Currently I have specialized ultralitght tubes on my CLX 64 wheels and Turbo Cotton tyres.
I have tubolito as a spare but didn’t try it yet.
So now i’m in doubt to change tubes for tubolitos or latex.
How is your experience with spec ultralight tubes (what is their weight?) and do you suggest to change them?
Which one would you pick latex or tubolitos? I don’t have problems with adjusting the pressure every time I ride because I’m doing that anyway
Which latex and what extenter for 64mm wheels?
Latex is latex, I usually use vittoria. Just be sure to use some talc powder on install and you’re golden.
Latex as your main, tubolito as your spare.
Rolling resistance gains for latex are amazing, but you’ll want a butyl or tubolito spare for dirty roadside repairs, especially if using co2
Personally I like the silca threaded valve extenders with the speedshield, 40 mm extenders for your 65 mm wheels. The speedshield apparently saves like half a watt, but better than that, I like that I can have the threaded nut to hold the extender out tight which solves any rattling ( drives me NUTS when it rattles ) and it also stops you from depressing the valve into the tire, stretching the latex tube out repeatedly in the seal around the valve stem, I have had this fail on me IN TRANSITION IN A RACE before I started using these, now I swear by them.
I usually buy the latex tube/extender/speedshield pack deal, it’s just a branded vittoria tube iirc.
Currently running Vitoria latex as my mains and carry Continental RaceLight 28 as a spare since it is thin and rolls up small for pocket carry. Latex rides real smooth, tubolito seem to be a bit more finicky with their plastic stems and are more expensive too. Also not for everyone but latex can be patched using old latex donors while tubolito can’t
Why? I carry latex spare and use CO2. Curious if I’m missing something! I don’t think I’ve had any problems, but open to ideas for sure.
No idea officially, but I do the same for latex as recommended for anything else.
I think that, but am not expert here, recommendations should be based on road surface and rider weight. Harder tires than 80psi = faster on smooth roads for sure. Probably faster on most roads, tbh.
Main issue with co2 and latex tubes, is that latex tubes already dissipate air faster than butyl tubes ( hence having to inflate them before every ride, though I think this is good practice anyways butyl or latex )
CO2 diffuses through latex at a much faster rate, and depending on how far you are from the end of your ride, it could potentially cause issues with the loss in air pressure leading to higher rate of pinch flats etc.
I’d HATE to inflate with CO2, ride an hour and a half, then pinch flat my latex tube cause of air loss.
If you aren’t far from home, you may get away with it in a pinch, but the more time you have left in a ride, the more likely the escaping co2 can cause issues.
Then once I am home, I’ll swap to a latex tube and put away the spare butyl.
Optimal pressures come down essentially to rider weight vs width of the tire. Latex has less energy loss on deformation and reformation of it’s shape, but doesn’t change the optimal tire pressure for the system, essentially you’re just lowering the rolling resistance of the tube itself, but the rolling characteristics of the tire rubber and how well the tire maintains traction to the ground remain unchanged.
I haven’t decided yet…
With Tubolitos I can get 100+g weight gains…
But I’m more interested in road feel. For example… I moved from tubeless (GP5000 TL) because I didn’t like the road feedback in corners…
I don’t have problems with everyday inflating (I always do that and have SKS two decimal pressure checker )
So… Im 100g weight savings vs better road feel and RR…
As far as I know Tubolito solves valve leaking and patching problems and puncture resistance is similar for both of them.
I have been using Conti Race 28 Light tubes with GP4000 and GP5000 tires for the last 2 years and I do not believe I have had one single flat tire. I just recently switched over to Silca Latex and have only been out once this year so I can’t comment on durability. The latex felt great but I can’t say it was a drastic difference. I have to keep reminding myself these are marginal gains. I also switched from 23mm tires to 25mm tires when I installed the latex. So now I run the latex tubes installed and carry the Conti Race 28 light tube as a spare. I can carry a tube Co2 and lever in my back pocket.
I did use baby powder when installing the latex just to be safe.
Here are the tube weights using my scale:
Conti Race 28 Light Tube 60mm Valve 78g
Conti Race 28 Light Tube 80mm Valve 85g
Silca Latex 24-30mm Tube 42mm Valve 86g - With extender installed 87g
I’m running 30-32mm tyres for much the year, and the 2x butyl spare tubes were pretty bulky (volume-wise), requiring quite a large saddle bag to fit them and all the other junk I like to carry. Replacing them with Aerothans saved enough space that I could size down on the bag. Since I was replacing the spare tubes, I thought it’d be rude not to also replace the tubes in the tyres while I was at it…
The Aerothans are each >80g lighter than the regular Conti “Race 28” (25-32mm) used previously, so ~1/3 of a kilo weight saved across the four tubes, and the smaller saddle bag saves a touch more weight, and the whole lot is >350g lighter than previously. I’m not someone who’s normally particularly focused on the weight of stuff, but that reduction is a nice bonus for not a lot of money spent.*
*I don’t normally get many/any(!) punctures - fair weather rider etc - so while these tubes cost a load more than butyl tubes I don’t expect to be buying very many of them in the years ahead.
I hadn’t thought about implications for ride quality on the Aerothans, and the first time I rode with them found myself pleasantly surprised at the difference vs. the previous butyl tubes. Nice bonus, as would be the supposed improved puncture resistance. I may experiment with running them at slightly lower (5 PSI reduction) pressure than the already fairly low pressures I used: trying 45/50 for 32mm, 55/60 for 30mm, and 65/70 for 28mm in the summer on tour.
I’m not interested in running tubeless tyres on the road - for me the upside is outweighed by the downside - so the Aerothans seem like a decent and simple alternative. I’ve only had them on a few months, and not ridden them much, so should have a firmer view in a year or so’s time.
