Montage
Generally, latex inner tubes are more 'delicate' to handle than their counterparts made of butyl rubber. This means that a softer touch is required; excessive force will lead to 'holy' results. The powdered substance covering the tube has the meaning of protecting it from the (outer) tire, you should leave it powdered.
To replace my 'old' Continental Race 28 butyl rubber tire with the 'new' Vittoria latex inner tube in my 'used' Continental GP 5000 tire was quite straightforward. The old tube came out easily and has since served as my emergency tube on the bike.
Tools
to exchange the older one with a new inner tube you need:
-Two tire levers
-One pump, preferable a track pump with a pressure gauge
-Two usable hands with a touch of 'feel'.
-Two eyes
-One common sense
Instruction
Basically, I mounted the new Vittoria latex inner tubes like I would put on butyl rubber tubes:
- take away the plastic sleeve off the Vittoria valve stem. My latex tube came without a valve cap and valve over lock nut. If your inner tubes should come with the cap and the nut, take them off.
- lead the valve into the rim hole until it does not move further outwards; my new latex tube had no (!) nut to fix the valve stem on the rim!
- pump up the tube with a few strokes until it straightens up. Take off the pump or pump head and close the French valve.
- place the 'stroked' tube parallel around the rim and tire
- I start from the valve to pull the tire over the tube or push the tube into the tire on the rim. As my older tire was already a little stretched, this went quite smoothly. I work the tire over the rim until it was too difficult, and I had to use one tire lever for the last few centimeters. I prefer n o t to pull the tire by force using the tire levers over the valve!
Don't use excessive force or anything slightly looking sharp during the montage (!), the inner tube could be damaged. If the montage gets problematic and it seems the tube might get stuck, became tangled, etc. don't (!) use force but rather go back to the start.
- check, if all of the pink-colored inner tubes are 'in' the tire by squeezing the outer tire with the inner tube between your thumb and forefinger; repeat this around the whole rim. You could visually check if the pink inner tubes show themselves outside of the tire. If you cannot see the inner tube outside of the tire, you are done.
- pump up to tube to the desired pressure and let it sit. After some time check the pressure again; if it is similar to the original pressure, you can mount the whole wheel back on the bike.
Montage pressure
The final 'montage pressure' should be slightly higher than the riding pressure. A latex tube is elastic, a slightly higher pressure ensures a proper seat of the tube and tire under load. There is no recommended inner tube pressure on the packing nor on the leaflet inside the box. I recommend a slightly higher pressure than the suggested manufacturer's shown on the sidewall of the tire. Too much pressure will surely explode the tire!
Riding Experience
With all the hype concerning latex inner tubes, I honestly did not have any high expectations. As we all know, the industry and sponsored reviewers all serve the 'one' great purpose: to push a product from the shelf into the homes or garages of buyers.
But what a surprise, that I was corrected in a very positive way! From the first pedal stroke on, the bike on the new latex inner tubes felt more springy (elastic quality) and definitely livelier. The same tires smothered out 'natural' imperfections of different road surfaces very noticeable, leading to a more refined and consequently faster ride.
For those interested in numbers, www.aero-coach.co.uk concluded after extensive rolling resistance testing that:
With either the 'correct' 123 psi 'or the more comfortable' 100 psi (see below) pressure, I've felt a slightly higher speed. My GPS-based bike computer showed an improvement of up to 2 km/hr. on average. Of course, it takes much more than latex inner tubes to win the 2020 Tour de France Stage 2 win, but Julian Alaphilippe showed the possibility of an improved tire/tube set-up using latex tubes.
Riding Pressure
My Continental Grand Prix 5000, 700 x 25 c, has the max pressure of 8.5 bar or 123 psi written on the sidewall. But riding with this recommended pressure, I felt rather sitting 'on' than 'in' my bike. The ride was very 'nervous', it seemed to jump more than I liked. I thought this is the price to pay for latex inner tubes.
But, one day I forgot to pump up my tires before the ride, and, surprisingly, a smoother ride was the result without any noticeable influence on speed. Back home I checked a pressure of 8.0 bar or 100 psi. Since then, I use this 'lower' pressure as my 'sweet spot' for comfort and speed.
Reliability
The montage was plain and simple, the higher mounting pressure did not result in the expected explosions of the latex tubes. Taiwan has some high mountains with steep climbs, subsequently fast and technical downhill sections. I've heard stories that the latex inner tubes might explode from the heat of caliper brakes on the rims, but I haven't experienced anything like this. I rode over badly maintained roads with closed and open road surfaces, over fine gravel and even glass splinters. I never had a flat with the latex tubes in combination with my Continental GP5000 clincher tires.
Verdict
Positive:
- easy to mount
- latex is lighter than rubber inner tube (81 g vs. 97 g per tube).
- good puncture protection
- livelier and faster ride
- Watt savings of 7-8 Watts compared to standard butyl tubes
Negative:
- pump-up procedure before each (!) ride
I would recommend the Vittoria Competition Latex Inner Tubes; they are my choice to replace all of my butyl rubber tubes in the future. The ride quality and the speed improved significantly without any sacrifice of reliability. They are a little pricier than their rubber or butyl counterparts but still a cheap performance-wise upgrade. I like them a lot...
Ride carefully, Gerhard
Disclaimer: I am neither sponsored by nor affiliated with Vittoria; I bought, mounted, and tested my own latex inner tubes. I am independent and therefore come to and stand by my own conclusions...
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