Globalti
Legendary Member
Been curious to try latex for ages so I bought a pair of Vittoria latex inner tubes and as everybody promised, I LOVED them. The ride was smooth and fast and they made a lovely noise and the bike felt more lively too.
The fragility was made clear when the cat attacked one as it dangled and caught her claw in it, making a hole. The other tube found a 2mm cut in the tyre and herniated through with a loud crack. I persisted, my love undiminished, but with a feeling this wasn't going to end well.
I was sent some Michelin Pro 3 Light tyres by Planet X by mistake when I ordered Pro 3 Race; fitted them with the latex tubes and quite soon got a pinch puncture when I hit a pothole. So I threw away the Vittoria and fitted a Michelin latex inner then refitted the more robust Pro 3 Race tyres. It felt good but my feeling of foreboding was growing, a bit like a relationship with a GF that you know is going nowhere. I was still taking precautions, carrying two butyl inners for spare.
Then this afternoon I set off from Gisburn forest car park where Mrs Gti dropped me for a wind-assisted ride home and found that the bead of the front tyre was partially off the rim because I had been careless when fitting the latex inner tube; I don't know how it didn't escape and burst. So I let it down, seated the tyre, pumped with the hand pump and rode the 100 yards back to the car park to borrow a track pump off a mountain biker. Psssst! Down went my beloved latex tube, to the amusement of the MTBers who must have thought me truly incompetent. Took it out and fitted a spare butyl inner, blew up to 110 lbs, no hassle.
Rode home with the easterly wind and threw away the second Vittroia latex inner, to lie in my workshop bin with its brother like coiled pink intestines. So I'm left with Michelin one in the rear tyre and I'm out of love with latex.
Now I've bought a pair of these:
These bad boys are tiny and lightweight and I'm hoping they will rekindle my love affair with exotic rubbers. Damned expensive though.... I hope they last longer than my poor old latex inners did.
The fragility was made clear when the cat attacked one as it dangled and caught her claw in it, making a hole. The other tube found a 2mm cut in the tyre and herniated through with a loud crack. I persisted, my love undiminished, but with a feeling this wasn't going to end well.
I was sent some Michelin Pro 3 Light tyres by Planet X by mistake when I ordered Pro 3 Race; fitted them with the latex tubes and quite soon got a pinch puncture when I hit a pothole. So I threw away the Vittoria and fitted a Michelin latex inner then refitted the more robust Pro 3 Race tyres. It felt good but my feeling of foreboding was growing, a bit like a relationship with a GF that you know is going nowhere. I was still taking precautions, carrying two butyl inners for spare.
Then this afternoon I set off from Gisburn forest car park where Mrs Gti dropped me for a wind-assisted ride home and found that the bead of the front tyre was partially off the rim because I had been careless when fitting the latex inner tube; I don't know how it didn't escape and burst. So I let it down, seated the tyre, pumped with the hand pump and rode the 100 yards back to the car park to borrow a track pump off a mountain biker. Psssst! Down went my beloved latex tube, to the amusement of the MTBers who must have thought me truly incompetent. Took it out and fitted a spare butyl inner, blew up to 110 lbs, no hassle.
Rode home with the easterly wind and threw away the second Vittroia latex inner, to lie in my workshop bin with its brother like coiled pink intestines. So I'm left with Michelin one in the rear tyre and I'm out of love with latex.
Now I've bought a pair of these:
These bad boys are tiny and lightweight and I'm hoping they will rekindle my love affair with exotic rubbers. Damned expensive though.... I hope they last longer than my poor old latex inners did.
