Latex tubes vs stardard rubber tubes

DonDaddyD

I needed a new innertube for my back wheel, so I visited Action cycles (10% sale due to store refit) in Wimbledon. They sold me a latex innertube (t'was green) for £4.50, which is cheaper than every other rubber tube I've bought since getting my road bike. I asked why it was green and the store-person told me they were better than standard rubber innertubes because they keep the pressure better.

Is this true?

Presumably they are lighter than rubber ones.

Underscore

I've never had one but my understanding of latex tubes is that they are lighter, more puncture resistant and lose air so quickly that you have to stop and pump them up mid-ride. OK, I have exaggerated the last point but they are supposed to lose air more quickly that normal tubes.

_

DonDaddyD

and lose air so quickly that you have to stop and pump them up mid-ride. OK, I have exaggerated the last point but they are supposed to lose air more quickly that normal tubes.

So the bike shop guy was bullsh*tting me.

For the sake of a £4.50 sale the guy has lost a potential long term customer.

biondino

Well, at the moment you have underscore vs the lbs guy, so there's a 50/50 chance he wasn't bullshitting you! Not that underscore would be bullshitting you either, I'm sure, but for £4.50 it seems harsh to withdraw your custom for life. Perhaps he just got it the wrong way round.

lost_in_thought

Yeah, perhaps a bit harsh there DDD...

Sheldon has this to say:

Some riders prefer latex inner tubes, because they can be a bit lighter than butyl ones. Some riders believe that latex tubes have less rolling resistance than butyl.

Latex tubes are commonly a bit more porous than butyl ones, and need to have their pressure topped off more often.

DonDaddyD

OK bit harsh and I retract my statement (see above ).

But when I worked in a Jewellery shop (part-time), I prided myself on knowing every inch of the products diamonds, watches and precious metals etc and the stuff I didn't know I would say and then ask someone who did.

It just leaves a sour taste because two of them looked me square in the eye and said the same thing "Latex is better because it holds in air pressure longer than standard tubes".

It frightens me because the next time I go in there I could spend £100 - £1000 and you want to be assured you are getting - at the very least - accurate advice.

itboffin

Did some one mention rubber

Latex tubes generally ARE lighter like my 74g Michelin air comps and do not have that nasty high speed bounce you get from some rubber tubes, all my road tyres are now fitted out after almost bouncing off my bike on a downhill at HOTA.

No doubt a lot of people will never be able to tell the difference and will never experience said tigger style bouncing - but I did and it wasn't pleasant.

I can't tell if they lose more air than normal tubes as I check my pressures everyday.

always_tyred

I was buying ski stuff this weekend, and a shop assistant tried to explain to my gf that the "molecules of snow" were larger than the "molecules of water", during a misguided attempt to big up the water repellant technology of some gloves within earshot of an (ex) research scientist. It happens. :roll:

Latex tubes aren't puncture resistant either. They are so fragile you have to install them in an operating theatre.

They are better than Halford's own tubes, but not worth the hassle over a halfway decent set of conti lightweight buytl rubber tubes, for example.

But in theory, setting aside the fact that you will have to stop to replace them (5 minutes) and stop to pump them up (2 minutes) they will save you up to 5 seconds on a 10k time trial because they are so much lighter than butyl rubber.

DonDaddyD

I was noticably quicker getting to work today, I mean really effing quick... the ride was a lot smoother, but there is no way those tyres were 120psi by the time I got into work..

Gavin Gilbert

Latext tubes are lighter, do deflate far quicker than standard butyl tubes (you'll need to reinflate daily) and are significantly more fragile than butyl too.

They are intended for racing, not commuting.

redvee

I've used latex tubes, Michelin pink ones, and they did lose air but not a drastic amount. Had to give them a few thrusts on the track pump once a fortnight.

crankycrank

I used latex tubes a few years back. Tried the Mich, Conti and a couple other brands I can't remember. Compared to the butyl tubes of the same weight I couldn't tell much difference in ride quality on the road. All of them needed to be pumped up daily. They did seem to be slightly less flat prone but I'm not positive about that and any puncture holes were usually so small it was a real pain finding them. The best thing I can say about latex is that patches stick better than on butyls.

Clever Pun

DonDaddyD wrote:

I was noticably quicker getting to work today, I mean really effing quick... the ride was a lot smoother, but there is no way those tyres were 120psi by the time I got into work..

what 3 grams? your mind has a lot to answer for

Edit: Cut the @rse out of your seat, it'll increase you speed 12%

Hell below zero !

Latex inner tubes are not more fragile than butyl but I would recommend that you use talc when fitting so the latex slides against the tyre when riding, I recommend this when fitting any inner tube. The latex stretches more than butyl and so if say a thorn punctures your tyre then the latex inner tube will give more around the object than if using butyl before puncturing. Because the latex is so much more stretchy it touches the inner wall of the tyre better than butyl, deforms better than butyl and gives the smoother ride that you mention. The draw back is you need to pump them up every day or so which with a track pump isn't a problem.

squired

When I've used latex tubes I've found them to be slightly worse at holding the pressure. I also found that after a year or two they would suddenly just burst on me (large hole that cannot be repaired), which has never happened to me with a butyl tube.

itboffin

I may have changed my mind on this one :roll: :oops:

itboffin

This is the after effect of a latex Michelin air comp blowout, worryingly this happened at the BOTTOM of a steep and fast descent, I dread to think what might have happened if it had exploded at speed :shock: :?

