anyone use latex tubes for race day?

jimmy augustine

Do any of you swap to latex tubes for IM races? If so, how do you manage air pressure? Pump extra day before? Hit the mechanic in transition before the race?

I just put a set on and will be racing in 10 days. Would love to hear any latex best practices. Including "take them off, they are too fragile!!"

Paul Hough

Yes, I use latex for all my IMs and 70.3s. I just pump them up in the morning and I'm good to go. Why would you take them off...never had a failure. Latex tubes are actually LESS prone to flats....provided you correctly install them. You need to seat them perfectly or you will blow them when you first pump them up - which I have done just once!

Douglas Sutherland

I used once at Austin last year. That course is a joke, basically an off roading experience, and they did fine. No idea if it made a difference tho

Rich Stanbaugh

Hi Jimmy - I used to use the Latex tubes. Recently, I've stuck with the specialized race tubes. They are in the 60-70g range. The inconvenience/issues with latex for a 10(ish)g advantage just doesn't seem worth the pressure loss, chance of flatting, etc. I am pretty sure Continental has some butyl in the same weight range.

John Withrow

The advantage of Latex tubes isn't the "weight" so much as it is the reduction in rolling resistance. "If" you make it through proper installation and your first ride, they are every bit as durable as butyl tubes. I do EVERY race with Latex tubes.

You MUST inflate them the morning of the race (somebody always has a pump you can borrow...) and I use whatever normal pressure I would otherwise use. Debating the ideal pressure is discussion for a different (much longer) thread, but at ~180-190 lbs race weight, I like to use ~110psi (+/- 5psi) Front and Rear (will go 10psi or so lower if it's raining or a particularly rough roads). I'm pretty sure some of little guys like Tim Cronk have been happy with much lower pressures (in the 85-95psi range). There are lots of theories on which might be better, but with the newer wider rims and tires, lots of discussion around lower might actually be better (even though I still use higher).

Here's the thing with Latex tubes... If you EVER install them, inflate them and ride on them and then remove them, you should throw them immediately into the garbage can. The latex tends to adhere to the inside of the tire over time (some people use talc powder to help with this but I don't trust it). So when you remove the tube from the tire it makes tiny micro tears in the delicate latex. So... If you then re-install them at a later date, you WILL get a flat. It might be after 5 miles or 50 miles or 250 miles, but it will eventually happen. My protocol is to get new latex tubes and new race tires a couple of weeks before my A race. Then I do a couple of rides on them and then race on them. Then I leave them installed after the race. You can race over and over again on them (for me this means B and C races) as long as they've never been removed from inside of the tire. I've also trained on them for literally thousands and thousands of miles after a race with no issues. For the following yr's "A" race I lather, rinse, repeat...

Only other thing that you probably already know is that you still need Butyl Spares. CO2 won't work with the Latex and even if you had a small pump the installation takes extreme care/caution to not pinch the tube under the bead of the tire on the very first inflation. This would slow you way down on the side of the road with full adrenaline. I can change a butyl tire in ~2-3 mins. It takes me ~10-15 mins per tire to carefully install a latex tube.

Gordon Cherwoniak

Jimmy,

To add to the information John provided the numbers I have seen equate to 1.5 -2.5 watt per tire or ~ 3-5 watts total difference in butyl versus latex.  This includes ultra lite butyl tubes. So you are going to push your FTP on race day, say 225 watts with butyl you will be giving 5 of those watts to rolling resistance due to equipment choice thus be slower over the course of your races.

Basically what choosing butyl over latex says is that you are willing to lower your FTP by 5 watts.  Just think back to the OS and what you would have given at the end for 5 more watts?  Equipment choices help you get off the bike sooner and this is one of the easier ways to get some free speed as they call it.

