I had been using latex tubes on my gravel bike and CX bikes for ages as they just seemed to work, no faff, no noticeable increase in punctures over my tubeless setups, made tyre swaps less messy etc. Although if I'm being honest the biggest advantage may simply have been that when punctures DID happen they were easier to diagnose or fix, any tubeless puncture I've had has always been some sort of weird damage to the sidewall or bead that won't seal and has been tricky to find or diagnose.
Anyway recently it all seems to have gone wrong with the latex tubes. Some punctures have just been bad luck, i.e. the CX race where I pinch flatted during my warm-up as I was running muddy race tyre pressures but warming up on some hard rocky MTB trails (not even bad luck that one, just plain old stupidity) but others have been more random, at least twice it's been weird little blisters on the tube that have then popped. Can latex react with e.g. old dried sealant on the inside of a tyre, or did I hear that oil or grease could react with it?
Other punctures have happened at valves, either at the stem (a Challenge inner tube, I think I've heard theirs were bad for valves failing) or some newer Vittorias. I had read a suggestion that sometimes if the valve doesn't sit right against the rim then the tube can sort of deform AROUND the black rubber base of the valve. One of the punctures almost looked like a perfect 1cm slice very close to the valve but nothing sharp on the rim bed.
Have had fewer issues on the road bike, so my suspicion with the gravel bike/CX bikes is that too many tyre changes might have resulted in more damage around the valve area, or because my various tyres and rims have all been used with sealant at some point, could old sealant weaken or react with latex tubes?
I wouldn't care so much but one of the bikes doesn't have tubeless compatible rims so I was hoping to continue using latex tubes just for the weight saving/rolling resistance (it's the only bike I'm likely to race) but don't want to invest (again) if this is just the reality...
I had a brief flirtation with latex tubes.
Seemed alright in new tyres. In old tyres that had seen sealant, it reacted, badly. Literally fell apart/disintegrated.
I didnt clean the tyres, just poured out the excess liquid
I had a spate of latex tube problems recently - failing near the valve area. New tubes solved this so put it down to the age of the tubes +5 years, numerous inflate deflate cycles etc
That's interesting Larry, it's almost as if they need a threaded valve and nut, wonder why none come with one...
In old tyres that had seen sealant, it reacted, badly. Literally fell apart/disintegrated.
Yeah, I wondered if old sealant could cause problems, seemed like the common factor.
I used them for a couple of years, on everything.
They were brilliant when the worked, and terrible when they randomly decided not to.
I now use the lightest butyl i can find (bulk buys) or tubeless.
Just wasn't worth trying to work out why some tubes would just explode after 12 hours, or last for 3 months, and then explode when the bike was hung up and hadn't been touched for a week.
Still have a couple of pairs of tubular wheels with latex tubed tubs. Have butyl tubed tubs ready to go on though.
Try Maxxis flyweight or ultralight, they can be found cheaply, occasionally. Conti Supersonics and Race are a similar weight/durability, but they cost a lot more, last i looked (3+ years ago).
Yeah, I think I need to wean myself off them, am just worried I'll feel the extra weight (unlikely) and rolling resistance (possibly more likely, am sure I've felt a difference between cheap and expensive tyres).
After all, my last remaining bike with tubes would be the singlespeed CX/gravel bike and it's raison d'etre is being robust and faff free!
Oil, grease, uv, ozone will all damage natural rubber.
Rubber in general needs looking after
https://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/b2c/tyre-knowledge/storing-tyres.html
You won't feel the weight or rolling resistance difference between latex and good butyl tubes, they only exist in a lab/on the scales.
If you want posh light tubes, try schwalbe aerothan.
Carry one as a spare on the mtb as it’s more compact and light, had to use it a few times and the wheel-feel is closer to tubeless than a normal tube. Spendy mind!
I have an idea that an ammonia based tyre sealant would degrade a latex tube.
Maybe there is someone who has used the non NH3 based sealant who could confirm?
It’s all about the installation. They will Deform into any space. Care around the valve hole even with a sacrificial butyl cover layer over the valve stem.
Mine have only failed when they’ve crept under the rim and out. Usually a rapid and expensive finding. Once set properly there is not better ride. Or noise if running Corsa speeds.
They do seem to age and dry our after a while - but generally well behaved..
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50523898516_a9d20f9f9b_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50523898516_a9d20f9f9b_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2jYCbNy ]Latex inner tube fail[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
😂😂
Am still tempted to give them one last go, have found some half price which eases the sting a bit. Just need to avoid any tyres that have previously been tubeless with old sealant on them (easily done) and try to be a bit more gentle around the valve, or even try to figure out a way to secure a non-threaded valve stem so the tube doesn't get pushed around when reinflating.
Or just try and tubelessify the cheapo stock wheels on my singlespeed. Would probably cost the same either way...
