Schwalbe Aerothan 700c Tube

I have tried several different brands of TPU tubes and I prefer the Schwalbe Aerothan. My perception is that TPU tubes in general provide a lower rolling resistance and are much lighter weight than standard tubes. I have a little more than 1,000 miles on the Aerothan tubes and have only flatted once. The time I did flat, no other tube would have done any better. Flat resistance seems to be the same, maybe better than a standard tube. The Aerothan tubes have a good quality valve and the valve stem is well reinforced in its connection to the tube in comparison to some others. The Aerothans hold pressure about as well as a typical tube. So it comes down to price, which is a lot. If you want a slightly faster wheel and are willing to pay for it, here you go.

I've been using these tubes on my go-to road bike for about 1.5 years now, and overall, I really like them, and will continue to use them. They're reasonably light, roll very nicely, and are quite puncture-resistant.

However, I do not quite trust the valve cores. They are loose when they come shipped, and you have to tighten them before the first use, which is not a deal-breaker, but still worth noting. I use Leyzyne pumps, which are threaded, and with these tubes you need to quickly re-tighten the valve cores every time you inflate your tires, which, again, is not a deal-breaker, but still annoying. I have not yet had a valve failure, but these things are apparently 3-D printed, not metal, and I can imagine a total valve failure happening if you're not attentive.

If they came with non-removable valve cores, I'd be a lot happier with them, but, overall, they're very good: they perform almost as well as latex, but are even lighter, and they're more durable and retain air better than butyl tubes.

Wanted to get away from tubless so I gave the Aerothans a try. Seems to me that Schwalbe needs a bit of quality control. Several had very leaky valve cores which had to be glued. Another leaked where the stem was glued into the tube. That said, I'm very happy with my 'third times a charm' set that are functioning very well on my road rims. Very little air loss and unglued valve cores. I have several hundred miles on them, paired to Petrelli Cinturado tires on mostly rough chip seal roads.

Bought 3 of them at the beginning of May. All 3, yes all 3, are toast now.

Tube 1 developed an air bubble in one spot during installation, stretching the material irreparably before the tire was even on (apparently there's a warning against overinflation prior to mounting,written in tiny print in the install guide??).Tube 2, mounted on the rear under a Conti GP5000 in 28mm, punctured after 150 miles.Tube 3, mounted on the rear under a Conti GP 4 seasons in 32mm, punctured after 200 miles (300 miles total on this tube, if you count the 100 miles when it was on the front before I switched it to the rear). As other reviewers have noted, the Schwalbe Glueless Patches can't be found anywhere! So I'm stuck with two broken tubes that I'll probably never bother to fix, given my lack of trust in these tubes now, and what I've heard about the Glueless Patches not always working well.

This was no scientific experiment, so my results are by no means objective, and I may have just had a run of bad luck (I think I was tempting the Flat Gods when I bought these tubes because I was on a 3000-mile no-flat streak with basic butyl tubes (Bontragers and Michelin Airstop A2s with different set-ups)). That being said, I will never purchase Schwalbe Aerothan tubes again. Schwalbe, if you're listening, lower the price by at least half and I will MAYBE consider buying them again, because, as much as I hate to admit it, I did like riding them and I feel like the lower weight and slightly lower rolling resistance was noticeable.

My next tire/wheel upgrade will probably be going tubeless (in which case my Aerothans, if I ever am able to patch them, will be even more useless, because, as Schwalbe notes in the fine print of their Aerothan packaging, the tubes can't come into contact with Tubeless sealant - so much for a light spare tube lol).

I am using aerothan tubes 2 ways. The best gain is for the emergency tube on my mountain bike and I just put a rock through my front tire and had to use tube to get out of the woods. It is half the weight and 1/4 the size of carrying a 2.5 inch black tube and this matters. Well worth the $28 where I have carried it for 8 months. The valve cores seem to be shipped loose where I took warning from these reviews. . For my winter road bike use I did super glue the core in per reviews and have used one on front across rough roads for 400 miles. So far I like it inside a new mich power cup for an upgraded plush light ride. I have ran latex several times and always get failures near the stem short of 1000 miles. Tighten the valve cores on aerothan and these may be the best tube available.

Cannot use Lezyne pumps as valve core will come out. As it is, valve cores become loose and need to be constantly tighted. I unsuccessfully tried to fix. My last set developed slow leaks over time. I am trying other TPU tubes which do not have the valve core issues. So far Pirelli TPU tubes are working great. Will try the Fox next.

