feel to them and harsh road vibrations dampened greatly. They also save you weight over standard butyl tubes. These weigh 79g each on my scales - down from 120g each for the butyl tubes I was using. My tyres are inflated to 60psi and as others have noted they do need more regular topping up than standard tubes - every 7 to 10 days for me. I've had no flats so far.

Heavy

These were great for the short time that they lasted. Installed correctly in the front and back wheel on my bike and inflated to 120 psi (fine for my 25c tyres). I went out with them in for a couple of rides and they were great. Then, whilst the bike was just stationary in the house, the front tube deflated. On examination, I found the above hole near the valve. I examined the wheel and there was nothing at the location that could have caused the puncture. The rim tape was fine and the black reinforcement on the tube would easily cover the valve hole. Thinking I was just unlucky, I ordered a replacement and went for a ride with a butyl back in the front. The next day, whilst doing some maintenance on the bike I discovered the back tube had deflated. On checking it I found a hole in the exact same place as the front. I obviously didn't fit the replacement when it came through as I don't trust these tubes at all. It's such a shame as they really did feel great to ride on.

I have to pump each time I go on a ride but it made the poor road condition in the UK less suffering. It no longer felt like riding up-hill on flat bumpy road after installing these tubes. EDIT: the first one got a puncture after ~50km and the second one after about ~150km ride. Both got the same kind of puncture. They both sticked to the tyre and got stretched from the rotation/bump. The stretching ripped a hole.