Extra light inner tubes v tubeless? your views?

tonysj

Hi All,

I'm buying a new wheel set in the New Year as an early birthday treat and was pondering whether to go tubeless or fit extra light rubber inner tubes?

Obviously depending on recommendations and advice it will decide if I go with Conti GP 4000sii and extra L/Tubes or maybe Schwalbe pro one tubeless and fluid.

The presta Extra light inner will be either Schwalbe extra light or Michelin Air Comp Ultralite inner tubes and not having ever used these was wondering about other users views?

If there are other options I have not considered please post as I will be ordering them in the New Year.

Regards.

Tony.

cooldad

Tubeless if you want to avoid punctures.

sloppyschleckonds

Tubeless for ride quality also

PK1

In my experience Pro One Tubeless are great for speed but don't last long and they are do puncture quite easily. If it's wet the sealant won't work. Use these tyres for fast summer rides, but something else for training.

tonysj

PK1 wrote:

In my experience Pro One Tubeless are great for speed but don't last long and they are do puncture quite easily. If it's wet the sealant won't work. Use these tyres for fast summer rides, but something else for training.

I think that will be case with the New wheels Summer only.
If I go down the tubeless route are there any deals around for 2 tyres. Also what other tubeless tyre brand options as I've never really looked into this before.
Thanks folks. keep it coming.
Tony.

trivial_poursuivant

Extra light tubes are generally very poor at puncture protection and they go down pretty quickly. Maybe not on your ride but you’re going to have to pump them up before any ride. The lightest tubes are all latex which if you look at under a microscope (not suggesting you actually go out and do this) because it’s a natural substance, it is full of tiny holes. The thinner they are the more air can escape and the more prone they are to being penetrated by crap or suffering pinch flats.

mercia_man

Trivial poursuivant wrote:

Extra light tubes are generally very poor at puncture protection and they go down pretty quickly. Maybe not on your ride but you’re going to have to pump them up before any ride. The lightest tubes are all latex which if you look at under a microscope (not suggesting you actually go out and do this) because it’s a natural substance, it is full of tiny holes. The thinner they are the more air can escape and the more prone they are to being penetrated by crap or suffering pinch flats.

If you do a quick search on the internet you will find most experts say latex tubes are less prone to penetration and snakebite punctures because they are so stretchy. Their stretchiness does mean, however, that it is easier to pinch the tube when fitting because they can get under the bead. According to www.bicyclerollingresistance.com they wil save you 4-5 watts over butyl tubes. I use latex tubes, like their ride feel and rarely get punctures.

trivial_poursuivant

Mercia Man wrote:

Trivial poursuivant wrote:

Extra light tubes are generally very poor at puncture protection and they go down pretty quickly. Maybe not on your ride but you’re going to have to pump them up before any ride. The lightest tubes are all latex which if you look at under a microscope (not suggesting you actually go out and do this) because it’s a natural substance, it is full of tiny holes. The thinner they are the more air can escape and the more prone they are to being penetrated by crap or suffering pinch flats.

If you do a quick search on the internet you will find most experts say latex tubes are less prone to penetration and snakebite punctures because they are so stretchy. Their stretchiness does mean, however, that it is easier to pinch the tube when fitting because they can get under the bead. According to http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com they wil save you 4-5 watts over butyl tubes. I use latex tubes, like their ride feel and rarely get punctures.

Yes I agree. REGULAR latex are best but the ultra thin lose many of them properties as there is less material to stretch or protect against snakebite punctures etc. It’s not a uniform substance, It’s natural, so the holes or defects are more likely to cause failure the less of it there is.

tangerineowl

Been using those Conti tyres along with the Schwalbe extralight tubes for a couple of years. No issues with the tubes losing air by themselves.

I have a tubeless setup on my gravel bike though and there's no going back

cycleclinic

Those irc are the heaviest and slowest model they do as well. The rbcc is lighter and quicker.

Tubeless is better than almost all tyres with tubes for comfort and pace.

cycleclinic

I was a long term user of latex tubes and there problems lots of un explained punctures. Also ripped a tube under really hard braking to avoid a crash in race. So hard my shoe strap fell apart.

svetty

Conti supersonic tubes at 50g each are my summer go-to tubes. They do need topping up once a week or so but rarely puncture.

warrior4life

I’ve just switched back to tyres and tubes from tubeless.
Found tubeless struggles to seal over 70psi.
I’ve been using Schwalbe One and Hutchinson tyres with Stans and conti sealant.
Low PSI 30mm tyres and tubeless is great. 23mm high pressure abs it’s a no for me. The ride quality is slightly better tubeless but it doesn’t really add anything noticeable speed wise.
I’ve switched back to the ever reliable GP4000 with latex tubes.

tonysj

Thaks for the info guys.
I've decided to go with schwalbe pro ones and the Effetto Mariposa Caffelatex sealant as ive been wanting to try them for a while and the New Wheels make that decision easier.
I will keep you updated !!!
Out of interest I intend to put a post on the comparison between the stock and tubeless.
Regards.
Tony.

w00dster

Latex tubes for me, used on my race bike. They are expensive, but only used for race days. Had 0 flats in 2 years. Like tubeless I do have to check the pressure on the latex tubes before riding as they do go down.
I have tubeless for my "adventure bike". No different in my opinion in terms of speed or comfort. In fact I would say the nicest ride is my Vittoria Corsa G+ with Latex Tubes.
I used to have tubeless on my race bike, but for training rides with a puncture that wouldn't repair, this was a nightmare to fix. I'll be going back to all my bikes being clinchers when the tubeless tyres wear out - this won't be long as they wear quick. Took about 25 mins to fight the tyre of the rim, insert a tube and then resit the tyre. Lots of swearing was involved.

ZMC888

I'd either get Panaracer Race A Evo 3 and run them with orange sealant or run 80g tubes in Panaracer Race D Evo 3 tubed tires. Either combination will give you miles of trouble free riding. I've found tubes under 80g leak too much air, and are useless for touring or enduro riding as they lose air too quickly esp latex tubes.

I've tried Schwable Pro One's but they were much too weak for my roads and punctured constantly until the sealant got overwhelmed, Conti Four seasons are inferior to Panaracer Race D's IMHO.

lincolndave

oxoman wrote:

I swear by these, a little bit dear but well worth it.
https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/products/2 ... less-tyres

I have been using these tyres for winter riding, excellent tyres, I also use the road lite in the summer months

zefs

w00dster wrote:

Latex tubes for me, used on my race bike. They are expensive, but only used for race days. Had 0 flats in 2 years. Like tubeless I do have to check the pressure on the latex tubes before riding as they do go down.
I have tubeless for my "adventure bike". No different in my opinion in terms of speed or comfort. In fact I would say the nicest ride is my Vittoria Corsa G+ with Latex Tubes.
I used to have tubeless on my race bike, but for training rides with a puncture that wouldn't repair, this was a nightmare to fix. I'll be going back to all my bikes being clinchers when the tubeless tyres wear out - this won't be long as they wear quick. Took about 25 mins to fight the tyre of the rim, insert a tube and then resit the tyre. Lots of swearing was involved.

Agree on the the Vittoria Corsa G+ with Latex Tubes combo, the Corsa G+ are really good at absorbing road buzz since they have 320 tpi, and latex tubes take that even further plus it's fast performance wise.