Which inner tubes are best in terms of weight v durability?

[pdlpsher1]

At the valve core where it’s inserted into the valve stem. Someone mentioned Teflon but another said it didn’t work.


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[mrfish]

SuperSonics are fine if you take your time installing them and don’t have tight rims/tyres.

For roadside replacement I prefer something a bit more robust so i can reliably install it. Currently I like Vittoria Ultralites (Not Lites). These were the cheapest under 100g tubes I could find. Good value if you buy 10s.

[pdlpsher1]

What’s the weight on the Vittoria tubes?


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[Alex222]

What’s the weight on the Vittoria tubes?


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Mine come in at 90g, for the 45mm valve length.

[sgtrobo]

I won’t use latex on clinchers.

Might I ask why? Never used latex tubes before, still trying to figure out what the big deal is.

[rlanger]

I recently installed the Supersonics and really like them. I've probably only got about 1500k on them or so, but no flats to report.

I haven't had a flat for more than 2 years (touch wood) and that was using regular Conti tubes before these. The Supersonics have a much nicer feel to them and the weight savings is a really nice bonus. Probably cheapest gram/$ saving on my bike.

[alcatraz]

The answet to the OP is, it depends.

Some install inner tubes with care, some don't.

I used to read about how bad supersonic/flyweight inned tubes are. After a long time I tried them and had no issie

[pdlpsher1]

I won’t use latex on clinchers.

Might I ask why? Never used latex tubes before, still trying to figure out what the big deal is.

Some people have good luck with them. I didn’t. I have had blowouts and many flats. And air leaks with holes that cannot be found in a tub of water (discussed recently in another thread).


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[Hexsense]

Never have good luck with light weight butyl tube.
However, normal weight letex tube is much harder to get flat.
My flat rate reduce to only once or twice a year when old tire get worn down since i move to latex. And all of them are slow flat where it slowly losing pressure rather than sudden flat.

[dmp]

I have had good luck with the Michelin Aircomp ultra light. They average in the mid 70's g on my scale. I was using the supersonics, but had a run of flats, and was not sure if it was a QC problem. I like that the valve stem on the Michelins isn't threaded- it doesn't chew up the gasket on my pump head.

[AJS914]

Here are a couple good threads on the pros/cons of latex from Leonard Zinn:

https://www.velonews.com/2014/07/techni ... bes_333917

https://www.velonews.com/2013/05/techni ... ing_286605

In the 2nd link the comments from HED and Enve are interesting. From Enve:

Latex tubes are more sensitive to heat than butyl. Under prolonged braking, any slight irregularity in the tire bed (like the edge of a rim strip, or the transition from tire bead to tire bed) may result in sudden deflation of the latex tube. We’ve seen this in both carbon and aluminum rims. Latex may work really well for riders who aren’t faced with long descents, but we can’t say that they are safe for all use scenarios, so we can’t recommend using latex tubes.

So I've used latex and never had a problem except for the having to pump up tires every single ride. I'm a little lazy and don't need those last two or three watts so I switched back to butyl. I also never lived in an area with long descents that could really heat up rims.

[silvalis]

+1 on the Michellin ultralights.
Haven't had any more or less flats on these than normal.

[robertbb]

+1 on the Michellin ultralights.
Haven't had any more or less flats on these than normal.

+2

Light, reliable, comfortable and the threadless valve is great. Fair price.

[silvalis]

I also really like how the michellin valve doesnt unscrew with your pump head, like the conti valves do

[Attermann]

I also really like how the michellin valve doesnt unscrew with your pump head, like the conti valves do

Just tighten it? Schwalbe can do the same.