Is lighter inner tube gives better performance?

[jdtate101]

No real point in latex tubes, some butyl one's are just as light:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=18914

These ones are 50g a pop, lighter than any latex one's I've found, plus they are really tiny, so you can fit quite a few into a saddle bag.

 

[jdtate101]

Just fill the innertubes with helium, and the bike will just float along

I know a bike mad buy who works in a lab who did just that to see if it would make a difference. He weighed a front wheel with normal air and helium.....made sod all difference.

 

[clarion]

I've used latex tubes in the past, and not just for fast bikes. It wasn't a big deal to top up the tyres every morning from the track pump I bought at the same time. The much better puncture protection is a great boon. It made a massive difference before better protected tyres came along, though there's not much you can do if you get a flat on the road, so it's worth carrying a spare (i always do anyway). I've bought latex for my n+1.

 

[Rob3rt]

No real point in latex tubes, some butyl one's are just as light:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=18914

These ones are 50g a pop, lighter than any latex one's I've found, plus they are really tiny, so you can fit quite a few into a saddle bag.

I use those ^^. I don't think weight is the only claimed benefit of latex tubes. Haven't tried them myself so won't comment.

 

[Globalti]

Weight is not the only benefit. A butyl tube is relatively stiff compared with latex and I have found that with latex I can increase my tyre pressures from my normal 100 to 110 or 115 and still find them more comfortable thanks to the fact that the latex is so much more compliant. They also seem to give better grip in corners. I've never used tubulars but I guess this is the nearest you can get to tubs using clinchers. By my reckoning with 10 or 15 lbs more pressure in the tyre it will roll faster.

Those Continental lightweight tubes look interesting, I think I'll try a pair.

 

[fossyant]

I've had the Conti tubes and they are incredibly thin. TBH prefer the noise from latex. They do make a very compact spare though, as latex tubes aren't as small.

 

[Arsen Gere]

Weight is not the only benefit. A butyl tube is relatively stiff compared with latex and I have found that with latex I can increase my tyre pressures from my normal 100 to 110 or 115 and still find them more comfortable thanks to the fact that the latex is so much more compliant. They also seem to give better grip in corners. I've never used tubulars but I guess this is the nearest you can get to tubs using clinchers. By my reckoning with 10 or 15 lbs more pressure in the tyre it will roll faster.

Those Continental lightweight tubes look interesting, I think I'll try a pair.

On the tubs thing, I use tubs on Zipp 404 carbon wheels for a very light combination on hilly route or sprint triathlons. Personally I'm not so sure really light wheels are good on a TT as the front end can catch the wind quite easily and you seem to spend time correcting your direction and less time focussed on going in the straightest line as fast as possible. Personally I don't like it much.
For really long races I prefer a standard wheel and tyre combo, I can carry two inner tubes but I don't want to carry two tubs and at £50-70 each it's not a cheap game.
It would not surprise me if this was one of the reasons we see so many wheel touching crashes in road races with lighter deeper rimmed carbon front wheels.
On windy days I mix tubs and tubes and go for a 404/tub combination on the back and a normal tube/tyre shallow rim on the front.
I've tried latex tubes, but you can't leave a bike in transition over night without having to blow them up. Plus they are easy to nip when fitting a tyre, so a quick fix on the road needs to be done with more care.

 

[Globalti]

This is true and it's one reason why I carry standard butyl inners as spares, the other being that latex tubes are so fragile in their, er... flaccid condition.

Interestingly I have also noticed that my front wheel seems more sensitive to side winds with the latex tubes; they are standard rims (Mavic Ksyriums) but the front wheel and indeed the whole bike feels more skittish and less stable, which I guess is explained by about 25 gms less gyroscopic stability in the wheels. I test rode a Bianchi Oltre recently, which had deep-rim wheels and I was astonished at the wind effect on the front wheel when passing field gates; it felt like an invisible hand pushing the bike one way then the other.

 

[mattobrien]

Those Continental lightweight tubes look interesting, I think I'll try a pair.

I have just bought one of the light weight Conti butyl tubes - it is very small compared to a 'normal' tube. i wanted to check out the size as I am planning on using the smallest possible saddle bag for the N+1 but still wanted to carry a spare tube. Now I have seen it, I will be ordering a couple more to go on the bike.