 Edit - Yes I use latex at races, except my last race because I was not properly prepared.

jfields74

Everything that JW said! One thing I add when installing my latex tubes is baby powder. I put the tube in a zip lock baggie with baby powder and shake it around. You still must be very careful during the isntall. I do not remove mine and when I have, like JW said, I toss them. I've actually used the same latex tubes for 2 years. I'm changing them all this year just out of pure worry that I have jinxed myself by saying that! lol

jimmy augustine

thx all! I have them installed and have two successful rides on the front and one on the rear. The rear had a slow leak that made my final RR last Thursday a really ugly experience on the bike. But I will keep the new ones on and will have a few rides on them between now and race day. Now that yall mention it, it does seem like if I am going to have trouble with a tube it is mostly the first ride after I put it on which sounds like I am not installing carefully enough.
I will keep butyl in my flat kit on race day along w CO2.
I'll take 5w. Even on a 94mi bike leg.

Mike Westover

I switched to latex a few weeks ago and haven't had any problems yet (knock on wood). Some tips I found were

• Coat the inside of the tire all over with talc. And the tube using a ziploc baggie
• When installing, do not use tire levers. It helps to put on the bead near the valve last
• Check all around the bead to ensure the tube didn't sneak under anywhere
• Push the valve in toward the tire (helps prevent the tire from blowing off)
• Inflate a little and check again all around the bead. Then fully inflate
• If the tire ever goes fully flat, repeat the earlier steps checking around the bead and pushing in the valve before you inflate

I do have to inflate before every ride now rather than 1-2 times a week (which is more of a pain since I've decided to leave my disc cover on for the time being). But it's worth it for the 3-5 watts.

Brian Hagan

Perfect timing for this thread!  I am going to used these for my first time for IMTX next week.  Mine should arrive in the mail today, and I will have my LBS install tonight for tomorrows ride.  I did not realize it is worth 5 watts!  Anything to get me off that bike sooner!

robin sarner

Have used latex for the last years. But thinking of going back to the specialized racing tubes. Don't like to be worried race morning about damaging valve, getting in accurate pressure, etc

Shaughn Simmons

I am with Rob.

I have used them on race day with no problems but they are high maintenance and can be difficult to correctly change out if you have a flat.  Best to carry a normal tube in the saddle bag if you go this route.

They are delicate and highly prone to pinching, etc when trying to change out under normal circumstances and worse under race conditions when you need to be fast fixing a flat.

SS

Paul Hough

Re Shaughn's comment - you MUST take Butyl tubes as spares, not just because they are faster to change out (which they are) but because a CO2 refill in a latex tube will leak through lickety split!

thekidduxc

Great thread gang. This has pushed me to go latex tubes for my next race!

Dave Campbell

Started using them back in 2011. Love them. I actually put them in before the race, remove them afterward and re-install the same tubes next race. I do use talc powder. I have the original tubes I raced IMLP in 2011 and have used them in every race since. Several 70.3's and IMChoo. Never had a flat. They feel smooth and fast under me with the Vittoria Open Corsa tires. I haven't heard about the problem John describes and my tubes don't stick to the tires with the talc. I have had that situation with butyl tubes when left in say like a year without removing them.

tim cronk

This is a great thread.... I love the way latex feel (subjective) over butyl in my tires and I think there is plenty data for the added performance they provide... As others have mentioned everything has to be perfect... The latex is so flexible it will seek out any weakness in the system and this is where I have had issues in the past... Most notably with Continental 4000s tires seem to have weak sidewalls and I have had numerous failures of a latex tube coming right thru a weak sidewall.... Just 1 week ago I had commented to someone about this and how it had never happened to a continental 4000s in 25c size but only the 23c.... I day later I pumped up my 25c 4000s w/latex tube that had been set up like that for a while and watched a pink tube slowly come out thru the middle of a perfectly good looking tire (psi was 80 btw) and blow.... I have absolutely sworn off Continentals for good .... The other issue I had was numerous failures in my FLO wheels and I finally figured it out was the FLO rim tape (you must make sure there are no spoke holes not even a sliver of one available to those latex tubes) The best thing I have found is Stans tubeless tire rim tape wrapped around the rim twice! No more latex failures in my FLO's.....

 

Oh and I do run my tires 23c and 25c on 24mm rims  at 80-85 PSI ...  In training I have run them as low as 70 with no apparent loss of performance and have run them up to 95 with no apparent gain of performance....