Big TPU fan. Use Pirelli's on my disc break, was pumped to find Aerothan's are rated for rim.

However - I've repeated issues with valve core, which is loose and can be easily unscrewed. 1st tube couldn't hold high pressures. My 3rd tube held pressure fine using a floor pump, but any hand pump that screws on can easily unscrew the valve core, which releases all the air. I learned the hard way in the middle of nowhere on a ride.

I've superglued the valve core - hope that helps. But Schwalbe - why am I doing the engineering for you?

There are plenty of reviews here that express the issues that I have had with these - the valve stems are made from plastic rather than metal and are absolutely not up to the task required of them. I've ridden approximately 200 miles with them at this point, and I have to say the tube itself is incredible and provides a great ride quality while also noticeably reducing rolling resistance, but the valve stems immediately started letting air out (even at ~80psi). I probably WOULD buy them again, but I think the first thing I'd do would be to replace the valve core with a higher quality one (the threading on the original valve is VERY fine which I think exacerbates the problem) wrap that in pfte tape, and then dab a very small amount of glue around the valve core threads so it couldn't go anywhere.

Generally, I agree with other reviews, very light, easy to install, great ride, excellent air retention.

I have ridden several hundred miles and had no flat issues on two bikes.

The valve stem is absolutely terrible!!!

Difficult to add air with a standard hand pump. valve core can easily dislodge and make the tube unusable. I don't know if I would purchase again due to the almost dysfunctional stem, but I would definitely buy if they had a quality stem, even if they were slightly higher cost over their already high price.

Not sure why they went with this valve design. Maybe to save weight. But the valve cores are too loose. Might be ok at home but not good when you're out on the road in the wind trying to install.

Nice and light but not worth the money. And the do have to be aired up before every ride. I thought they'd hold air better than regular tubes but they don't. Not a noticeable difference in ride feel.

Expensive but I was surprised it felt a noticeably better/smoother ride with these tubes. I did have a pinch flat but it was from a pothole. Didnt think a cheap butyl tube could do better in that situation. I used the Park Tool GP-2 patch since the Schwalbe patch is impossible to find and the patch is holding up well after 2k miles. Just make sure surfaces are super clean before applying the patch. I also had 30mm valve extenders fixed on these tubes and no leaks whatsoever. Will get couple more spares when they are back in stock and on sale.

Nice, light and compact. Great product. Do tighten the valve as it's not tight when shipped so they slowly lost air. Now that I tightened the valve they hold longer than regular tubes.

Nice, light and compact. Great product. Do tighten the valve as it's not tight when shipped so they slowly lost air. Now that I tightened the valve they hold longer than regular tubes.

Makes for a lighter and more compact seat pack. What's not to like about that?

Look, I put these tubes in for a race, and they were a dream. Very light, and they rode unbelievably, I couldn't believe what a difference they made in the ride. Then a couple rides later I get TWO PINCH FLATS IN THE SAME RIDE 15 miles apart, leaves me with a 2 mile walk of shame. That was just the beginning. I can only use their special patches, right? For TWO MONTHS I look everywhere, nobody has them in stock. TWO MONTHS! So I finally give in last week and my the Park Tools glueless patches. They actually seem to work pretty well, but I'll never know because as I'm getting everything repaired and ready to ride, my valve literally BLOWS OUT of the plastic (yes, plastic) valve stem. Threads are ruined, won't hold a valve or an extender in the stem. Trash. Waste of money. Don't think I'll waste my time trying to install the other aerothan that I repaired.

Have changed over to tpc tubes. No more latex for me

super nice tubes. light and hold air equal to heavy butyl tubes and easy to install. I have had a couple flats and they are easy to patch with the Schwalbe gluless patch kit. They are expensive but a competitor sells them for much less and BTD matched that price.

Obviously a little pricy, but they do seem to last longer than standard tubes. A great way to save on rolling resistance and weight!

Been running Latex for racing/training since I can remember, great feel, fast, light, etc. Switched to the competition, to shed a few grams and have a more compact spare, let's call them "Orange" and was happy until I realized their fatal flaw, the stem.

Touch it with anything, add extenders for deep carbon rims, change the valve for any reason, and bammm instant failure, leak, crack, non-seal. These Aerothan's are waaaaaay different. The stem is actually the focus, and works 100% so far in my usage. Just as light, just as good, with far better engineering.

I'm a fan of the Schwalbe Aerothan.