I am looking forward to testing them out. Under £10 to lose c. 50grams of rotating mass has got to be quite cheap in anyone's book

 

[Arsen Gere]

This is true and it's one reason why I carry standard butyl inners as spares, the other being that latex tubes are so fragile in their, er... flaccid condition.

Interestingly I have also noticed that my front wheel seems more sensitive to side winds with the latex tubes; they are standard rims (Mavic Ksyriums) but the front wheel and indeed the whole bike feels more skittish and less stable, which I guess is explained by about 25 gms less gyroscopic stability in the wheels. I test rode a Bianchi Oltre recently, which had deep-rim wheels and I was astonished at the wind effect on the front wheel when passing field gates; it felt like an invisible hand pushing the bike one way then the other.

Yep. The effect can be quite dramatic if you pass a gate you can see it coming and anticipate it but if the wind changes there is no anticipation, so you have to correct it and as soon as you do it has gone. You also bounce across rougher surfaces more. I race on Mavic Ksyriums too and have done my best TT times on 'normal' rather than deep rims.
I wonder how much of this deep carbon super light stuff is a con and how much value the inertia effect has in keeping a bike stable in a single plane giving you something to push against. I know that a rubber frame would be useless and that a siffer lateral ride is better so for us mortals so a shallower wheel with some inertia, ie weight may be better. I wonder if the inertia from disk wheels at 1.5kg adds more to the mix than just aerodynamics.

Hence I don't use latex tubes, I think they are more expensive, more prone to nips and don't offer a benefit that out weighs the disadvantages. Just my 2p.

 

[Rob3rt]

Yep. The effect can be quite dramatic if you pass a gate you can see it coming and anticipate it but if the wind changes there is no anticipation, so you have to correct it and as soon as you do it has gone. You also bounce across rougher surfaces more. I race on Mavic Ksyriums too and have done my best TT times on 'normal' rather than deep rims.
I wonder how much of this deep carbon super light stuff is a con and how much value the inertia effect has in keeping a bike stable in a single plane giving you something to push against. I know that a rubber frame would be useless and that a siffer lateral ride is better so for us mortals so a shallower wheel with some inertia, ie weight may be better. I wonder if the inertia from disk wheels at 1.5kg adds more to the mix than just aerodynamics.

Hence I don't use latex tubes, I think they are more expensive, more prone to nips and don't offer a benefit that out weighs the disadvantages. Just my 2p.

Stiffness, and rumble rumble!

 

[oldroadman]

Weight is not the only benefit. A butyl tube is relatively stiff compared with latex and I have found that with latex I can increase my tyre pressures from my normal 100 to 110 or 115 and still find them more comfortable thanks to the fact that the latex is so much more compliant. They also seem to give better grip in corners. I've never used tubulars but I guess this is the nearest you can get to tubs using clinchers. By my reckoning with 10 or 15 lbs more pressure in the tyre it will roll faster.

Those Continental lightweight tubes look interesting, I think I'll try a pair.

that's a very fair assessment. Latex rolls better, as noted more compliant, so a smoother ride and also more lively if you really put the pressure in (8 atmospheres+). The weight issue is spurious, weight is in the rim and tyre if not using tubs. Quality tyres make a difference in ride and feel (worth good money, cheap feels just that, cheap and nasty).

And the comment about side winds - well with a deep rim tere is more surface to catch it, so what would you expect? This is why front discs are only used on indoor tacks, and even then only for pursuits and the like.
Tubs best of all, but perhaps not for everyday or training, unless you have deep pockets or a free supply!

 

[Star Strider]

Latex tubes also make you more attractive to women.

 

[400bhp]

I suppose the thinness of a tube should make very little difference in puncture protection should it? If something gets through the tyre it's almost certainly going to puncture.

 

[Arsen Gere]

I suppose the thinness of a tube should make very little difference in puncture protection should it? If something gets through the tyre it's almost certainly going to puncture.

Yep but I bust two latex tubes on one pothole with snake bites due to low tyre pressure - my fault I should have checked them more often. I did not think every day was necessary at the time.