Butyl or latex tubes? Opinions please.

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mattr
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by mattr

RussellS wrote:Seems to me if you fill a latex tube with 2-3-4-5-6 ounces of sealant before you flat, you will lose the mystical, magical feel they are supposedly known for.
lol. A 700x20 something tube needs about 1-1.5 ounce. 6 ounces is enough to run a pair of 2.5" non-tubeless tyres tubeless......

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basilic
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by basilic

3Pio wrote:Another negative is that if u have a punctre u cant repair it (i'll probably try puting sealent and try to repair that way :) )


You can repair latex tubes easily, even roadside. Bring patches cut from an old latex tube and Remo glue. Put a thin layer of glue on both the puncture site and the patch, let dry 2-3 mins, apply the patch, press 1 min. or so, reinstall and ride.

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ave
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by ave

Strange to read that "chances of a pinch flat are very high" on latex inners as I never had one in 6 years. (michelins) Maybe because I'm only 62-64kg?
It's much easier to live with butyl, easy & forgiving to install, no need to pump everyday.

As for roadside repair, I had various luck with self adhesive quick patches. Sometimes they work, sometimes they leak. (Probably my fault when they don't.)

kode54
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by kode54

CummoY wrote:Nobody seems to have said one quite important point. Look into using talcum powder in the tire before running latex, it helps to keeps the tube from adhering to the tire wall/carbon rim when warm and allows the tube to move around as it needs.


i used to use talcum...but found this Panaracer powder to be more slippery and longer lasting...

http://www.excelsports.com/main.asp?pag ... 1&minor=27

you end up using a lot less than the talc powder so less chance of bunching up in spots. only a thin layer is needed and applied by the including sponge.
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brucew
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by brucew

Thanks everyone. Tubs were mentioned , haven't had any for around 40 years!! Pondering!! Merry Xmas everyone .


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CrankAddictsRich
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by CrankAddictsRich

I can't testify to weight of tubes, as I haven't ever weighed any.

That being said, I spent all of last season racing on Vittoria latex tubes in S-Works Turbo cotton tires and Vittoria Corsa's. I would agree with others that using latex tubes really only benefits you if you're using some supple, fast tires like those listed above. For training rides, I rode almost exclusively on S-Works Turbo tires with Specialized butyl tubes and while that's still a pretty quick setup, its not quite as quick as my race setup.

One thing I will mention and there seems to be some anecdotal evidence for this... latex tubes seems to be slightly more resistant to puncture flats. I think this is because the latex is a little more supple and flexes when something punctures the tire, while butyl, being the thicker rubber, remains rigid and punctures.

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F45
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by F45

My biggest obstacle to repairing them is FINDING the hole. It won't leak unless you pump it up, but if you do that outside the tire, the tube just herniates.

Kurets
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by Kurets

You don't even need to use a cut up latex tube for patching a latex inner. If you use proper patches with non-vulcanised rubber on the contact side of your patch, then you can take a piece of such a patch and use on your latex inner.
The patched spot will stretch less, but latex tubes stretch so much that it will not matter if one spot is less flexible. Probably that spot becomes weaker or more stressed, but the tube is never the weak link anyway. Installation commonly is otoh.
I have about 9000km on latex tubes this year, one flat where I had gotten glass embedded in the tread from a wet ride the previous day. Other than that, nothing. Mainly flat rides though, but I did take the wheels down some Swiss mountain passes without having a blowout.

itguy
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by itguy

Can of worms!

Though I'm used to butyl and i carry a small repair kit together with extra tubes, etc.

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pdlpsher1
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by pdlpsher1

F45 wrote:My biggest obstacle to repairing them is FINDING the hole. It won't leak unless you pump it up, but if you do that outside the tire, the tube just herniates.


Haha. That's why I gave up on latex. I'm on Conti Supersonics and couldn't be happier.

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