Vittoria
Competition Latex 700c Road Tube

These are my first latex tubes. I've ridden on butyl tubes for years, and I do notice a difference. The latex does seem to absorb the bumps more. I've been maybe 300 miles on them with no issues. One thing, the stems are not threaded, so I wonder if pumping the tubes up for every ride will be tough in the tube/stem union. My work-around for this issue is to place half of the stem-cover that comes with tube back on the stem and gently (I do mean gently) secure a small pair of vise-grips to the base of the stem with the vise-grip handles resting on a wooden block that's the same height as the tire and wheel combined. When I attach the pump, the vise grips keep the stem from pushing into the tube. Then when I remove the pump, I hold onto the vise grips, so that the stem doesn't pull on the tube. So far so good.

I bought a pair of these for a 24hr time trial. Used with 700x25 Conti GP5000s the ride was noticeably cushier and seemed to have less rolling resistance.

Won the race and set a course record. Guess they worked

Practically the same rolling resistance as tubeless. So noticeably faster and responsive than the old butyl tubes. Feels like an instant upgrade to racing wheels, and much better puncture resistance than butyl as well.

So I don't review gear much but thought I'd contribute to the geekery of 'tube tech'. So I switched to these latex tubes on both of my road bikes a few years back. I know it's been awhile since I purchased the tubes, but hey.... I like to field test things fully rather than write a review immediately after buying a product like SOOOO many consumers do. Drives me nuts when people do that. I'll admit I was leery of the claims others made about "how sublime latex tubes were". I thought it's a tube, how different can it really be? So I bought several of these 25/28c tubes and used them both on 2 different bikes: 1 frame is carbon, the other is Ti. Tires used were Clement Stradas 28c, and two different Vittoria tires: Corsa and the Rubino, both 25c G+ tires. And what I experienced blew my mind. Supple? Oh yeah! Lower hysteresis? Check! What I didn't expect was decreased flats? Huh? How? I haven't had a flat in over a year and a half, riding the same roads I always have, with thousands of miles ridden. Not one. By lowering the pressures and using wider rims, the tire/tubes are allowed to "flex" over pepples and other irregularities thus preventing flats. AND.....additionally it makes your hands and butt happy. Sounds great huh? Now, what's the bad? Cost, fragility, repairability? Ok, they're more expensive. Initially. But when you factor a likely 4-6 flats minimum/ year, the time spent buying new butyl tubes or repairing butyl tubes, etc, the cost of latex actually becomes more advantageous.. and maybe even cheaper when you consider all of those factors.

Fragile? Yeah, you definitely need to be careful mounting them and ensure the tire is completely in the rims drop-channel and no part of the latex gets pinched..... or BOOM! I talc all my tubes regardless so I'd suggest that as well. When I'm done adding air, I always hold the tubes valve stem while removing the pumps air chuck because the Presta rim hole could potentially start cutting the area around the latex valve. So just learn to be a little more careful handling latex tubes with your monkey hands, and then go ride.

So if you want to decrease the vibrations on all contact points and improve your cycling experience, while even boosting speed a bit, then use these with some higher TPI tires (150-330tpi) and see what you think.

Tried other brands, and theses are the best IMO. They don�t have as many flats either. You do have to pump them up everyday, but the ride is completely worth it!

A bit pricey, but worth the extra ride comfort.

And they're pink!

Vittoria Competition Latex 700c Road Tube - A lot of old school road riders use latex and for good reason. they provide the most comfortable and supple ride. They are more resistant to punctures than butyl tubes.

Three things to be aware of:

1. You must use tire talc (do not body talc which is corn starch) on the inside of the tire casing and the tube! Otherwise you risk pinching while installing.

2. You will need to air up before each ride. I do regardless of what tubes I use but more so with latex tubes.

3. Carry a butyl tube as a spare as the latex is fastidious to install on the raid without tire talc

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.

