Tubes

This is the cheapest and highest-impact improvement you can make on ride quality as long as you are willing to put a little air in your tires before you go out. A longtime user of latex-tubed sew-ups, I recently switched bikes and found myself on factory-issue clinchers. They rode like rocks. It's getting really hard to find tubular rims these days, so I did the next best (and cheaper) thing and got these latex tubes along with good-quality tires (Continental GP5000). Latex installs just like any other tube, there's nothing complicated here. And the difference is enormous. Yes, you will have to top up the pressure from day to day, that's just how latex works. But you'll never go back, guaranteed.

Less rotational weight and a more supple ride...why wouldn't you buy these tubes?? I can't be certain of the energy savings, but these latex tubes are light and provide a very smooth ride. The retail price is high compared to standard tubes, but a cheap upgrade if you consider the amount of hours any serious cyclist spends on the road.

Installation is easy. Plenty of talc and don't pinch the tube - so the same process as any other tube installation! If you can't install a tube without pinching it(1 star knucklehead reviewer), then take it to your LBS.

Approximately 4,200 miles on these tubes so far, and NO issues, NO flats.

Buy Them.

I bought these latex tubes after reading many of the reviews of the product. They are what all the reviews say they are. Light, supple and fragile. I got 667 miles out of the front tube before it went flat. On removal of the tube the hole was located at the base of the stem where the two ends of the tube are joined. After spending a few minutes inspecting the hole and the area around the hole, it looked like the tube may have been rubbing either on the rim tape or some irregularity in the wheel, even though I couldn't feel any irregularity that seemed sharp enough to cause the proble. The wheel is a DT Swiss R470db. I used an idea I got from the LBS some years ago and cut out a piece of butyl tube about 2.25 inches by 1 inch. I punched a hole in the piece and slide it over the stem to give that area of the tube a little more protection. Time will tell if this was a good fix or not. The last point about the tubes is Vittoria claims they may decrease the rolling resistance of the tire assemble by as much as 5.5 watts. Again this is something I can't personally verify but assuming it may be true, that works out to about $3.00 per watt of decreased rolling resistance. I think that is a bargain.

Perfect backup for my tubeless gravel bike tires! - small and lightweight but durable enough to hold when there may be some slits or cuts in the casing or sidewall. Carry some tyvek paper to back the holes up if they're too big.