Been using these instead of tubeless on my road bikes. One flat in 3 years and 15k miles. NUFF said. If you don�t want to mess w tubeless but want great ride quality, light weight, puncture resistance without the hassle of tubeless, this is it!
After a lot of indecision, splurged and bought two of the Race 700 x 23/28 version. Disappointed to find that both weighed nearly 46g (45.7 and 45.9g to be precise). Substantially more than the 41g listed both in the specs and prominently on the box. Hoped that the scale was off. Fresh batteries, re-calibrated. Nope, not the scale.
Schwalbe tech rep says that lower weight is less important than reduced rolling resistance and greater puncture resistance. CyclingTips' posted data shows that Aerothans have slightly more rolling resistance than latex and slightly less than Conti Supersonic. As for puncture resistance, it's always seemed like that should be in the tires rather than the tubes (though resistance to tearing while mounting is always welcome).
Still, one expects that a product which is (a) made in Germany and (b) so expensive would be closer to spec. If that's impossible, a weight range should be given.
They're still in the box, so my one star rating doesn't mean much. Haven't decided whether to use them or return for credit.
Pros: lightweight, packs small, holds air very well, perfect for seat-pack spares
Cons: Cannot be permanently patched with any patch material currently on the market. I've tried Tubolito, slime, and Park patches. Nothing works. Schwalbe says you must use their patch kit, but I've never tried it because these are not available anywhere. Until Schwalbe makes their patch kits as widely available as the tubes, these can only used as a seat-pack spare (unless you want to throw away a $30 tube with each puncture). Note: Tubolito patches work great for a while, but after a few months they eventually fail.
I will never use a "normal" tube again! It is a phenomenal improvement. It frees up so much space in your Jersey or bag, and they really are puncture resistant. The also prefer them to their orange competition. Cannot recommend enough!
Lighter than latex, and it holds air better than butyl, with virtually no pressure loss between rides. Some reviewers have said they're hard to repair, but in my experience punctures are easily repaired using either the Schwalbe or Tubilito patch kits that are specifically made for thermoplastic tubes. They are great to carry in the flat kit since they are light weight and take up much less space than butyl or latex.
I bought this to use as a spare on my tubeless gravel bike. However, the paperwork that comes with it says not to get it in contact with sealant. So, it is useless for my purposes. I bought lightweight tubes from another company that do not have this issue.
Bought 3 of them at the beginning of May. All 3, yes all 3, are toast now.
Tube 1 developed an air bubble in one spot during installation, stretching the material irreparably before the tire was even on (apparently there's a warning against overinflation prior to mounting,written in tiny print in the install guide??).Tube 2, mounted on the rear under a Conti GP5000 in 28mm, punctured after 150 miles.Tube 3, mounted on the rear under a Conti GP 4 seasons in 32mm, punctured after 200 miles (300 miles total on this tube, if you count the 100 miles when it was on the front before I switched it to the rear). As other reviewers have noted, the Schwalbe Glueless Patches can't be found anywhere! So I'm stuck with two broken tubes that I'll probably never bother to fix, given my lack of trust in these tubes now, and what I've heard about the Glueless Patches not always working well.
This was no scientific experiment, so my results are by no means objective, and I may have just had a run of bad luck (I think I was tempting the Flat Gods when I bought these tubes because I was on a 3000-mile no-flat streak with basic butyl tubes (Bontragers and Michelin Airstop A2s with different set-ups)). That being said, I will never purchase Schwalbe Aerothan tubes again. Schwalbe, if you're listening, lower the price by at least half and I will MAYBE consider buying them again, because, as much as I hate to admit it, I did like riding them and I feel like the lower weight and slightly lower rolling resistance was noticeable.
My next tire/wheel upgrade will probably be going tubeless (in which case my Aerothans, if I ever am able to patch them, will be even more useless, because, as Schwalbe notes in the fine print of their Aerothan packaging, the tubes can't come into contact with Tubeless sealant - so much for a light spare tube lol).
Expensive but I was surprised it felt a noticeably better/smoother ride with these tubes. I did have a pinch flat but it was from a pothole. Didnt think a cheap butyl tube could do better in that situation. I used the Park Tool GP-2 patch since the Schwalbe patch is impossible to find and the patch is holding up well after 2k miles. Just make sure surfaces are super clean before applying the patch. I also had 30mm valve extenders fixed on these tubes and no leaks whatsoever. Will get couple more spares when they are back in stock and on sale.
Look, I put these tubes in for a race, and they were a dream. Very light, and they rode unbelievably, I couldn't believe what a difference they made in the ride. Then a couple rides later I get TWO PINCH FLATS IN THE SAME RIDE 15 miles apart, leaves me with a 2 mile walk of shame. That was just the beginning. I can only use their special patches, right? For TWO MONTHS I look everywhere, nobody has them in stock. TWO MONTHS! So I finally give in last week and my the Park Tools glueless patches. They actually seem to work pretty well, but I'll never know because as I'm getting everything repaired and ready to ride, my valve literally BLOWS OUT of the plastic (yes, plastic) valve stem. Threads are ruined, won't hold a valve or an extender in the stem. Trash. Waste of money. Don't think I'll waste my time trying to install the other aerothan that I repaired.
Been running Latex for racing/training since I can remember, great feel, fast, light, etc. Switched to the competition, to shed a few grams and have a more compact spare, let's call them "Orange" and was happy until I realized their fatal flaw, the stem.