This tube is lighter & faster than a butyl tube and it is VERY noticeable. I won�t go tubeless on my 25 & 28 mm tires due to higher pressures & because of how well these tubes perform along with GP5000 tires which is my preferred setup.

bought a bunch, one was unfortunately faulty but still a good price for latex

I keep going back to the latex tubes and these have been nice ones. I get a little less than a year out of them. Not the cheapest way to go but just seem to be the best. I have had very little problems with flats using them, however where I ride I don't get many flats anyway. They usually fail at the valve when I pump them up prior to a ride, and that only happens after 6-9 months of using them. This time I am going to try them with sealant in them. Even though I do not typically have problems with getting flats I don't want another front tire flat. Some things are only fun once. I don't anticipate any improvement in the longevity, just in flat prevention. I plan on replacing them at the 6-month mark anyway.

I had an unusual experience with these that I feel is worth documenting. I've used latex tubes for years now. When I installed these, the front went flat in about 2 hours, the rear went flat overnight. Now, I'm not talking about they lost a few psi, I know latex tubes do that. I'm saying totally zero psi, tire lost shape, board flat. I removed them, pumped them to hold shape, held them under water and couldn't find a leak anywhere. I then left them hanging on a chair with enough pressure for them to hold shape and they held that 5-8 psi for several days. Where did the air go? I decided to check the removable valve cores and they seemed to be loose. I removed the valve cores, put some teflon tape on the threads, tightened the cores back in the stems and installed the tubes in the same tires. They are now holding pressure just fine. So, if you have trouble with them going flat right away and the leak seems to be coming from the valve stem area, it may just be that the removable valve core is loose and needs to be tightened or sealed with teflon tape.

I got these for my Vitoria Corsa N.ext tires. Immediately after riding I could tell a difference from a butal tube. Take your time on the install though. I carry butal tube in case of a flat.

Perhaps I've written this review before, but I'll say it again that these tubes will bring a lively feel to your tired wheelset. Pairing these with a low rolling resistant tire will are the easiest cheapest energy savings you can find on the bike. Being careful during installation should go without saying. Don't be frightened off by their delicate reputation.

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.

There are already a lot of great reviews that contain sage advice on how to install and maintain these tubes. I can only add that I have gotten into the habit of holding the valve when taking the chuck off to avoid pulling the valve away from the tube.

After a full blown fit of rage after my husband decided to ride my bike on completely flat tires which shredded my tubes, I decided to come here looking for the perfect replacement. These look and feel great, installed beautifully and have already gone 200+ miles without any issues.

I tried Challenge latex, horrible, lasted 2 weeks, failed in the same place around the valve. Didn�t give up on latex, and got the Vittoria. They�re awesome tubes, ride like my old Clement tubulars almost! Just be careful mounting, and taking them off. Great video on Oz Cycle about taking clinchers off without levers. I haven�t tried Michelin, but these are really good.

I switched to the Vittoria Latex road tubes a year ago and could not be happier. I have compared race butyl tubes to the Vitorria latex tubes in Vittoria Open Corsa and Veloflex Corsa Clinchers and in both cases I immediately felt the difference in ride quality and handling. The benefits of the tires quality construction and materials are maximized and noticeable the moment I put the latex tubes in. Most enjoyable thought is the supple ride feel, it's just so satisfying on the flats, downhill, as well as climbing. I have also put these in my Continental 4000 IIs tires which I was not happy with until I replaced the tubes. Compared to the other two tires, the Conti's are stiff and provided a much rougher ride, and I did not feel confident on a quick downhill turn but the switch to the latex tube has greatly improved ride quality as well as my confidence with the tire. Aside from one blowout from a chunk of glass in the center of the Conti, I have not had a flat in about 2000 miles.

These tubes make you feel like you are on expensive setup tires. Absorb the road and are fast. I am now using 26 or 28 mm tires do these are perfect exciting times ahead