I am using aerothan tubes 2 ways. The best gain is for the emergency tube on my mountain bike and I just put a rock through my front tire and had to use tube to get out of the woods. It is half the weight and 1/4 the size of carrying a 2.5 inch black tube and this matters. Well worth the $28 where I have carried it for 8 months. The valve cores seem to be shipped loose where I took warning from these reviews. . For my winter road bike use I did super glue the core in per reviews and have used one on front across rough roads for 400 miles. So far I like it inside a new mich power cup for an upgraded plush light ride. I have ran latex several times and always get failures near the stem short of 1000 miles. Tighten the valve cores on aerothan and these may be the best tube available.
Nice and light but not worth the money. And the do have to be aired up before every ride. I thought they�d hold air better than regular tubes but they don�t. Not a noticeable difference in ride feel.
Bought 3 of them at the beginning of May. All 3, yes all 3, are toast now.
Tube 1 developed an air bubble in one spot during installation, stretching the material irreparably before the tire was even on (apparently there's a warning against overinflation prior to mounting,written in tiny print in the install guide??).Tube 2, mounted on the rear under a Conti GP5000 in 28mm, punctured after 150 miles.Tube 3, mounted on the rear under a Conti GP 4 seasons in 32mm, punctured after 200 miles (300 miles total on this tube, if you count the 100 miles when it was on the front before I switched it to the rear). As other reviewers have noted, the Schwalbe Glueless Patches can't be found anywhere! So I'm stuck with two broken tubes that I'll probably never bother to fix, given my lack of trust in these tubes now, and what I've heard about the Glueless Patches not always working well.
This was no scientific experiment, so my results are by no means objective, and I may have just had a run of bad luck (I think I was tempting the Flat Gods when I bought these tubes because I was on a 3000-mile no-flat streak with basic butyl tubes (Bontragers and Michelin Airstop A2s with different set-ups)). That being said, I will never purchase Schwalbe Aerothan tubes again. Schwalbe, if you're listening, lower the price by at least half and I will MAYBE consider buying them again, because, as much as I hate to admit it, I did like riding them and I feel like the lower weight and slightly lower rolling resistance was noticeable.
My next tire/wheel upgrade will probably be going tubeless (in which case my Aerothans, if I ever am able to patch them, will be even more useless, because, as Schwalbe notes in the fine print of their Aerothan packaging, the tubes can't come into contact with Tubeless sealant - so much for a light spare tube lol).
Big TPU fan. Use Pirelli's on my disc break, was pumped to find Aerothan's are rated for rim.
However - I've repeated issues with valve core, which is loose and can be easily unscrewed. 1st tube couldn't hold high pressures. My 3rd tube held pressure fine using a floor pump, but any hand pump that screws on can easily unscrew the valve core, which releases all the air. I learned the hard way in the middle of nowhere on a ride.
I've superglued the valve core - hope that helps. But Schwalbe - why am I doing the engineering for you?
There are plenty of reviews here that express the issues that I have had with these - the valve stems are made from plastic rather than metal and are absolutely not up to the task required of them. I've ridden approximately 200 miles with them at this point, and I have to say the tube itself is incredible and provides a great ride quality while also noticeably reducing rolling resistance, but the valve stems immediately started letting air out (even at ~80psi). I probably WOULD buy them again, but I think the first thing I'd do would be to replace the valve core with a higher quality one (the threading on the original valve is VERY fine which I think exacerbates the problem) wrap that in pfte tape, and then dab a very small amount of glue around the valve core threads so it couldn't go anywhere.
Generally, I agree with other reviews, very light, easy to install, great ride, excellent air retention.
I have ridden several hundred miles and had no flat issues on two bikes.
The valve stem is absolutely terrible!!!
Difficult to add air with a standard hand pump. valve core can easily dislodge and make the tube unusable. I don't know if I would purchase again due to the almost dysfunctional stem, but I would definitely buy if they had a quality stem, even if they were slightly higher cost over their already high price.
I had been using latex tubes but was tired of the constant air loss so I decided to give the Aerothan tubes a try. So far I'm impressed by the feel and they don't loose air like latex. They are a bit pricey but so far seem to be a little more resistant to flats. Longer use will determine their true value. So far so good.
The Schwalbe Aerothan 700c tube is pricey, but it is a huge bicycle upgrade! I save on space, weight, and have a more puncture resistant tube. It is easy to inflate and install. I carry a 27 mm extender in my bag for aero higher profile wheels.
Expensive but I was surprised it felt a noticeably better/smoother ride with these tubes. I did have a pinch flat but it was from a pothole. Didnt think a cheap butyl tube could do better in that situation. I used the Park Tool GP-2 patch since the Schwalbe patch is impossible to find and the patch is holding up well after 2k miles. Just make sure surfaces are super clean before applying the patch. I also had 30mm valve extenders fixed on these tubes and no leaks whatsoever. Will get couple more spares when they are back in stock and on sale.
Look, I put these tubes in for a race, and they were a dream. Very light, and they rode unbelievably, I couldn't believe what a difference they made in the ride. Then a couple rides later I get TWO PINCH FLATS IN THE SAME RIDE 15 miles apart, leaves me with a 2 mile walk of shame. That was just the beginning. I can only use their special patches, right? For TWO MONTHS I look everywhere, nobody has them in stock. TWO MONTHS! So I finally give in last week and my the Park Tools glueless patches. They actually seem to work pretty well, but I'll never know because as I'm getting everything repaired and ready to ride, my valve literally BLOWS OUT of the plastic (yes, plastic) valve stem. Threads are ruined, won't hold a valve or an extender in the stem. Trash. Waste of money. Don't think I'll waste my time trying to install the other aerothan that I repaired.
