can anyone recommend a good latex tube and a place online to purchase?

Hi,

Vredestein latex inner tubes are the best I know of.

Ciao,

_________________
Being a snob is an expensive hobby.

Any chance we'll ever get a open tubular(clincher) of the Veloflex Roubaix?

Once I ride through these vittoria rubino pros I think I'll get on some Corsa 23s, should be full on summer by that point.

I'm running these also but only had two rides on them so far. Punctured with a piece of glass on the back right into a new Vredestein latex tube So the tread now has a 2mm slice right in the middle of it and I don't know if I can use it still or not

What do you all reckon?

Hi,

Repair it with Zap-O-Gap or Loctite Flex gel Max.

Ciao,

_________________
Being a snob is an expensive hobby.

Run em with Vredestein latex tubes! Tubular feel and speed (almost).

Just got a pair in the mail today, of the 23c versions. Here is how they weighed in:







The box says not to use any tools to mount the tires. I've read that these tires can difficult to mount. Will I damage these if I use tire levers???

They will be incredibly difficult to mount the first time. I think I spent about 20 minutes per tire. After initial install, it should be much much easier. I used a tire lever to mount, no problem.

Thanks!

It sounds like I may be better off to mount these with a cheap butyl tire inside to not risk damage to more expensive latex tubes.

nspace, thanks for the posts and the pics. Man those are some good looking tires. If they look that good in pics I can't imagine how nice they must be in person.

Post some ride reviews when you get some miles in.

I agree. Try some cheap tubes for the first time. After some use they get much more easy to mount.
And yes, these are the best clinchers available period.

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Wilier Cento Uno
Colnago Master X-light
Wilier 18carati

Only speaking for myself of course, but I've always found Veloflex the easiest clinchers to mount, never needed any levers, and I certainly don't have thumbs of steel. Try giving it a bit of a stretch first ( under you foot and then a good pull up ), and then when you're mounting the last tyre bead, make sure that both tyre beads are sitting in the middle of the rim before you pop over the last bit.

Hi,



I'd strongly insist NOT to use any tyre levers. Once the bead is overstretched it will be a weak point so a latex inner tube can worm itself inbetween the tyre wall and rim, causing a blow up followed by the tyre rolling off the rim.

These tyres are not too hard to mount it's just a matter of using the right technique and be patient. A first time mount for stretching purposes using a buyl inner tube is a good idea though.

Ciao,

_________________
Being a snob is an expensive hobby.

So the 23 is just the old 22 rebadged correct?

Anyone running them on a wider clincher ie. the zipp fiercest or enve smart rims. I am curious about the fit on the rim.

anyone had their hands on the new 25mm yet?

I've been drooling over veloflex tires for a decade, but always ended up sticking to MIchelins top of the line 25mm because of the shallow only sizes from veloflex. For the past two seasons i have had my eyes on Challenge's Parigi-Robaix, but i chickened out because they might be a tad too wide for my Merlin CR1 with a RealDesign fork and Challenge's previous problems with quelety control. The 25mm Pro2 i'v been riding for the past 7 years (managed to secure a huge amount of 25mm Pro when the Pro23 came out) measures 26.9 on my open pro rims, and i've seen that the parigi-roubaix would end up beyond 29,6 mm on those rims - too much for my fork and frame.

I'm looking forward to messuring the 25mm Veloflex on a open pro rim since i've just ordered 2 pairs from bike-palast.com at very nice price.