Schwalbe Aerothan - Long-term Review

[Mr.Gib]

I am about to torture test Aerothans in the Italian Alps. Some bad roads - Sempeyre, Finestre, etc. I will report back. A few shakedown rides last week and I can't fault them. Feel on a par with Vittoria Latex which is my go-to when I am not running tubeless. They were super on installation. No risk of catching them in the bead once they have a bit of air to hold shape. No idea how that Road.cc reviewer managed to snag one - lame.

Plastic valves for certain mean bad news if you have to use extenders. Another thing to watch is that every single one seems to have the valve core screwed in a different amount. One review complained about the core coming out with the pump head and leaving the guy stranded. Others complained about a pump not holding onto the valve. Probably cases of the core screwed in too little and too much respectively. I checked each valve core and set it to my preferences.

[Cannoli]

Unless I can find a way to ensure the valve extenders don't fatigue the fitted stems, I will likely not buy them again once my current inventory is depleted.

Did you try to put a bit of blue loctite on extender threads? I'm using Revoloop with 80mm stems with Lezyne pump. The pump head screws on valve core threads. In the beginning pump head sometimes unscrew the core. After I started to use loctite the problem disappears.

I thought about trying this. I will definitely give it a go now.

[pedalstriker]

I ordered a number of Aerothan tubes this summer, and love the feeling when running these with Turbo Cottons. Unfortunately I picked up a staple shard in the tire tread, which was enough to poke a miniscule hole in the tube. The first repair attempt using the Schwalbe patches was a total failure... I plan to try again but am not holding my breath. Unfortunate that these are so difficult (nay impossible) to patch, since without that prospect they become a bit of a silly novelty (especially when compared to tubeless).

[WorkonSunday]

i have only had a few rides with these. while i can feel they are lighter, i definitely dont get that "latex" supple feel. (i went from vittoria latex to s-turbo then to Aerothan). This is pairing with 23mm veloflex corsa. may be i will try wider rims later to confirm my initial findings. i do enjoy not finding a flat tyre every time i take the bike out of the garage tho. (I still pump them up every time, but there is just something not very eye pleasing when i see a completely flat tyre lol)

[hannawald]

I ordered a number of Aerothan tubes this summer, and love the feeling when running these with Turbo Cottons. Unfortunately I picked up a staple shard in the tire tread, which was enough to poke a miniscule hole in the tube. The first repair attempt using the Schwalbe patches was a total failure... I plan to try again but am not holding my breath. Unfortunate that these are so difficult (nay impossible) to patch, since without that prospect they become a bit of a silly novelty (especially when compared to tubeless).

Some people here say it´s good to use some proper glue.. (I don´t know what it means, probably some fast superglue for flexible application like Loctite 406?), have you tried?

[jfl]

I patched my first flat with the Schwalbe self adhesive patches and the tube seems to be holding air normally. I haven't yet reinstalled the tube in a tire though. Is this when people notice the patch doesn't stick?

[hannawald]

I patched my first flat with the Schwalbe self adhesive patches and the tube seems to be holding air normally. I haven't yet reinstalled the tube in a tire though. Is this when people notice the patch doesn't stick?

According to reports it can even hold for 2 rides and unexpectably fail. Some say the glue doesn't like hot weather.

[Mr.Gib]

Just getting back to this thread to provide my feedback as promised.
The Aerothans were perfect for the duration of my Italian Alps climbing (and descending) orgy. No flats, no issues fitting any of the available pumps, etc. Ride is very good though I agree with those that find them less supple than latex. I too feel the difference and latex does ride better.

Back home I installed them in on a couple of wheelsets that required valve extenders. This is where things get interesting. Continental valve extenders match up with the Aerothan threads just fine - set and forget. However Vittoria valve extenders seem to have a less aggressive thread which strips the Aerothan threads with the slightest excess twist effort while installing - there just is no real "grab" between these two products. I have taken the step of using flexible superglue to lock the Vittoria extenders in place. A flat will likely cost me a valve extender but perhaps I can save it - we'll see. Perhaps thread locker is a wiser move, but the threads on the Aerothan valve stems are pretty soft and I don't like to leave anything to chance on the road. I also make sure my spare has an extender already in place. You can't count on being able to juggle extenders and valves around with these when you're in the middle of nowhere.

FWIW I have a third set of wheels 35mm deep that do not require extenders but that is about the limit as far as wheel depth goes for the Aerothans.

My summary: more durable and safer than latex with slightly lesser ride quality, and a must have for rim brake carbon clincher users. Overall very good if you can manage the valve extender complications.

[aeroisnteverything]

For the valve extenders, I use plumber's white pipe thread tape on the threads to help with air tightness. Never tried loctite or glue and never needed it - sounds problematic to me if I need to change the extender from one tube to the spare mid-ride.

Have been running Revoloop Race Ultras with GP5000s for a whole year now. Over 10k kilometers on English roads with the same pair of inner tubes. No flats, valves are fine, and generally zero issues.

[Cannoli]

Having had two instances of valve extenders blowing off the plastic Aerothan valve stems (two different tubes), I've resorted to super gluing them in place right from the start. I simply don't trust them to stay secure for the long term and will gladly sacrifice a $2 valve extender for the peace of mind. Once my stash of Aerothan tunes is depleted, I'll switch to latex.

[ohexploitable]

i've successfully repaired aerothans with a drop of superglue. make sure to clean the area of any oil etc. first, and let the superglue fully dry (when you can no longer smell it).

[spdntrxi]

anybody try revoloops ultras ? I have a few but have not used them yet.

[bet1216]

my $.02 and experience so far. I have have been using the Aerothans since March 2021 on Zipp 454 wheels with Conti GP5000 (25mm) with Zipp valve extenders the entire time. I have not had any issues what so ever. Ride wise they are very similar to the latex (which I always ran until these) but without the air loss of latex. Puncture resistance has been awesome (similar to my experience over the years with latex). I am not a light person and arguably ran them a little under inflated (80-85ish psi) for my weight but they have been great. Road conditions are typical crappy midwest country roads with significant chip and seal, cracks, holes and patched sections.

I also had them on set of Cannondale Hollowgram 64's also with Conti GP5000 and Zipp valve extenders. No issues either (but not many miles at all before I sold the wheels/bike so not real helpful). I did take the tires and Aerothans off when I sold it. The interesting things is the Aerothans changed color. The had turned brownish (I assume absorted/stained with black from the tires). They still work fine. I have also used them on a gravel bike with no issues at all (recently changed these wheels to tubeless - same discolorization).

[maxim809]

anybody try revoloops ultras ? I have a few but have not used them yet.

I have and used both revoloops and aerothan.

They are practically identical. The 'biggest' difference is that the revoloops come with a non-black valve core, whereas the Aerothans are black so it gives a completely murdered out look when installed. I swap in the black aerothan cores whenever I use the revoloops.

I don't know why I care about such things. Send help.

[maxim809]

no dog in this fight but punctures seem to happen in clusters. Went 3 years without a puncture, then had 3 in the span of 2 weeks. resorted to removing tire to see if there was a radial tire strand stuck in the carcass, could never find anything. Oh well.

i experience the exact same phenomenon

I'll go 9 months without a puncture, then all at once 3 flats in 1 week. Even after changing to both a fresh new tube AND tire. And riding a completely different route. It's bizarre, because it doesn't even seem tied to wear and tear of tire, the routes I ride, or even the season. Statistically it's really weird.

Aliens. I swear.