DonDaddyD

ITB, If you had a blowout at speed you'd have done a Richard Hammond.

I took my latex tube out when I bought the new back tyre. Don't think I'll be putting it back in to be honest...

boy on bike

itboffin wrote:

Did some one mention rubber

Latex tubes generally ARE lighter like my 74g Michelin air comps and do not have that nasty high speed bounce you get from some rubber tubes, all my road tyres are now fitted out after almost bouncing off my bike on a downhill at HOTA.

No doubt a lot of people will never be able to tell the difference and will never experience said tigger style bouncing - but I did and it wasn't pleasant.

I can't tell if they lose more air than normal tubes as I check my pressures everyday.

If I recall correctly from our ride yesterday, your latex inner tube lost pressure VERY quickly - with a bang!

Not sure if that was because it was latex rather than rubber, or just because it was pinched. But it wasn't pretty...

itboffin

Too true - BTW BoB how did you calc your FCN as 4 ????

don_don

Not sure about DDD's green tubes, but I'm sure you can get some latex tubes with a thin coating of butyl on the inside, so they keep pressure better.

One thing that latex used to be sold on was puncture resistance. The stretchier latex was supposed to deform over thorns etc. I used to use them on my MTB but there was no discernible difference IMO.

We'll all be tubeless in a few more years I think, but that's another story....

greg66_tri_v2.0

itboffin wrote:

This is the after effect of a latex Michelin air comp blowout, worryingly this happened at the BOTTOM of a steep and fast descent, I dread to think what might have happened if it had exploded at speed :shock: :?

Maybe I'm being a bit thick, but isn't the BOTTOM of a steep and fast descent exactly where you have a lot of speed.

Unlike, say, the TOP, where you're not really moving?

Or have I got that all wrong? Do you manage to start fast at the top of the descent and lose speed gradually the further down the hill you go?

If so, you might want to check to make sure that there's not a big piece of cartoon elastic tying you to the top of the hill

itboffin

Greg66 wrote:

itboffin wrote:

This is the after effect of a latex Michelin air comp blowout, worryingly this happened at the BOTTOM of a steep and fast descent, I dread to think what might have happened if it had exploded at speed :shock: :?

Maybe I'm being a bit thick, but isn't the BOTTOM of a steep and fast descent exactly where you have a lot of speed.

Unlike, say, the TOP, where you're not really moving?

Or have I got that all wrong? Do you manage to start fast at the top of the descent and lose speed gradually the further down the hill you go?

If so, you might want to check to make sure that there's not a big piece of cartoon elastic tying you to the top of the hill

Duh! we'd reached the bottom and levelled out along the high street - tut tut

alfablue

heat build-up from braking may have done it!

itboffin

alfablue wrote:

heat build-up from braking may have done it!

As if I would use brakes - pah!

alfablue

itboffin wrote:

alfablue wrote:

heat build-up from braking may have done it!

As if I would use brakes - pah!

Should have known better :oops:

I do brake though, whimp that I am. I once melted the plastic rim tape on a Pyrenean descent, tube didn't deflate but it was fused to the rim and destroyed itself in removal. Use cloth tape now, still brake!

boy on bike

itboffin wrote:

Too true - BTW BoB how did you calc your FCN as 4 ????

Umm...

Hairy-legged roadie, no adjustments. Pretty sure that's correct.

There must be an interesting philisophical debate to be had as to the difference between a hairy/shaven-legged roadie in winter tights, but that's probably not for this thread...

itboffin

boy on bike wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Too true - BTW BoB how did you calc your FCN as 4 ????

Umm...

Hairy-legged roadie, no adjustments. Pretty sure that's correct.

There must be an interesting philisophical debate to be had as to the difference between a hairy/shaven-legged roadie in winter tights, but that's probably not for this thread...

Having seen you in person / action I think you might want to check that score again, no baggage and debatable sun glasses / wraparounds - i'm thinking a 2 poss a 3 if your lucky.

boy on bike

aah, the fine line between sunglasses and wrap-arounds! Yes, I suppose that might just do it. Bugg@r!

itboffin

2nd Michelin Air Comp latex tubes exploded today, not even on the bike I was pumping it back up 115PSI BANG!!!! same as before

AllTheGear

I just fitted a latex tube (Mich AirComp, green) to a clean Aksium wheel and brand new Open Corsa CX. I had the wheel standing up in the kitchen when all the air came out in a hurry.

I replaced the tube with a new one. Had it on the bike, and was standing back to admire my handiwork when BOOM! - I was deaf for 30 seconds and the tyre had been blown off the rim. This is saying something - the kevlar bead was a bugger to get over the rim in the first place.

Now, I'm fairly nimble with my fingers, thought I was careful during fitting and have not had this happen to me with butyl. This is my first time with latex.

Is it me? Can I trust my wheels now at 40mph+ downhill or am I likely to eat tarmac? My current feeling is that the risk of life-changing injury isn't worth the 3 watts these things save me.