Touch it with anything, add extenders for deep carbon rims, change the valve for any reason, and bammm instant failure, leak, crack, non-seal. These Aerothan's are waaaaaay different. The stem is actually the focus, and works 100% so far in my usage. Just as light, just as good, with far better engineering.
I'm a fan of the Schwalbe Aerothan.
These tubes are lighter than latex and much lighter than butyl.
Installation was no problem and each size covers a useful range of tire sizes.
They retain air better than latex but not as well as standard butyl. Mine lose about 10% per week.
I've had 2 flats, both were slow leaks from tiny holes. I couldn't find Schwalbe patches but was able to repair the tubes with Park glueless patches. I cleaned the hole area thoroughly then pressed the patch on by rolling a socket wrench over it with lots of force. They hold air as well as unpatched tubes.
I like these better than Tubolito. Mostly I've had problems getting patches to hold on Tubolito. Also the Aerothan seem lighter and more flexible (and I don't have to look at orange valve stems).
I wish I could LOVE these, and I do. I wish I could say they're perfect, but no. The valve stems are strange and, I believe, leaky. I've purchased a number of these tubes and have replaced Schwalbe's valve cores with standard ones I've saved over the years and that has cured some air leakage issues.
I'd love for these to be a great spare carry tube for my various tubeless setups, but they warn not to use these tubes in tires where tubeless sealant has been used. I think I get why because I've tried it despite their warnings. Tubeless sealants have glitter-type junk that helps clog a puncture and aid sealing, but that glitter-type junk is large enough and has sharp-enough edges to put tiny punctures in these extremely thin tubes.
When I've used these tubes in brand new tires they've been amazing! Minimal air loss over time. Extremely light and they seem to be durable. You just can't use them as backup for a tubeless setup where sealant has been involved (which they quite clearly warn you about up front). And the valve stems/cores seem a bit sketchy. These are my knocks on them. Otherwise, they're fantastic. They're extremely light and seem to roll every bit as well as latex or tubeless.
Put these on my gravel bike and road bike. Certainly different and rather pricey, but so far so good. Hold air better than latex so no need to air everyday. Ride very supple, closer to latex than butyl. Nice rotational mass saving on gravel bike (700x35 tires), didn't notice much on road bike (700x25) but was running latex already. No punctures, so that's good, but didn't expect any since the backroads here are decent and most of the flats I get and see during club rides are from tube failures or worn out tires and maybe the occasional pinch flat at RRXing, so cannot comment on repair. Overall nice product and happy with purchase.
I ride 125 to 150 miles a week of mostly dry and hilly roads, mostly on a 2021 Roubaix Expert with alloy wheels. I'm one of those people that is highly skeptical when reviewers use subjective words like "supple" when rating tires or tubes. I bought these in the hopes of reducing flats and having more consistent air pressure, so I was surprised when I felt like they actually make a difference in ride quality. Supple may be the right word -- it does feel like a smoother ride.
This may seem like a steep price to pay, but if they really do provide better flat protection then that means I'll buy fewer tubes. Also, at least for now I feel like I can put off my planned upgrade to carbon wheels. If you're on the fence, I think they're worth a try. You've probably spent more money on dumber products.
I'm using Aerothan tubes in both 25mm tires on my roadbike (90/80PSI) and 38mm tires on my gravel bike (50/40PSI) for about a month now. Easy to install. No flats yet so haven't tested their patchability. Love their small size and weight.
The gravel bike tubes have Continental 20mm valve extenders attached. No problems.
The road bike tubes need to be aired up before every ride. Their pressure drops significantly (~10PSI) between rides. The gravel bike tubes, with their much lower pressure, hold air much better.
I have tried Tubolito tubes and so far I like the Aerothans' more. The two Tubolito road bike tubes I used were leaky. Tubolito was good about replacing the tubes, but I asked for gravel bike tubes as replacements and am using them now as spares. Haven't tried these replacement tubes yet. Maybe they'll work better with lower pressure.
The real test is later this year when I ride my gravel bike across USA (3600 miles). Tubes' size and weight count a lot, but reliability is even more important for me. Aerothan tubes are expensive, but if they remain reliable I will use them for the trip.
I started using Aerothan tubes a few months ago. While I am not doing roll down tests or otherwise testing to accurately measure rolling resistance, I feel very fast with these tubes and a high performance, low rolling resistance tire. The tubes are easy to install and very strong. I finally managed to develop a slow leak in one, by hitting a pothole so hard it would have pinch flatted any other tube. I just ordered two more...
I am now using these in my light weight climbing road bike wheels, my fast carbon aero wheels, and my winter training wheels... the tubes are very light, very low rolling resistance and very durable, so an optimum choice for each of those uses. I am an ex amateur racer and still doing group rides with younger, fitter, faster racers, so need all the help I can get.
I've been using the 700c version on my regular training bike for a few months. The ride quality is nice; perhaps a tad better than latex. Not scientific, but I went about twice as long without a puncture, which could be luck. However, patches aren't available ANYWHERE and those that have tried the Schwalbe patches seem to find they fail. Not worth it compared to good latex or butyl which you get much more life out of for a small weight difference.
If you like super low-maintenance like me, you probably like the idea of fewer flats, and tubeless sounds like a hassle (having to replace slime every once in a while). So to reduce punctures on my daily commute I went with Schwalbe Marathon tires and these more puncture-resistant tubes (and lighter tube weight helps offset the heavier tires a bit...although I was actually impressed that the tires aren't crazy heavy considering their much thicker construction)