Full disclosure I re-installed the tire using a tire lever and did not use talc so it is probable I caused damage during install. One of the tubes had a slow leak over 2-3 days and subsequently burst when I went to refill it.
They are very light and compact.
Weighs 50g and rides nice inside my Schwalbe tires
Obviously a little pricy, but they do seem to last longer than standard tubes. A great way to save on rolling resistance and weight!
Been running Latex for racing/training since I can remember, great feel, fast, light, etc. Switched to the competition, to shed a few grams and have a more compact spare, let's call them "Orange" and was happy until I realized their fatal flaw, the stem.
Touch it with anything, add extenders for deep carbon rims, change the valve for any reason, and bammm instant failure, leak, crack, non-seal. These Aerothan's are waaaaaay different. The stem is actually the focus, and works 100% so far in my usage. Just as light, just as good, with far better engineering.
I'm a fan of the Schwalbe Aerothan.
These tubes are lighter than latex and much lighter than butyl.
Installation was no problem and each size covers a useful range of tire sizes.
They retain air better than latex but not as well as standard butyl. Mine lose about 10% per week.
I've had 2 flats, both were slow leaks from tiny holes. I couldn't find Schwalbe patches but was able to repair the tubes with Park glueless patches. I cleaned the hole area thoroughly then pressed the patch on by rolling a socket wrench over it with lots of force. They hold air as well as unpatched tubes.
I like these better than Tubolito. Mostly I've had problems getting patches to hold on Tubolito. Also the Aerothan seem lighter and more flexible (and I don't have to look at orange valve stems).
I wish I could LOVE these, and I do. I wish I could say they're perfect, but no. The valve stems are strange and, I believe, leaky. I've purchased a number of these tubes and have replaced Schwalbe's valve cores with standard ones I've saved over the years and that has cured some air leakage issues.
I'd love for these to be a great spare carry tube for my various tubeless setups, but they warn not to use these tubes in tires where tubeless sealant has been used. I think I get why because I've tried it despite their warnings. Tubeless sealants have glitter-type junk that helps clog a puncture and aid sealing, but that glitter-type junk is large enough and has sharp-enough edges to put tiny punctures in these extremely thin tubes.
When I've used these tubes in brand new tires they've been amazing! Minimal air loss over time. Extremely light and they seem to be durable. You just can't use them as backup for a tubeless setup where sealant has been involved (which they quite clearly warn you about up front). And the valve stems/cores seem a bit sketchy. These are my knocks on them. Otherwise, they're fantastic. They're extremely light and seem to roll every bit as well as latex or tubeless.
Put these on my gravel bike and road bike. Certainly different and rather pricey, but so far so good. Hold air better than latex so no need to air everyday. Ride very supple, closer to latex than butyl. Nice rotational mass saving on gravel bike (700x35 tires), didn't notice much on road bike (700x25) but was running latex already. No punctures, so that's good, but didn't expect any since the backroads here are decent and most of the flats I get and see during club rides are from tube failures or worn out tires and maybe the occasional pinch flat at RRXing, so cannot comment on repair. Overall nice product and happy with purchase.
I ride 125 to 150 miles a week of mostly dry and hilly roads, mostly on a 2021 Roubaix Expert with alloy wheels. I'm one of those people that is highly skeptical when reviewers use subjective words like "supple" when rating tires or tubes. I bought these in the hopes of reducing flats and having more consistent air pressure, so I was surprised when I felt like they actually make a difference in ride quality. Supple may be the right word -- it does feel like a smoother ride.
This may seem like a steep price to pay, but if they really do provide better flat protection then that means I'll buy fewer tubes. Also, at least for now I feel like I can put off my planned upgrade to carbon wheels. If you're on the fence, I think they're worth a try. You've probably spent more money on dumber products.
I started using Aerothan tubes a few months ago. While I am not doing roll down tests or otherwise testing to accurately measure rolling resistance, I feel very fast with these tubes and a high performance, low rolling resistance tire. The tubes are easy to install and very strong. I finally managed to develop a slow leak in one, by hitting a pothole so hard it would have pinch flatted any other tube. I just ordered two more...
I am now using these in my light weight climbing road bike wheels, my fast carbon aero wheels, and my winter training wheels... the tubes are very light, very low rolling resistance and very durable, so an optimum choice for each of those uses. I am an ex amateur racer and still doing group rides with younger, fitter, faster racers, so need all the help I can get.
I'm using Aerothan tubes in both 25mm tires on my roadbike (90/80PSI) and 38mm tires on my gravel bike (50/40PSI) for about a month now. Easy to install. No flats yet so haven't tested their patchability. Love their small size and weight.
The gravel bike tubes have Continental 20mm valve extenders attached. No problems.
The road bike tubes need to be aired up before every ride. Their pressure drops significantly (~10PSI) between rides. The gravel bike tubes, with their much lower pressure, hold air much better.
I have tried Tubolito tubes and so far I like the Aerothans' more. The two Tubolito road bike tubes I used were leaky. Tubolito was good about replacing the tubes, but I asked for gravel bike tubes as replacements and am using them now as spares. Haven't tried these replacement tubes yet. Maybe they'll work better with lower pressure.
The real test is later this year when I ride my gravel bike across USA (3600 miles). Tubes' size and weight count a lot, but reliability is even more important for me. Aerothan tubes are expensive, but if they remain reliable I will use them for the trip.
