Since these were on sale, I bought them to satisfy my curiosity. They are wonderful. I was scared I would immediately have flats, but not so far. I air up my tires for every ride anyway, so the criticism that they lose air quickly doesn't matter to me.
These are top latex tubes. They share the pros and cons of all latex tubes. They leak air faster than butyl tubes, so one has to make sure that the tires are re-inflated every time they are used. They are not as resistant to puncture as butyl. But they are much lighter and the smoothness of the ride is unmistakable plus they also have lower rolling resistance, which makes them ideal for race day. They are patchable, although the process is not as easy as with butyl. A patch can be cut out of old latex gloves (biology labs and physician's offices discard tons of these everyday).
I love latex tubes in my Vittoria tires. I've tried some other, lighter latex tubes but had reliability problems. These are a little heavier, but they are reliable and don't sacrifice the great feeling of a latex tube. I pair mine with Vittoria Pave's or Open Corsa CX for the closest feeling to riding a tubular I have found. (A little bit less so with the Pave's, but with Open Corsa CX and a latex tube wow! Simply a great tire/tube combo. Fast, grippy, with great road feel. I love 'em.
Latex inner-tubes reduce rolling resistance and are also lighter than butyl ones. They are also more fragile when mounting a tire and it is more difficult (but not impossible) to patch them. Also, they leak air out much faster than a butyl inner-tube. You definitely have to put some air in before every ride. For all these reasons, I train on butyl inner-tubes, but put these Vittoria latex ones on race days. But the ride on latex is definitely worth the additional price. Smooooooth!
Easy to install and they ride well
I am not sure if I can tell the difference in ride quality but I do like the pink color. It is much easier to see if you are pinching your tube when it is pink. I like the fact that it is light but not that much lighter than the Michelin tubes that I was using.
Light and amazing rolling resistance
If you ride top level high thread count tires, latex tubes are the best bet to get the most out our your tire investment. They do lose air more rapidly between rides than butyl tubes but it's a small inconvenience compared to the benefits of a smooth supple ride. The higher price is the only downside but from a performance perspective they are 5 star tubes.
Like the ride and flat protection, pricey but I prefer of butyl.
I use these tubes primarily for racing. It is a nice change to put these in with race specific tires. Whether placebo effect or not, they definitely feel like they roll better than a butyl tube!
Extremely high pressure, soft feel almost like a
Tubular . Very good feel . I like the suppleness the provide.
I rode latex tubes on my mtn bike for 4 years on very technical and rocky terrain. We rode quite fast, with long, vicious downhills, and I only put in 22 lbs of air - I got 4 years and thousands of miles out of 1 single set of these tubes and not a single flat!!!
Fast forward to now, and my mtn bike experience made it an easy decision to put latex tubes on my carbon road bike. Like nearly all the other reviewers, I noticed a significant improvement in ride quality over butyl tubes, I saved about 1 ounce per rim, and I have yet to get a flat after 15 months and more than 3,000 miles of rides on poorly maintained city and country roads. Truth in advertising: I weigh 145 lbs.
So I'm not a heavyweight, but my cousin is a Clydesdale for sure. He checks in at 6'2 and 225 lbs, and he would get at least one flat EVERY ride we took, what a pain! A few months after I got my latex tubes, he made the switch and rode flat-free for 10 months before getting a flat from a pot-hole. Needless to say, he's a convert too, in fact, our whole 90-person cycling club is going to make the switch.
Comes in at 74gm for the 23mm and 80gm for the 25mm - and removable cores! Awesome and totally great that they offer a wider size (25mm) as most have hopefullly taken the leap to wider is better tires by now )
Talk them up and lay down the miles!
It's an okay tube, it does ride very smooth. However it loses pressure after about 3 days, so I'm constantly pumping it back up.
it's not a myth, it's a fact. latex tubes paired with high tpi count clinchers enhance the ride experience. gotta say, not all latex tubes are made equal. vittoria tubes are reliable and deliver the goods. i have total confidence in them.
The best latex tube bar none. Far superior quality to Michelin in both the latex material and valve sturdiness. In combination with Veloflex tires or Vittoria open corsa it's the greatest ride quality comparable to a tubular.
Tried these after numerous failures with Michelin latex tubes. So far so good. All Michelins that I bought for the same or higher price failed where the tube is spliced together. They overlap a short section and at the end of the overlap they would get a tear, as if weakened by the joining process. Has not happened yet with the Vittorias. These are quite thin. I have run in CX tires but not sure if they would be good in larger sizes. Nice valve stems.
Just a bit more complicated to install it than a regular butly tube but far better
Combined with new Vittoria tires my speed has increased.
Latex tubes make cycling on your tires much smoother.
I have been using them for a number of years with no regrets.
Only downside is they are more expensive and you must fill your tires before you go on every ride.
