Schwalbe Aerothan 700c Tube

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).

These tubes are lighter than latex and much lighter than butyl.

Installation was no problem and each size covers a useful range of tire sizes.

They retain air better than latex but not as well as standard butyl. Mine lose about 10% per week.

I've had 2 flats, both were slow leaks from tiny holes. I couldn't find Schwalbe patches but was able to repair the tubes with Park glueless patches. I cleaned the hole area thoroughly then pressed the patch on by rolling a socket wrench over it with lots of force. They hold air as well as unpatched tubes.

I like these better than Tubolito. Mostly I've had problems getting patches to hold on Tubolito. Also the Aerothan seem lighter and more flexible (and I don't have to look at orange valve stems).

I wish I could LOVE these, and I do. I wish I could say they're perfect, but no. The valve stems are strange and, I believe, leaky. I've purchased a number of these tubes and have replaced Schwalbe's valve cores with standard ones I've saved over the years and that has cured some air leakage issues.

I'd love for these to be a great spare carry tube for my various tubeless setups, but they warn not to use these tubes in tires where tubeless sealant has been used. I think I get why because I've tried it despite their warnings. Tubeless sealants have glitter-type junk that helps clog a puncture and aid sealing, but that glitter-type junk is large enough and has sharp-enough edges to put tiny punctures in these extremely thin tubes.

When I've used these tubes in brand new tires they've been amazing! Minimal air loss over time. Extremely light and they seem to be durable. You just can't use them as backup for a tubeless setup where sealant has been involved (which they quite clearly warn you about up front). And the valve stems/cores seem a bit sketchy. These are my knocks on them. Otherwise, they're fantastic. They're extremely light and seem to roll every bit as well as latex or tubeless.

I can carry two of these at about the same weight as one regular tube. I have had to install one of these on the side of the road and use a stem extension. Worked great. The valve is removable. The ride isn't bad. The tube is pricey but not that bad compared to other weight saving options.

Put these on my gravel bike and road bike. Certainly different and rather pricey, but so far so good. Hold air better than latex so no need to air everyday. Ride very supple, closer to latex than butyl. Nice rotational mass saving on gravel bike (700x35 tires), didn't notice much on road bike (700x25) but was running latex already. No punctures, so that's good, but didn't expect any since the backroads here are decent and most of the flats I get and see during club rides are from tube failures or worn out tires and maybe the occasional pinch flat at RRXing, so cannot comment on repair. Overall nice product and happy with purchase.

Not sure these should cost so much but the ride quality feels better from the regular tubes. Hard to describe. How do you tell if its faster? But 1500km on the road with them and no issues so far.

I ride 125 to 150 miles a week of mostly dry and hilly roads, mostly on a 2021 Roubaix Expert with alloy wheels. I'm one of those people that is highly skeptical when reviewers use subjective words like "supple" when rating tires or tubes. I bought these in the hopes of reducing flats and having more consistent air pressure, so I was surprised when I felt like they actually make a difference in ride quality. Supple may be the right word -- it does feel like a smoother ride.

This may seem like a steep price to pay, but if they really do provide better flat protection then that means I'll buy fewer tubes. Also, at least for now I feel like I can put off my planned upgrade to carbon wheels. If you're on the fence, I think they're worth a try. You've probably spent more money on dumber products.

I'm using Aerothan tubes in both 25mm tires on my roadbike (90/80PSI) and 38mm tires on my gravel bike (50/40PSI) for about a month now. Easy to install. No flats yet so haven't tested their patchability. Love their small size and weight.

The gravel bike tubes have Continental 20mm valve extenders attached. No problems.

The road bike tubes need to be aired up before every ride. Their pressure drops significantly (~10PSI) between rides. The gravel bike tubes, with their much lower pressure, hold air much better.

I have tried Tubolito tubes and so far I like the Aerothans' more. The two Tubolito road bike tubes I used were leaky. Tubolito was good about replacing the tubes, but I asked for gravel bike tubes as replacements and am using them now as spares. Haven't tried these replacement tubes yet. Maybe they'll work better with lower pressure.

The real test is later this year when I ride my gravel bike across USA (3600 miles). Tubes' size and weight count a lot, but reliability is even more important for me. Aerothan tubes are expensive, but if they remain reliable I will use them for the trip.

I started using Aerothan tubes a few months ago. While I am not doing roll down tests or otherwise testing to accurately measure rolling resistance, I feel very fast with these tubes and a high performance, low rolling resistance tire. The tubes are easy to install and very strong. I finally managed to develop a slow leak in one, by hitting a pothole so hard it would have pinch flatted any other tube. I just ordered two more...

I am now using these in my light weight climbing road bike wheels, my fast carbon aero wheels, and my winter training wheels... the tubes are very light, very low rolling resistance and very durable, so an optimum choice for each of those uses. I am an ex amateur racer and still doing group rides with younger, fitter, faster racers, so need all the help I can get.

I have not had any flats with these tubes thus far. They seem to roll a bit faster than regular butyl tubes but it is hard to compare. They are lighter. They also seem to hold air longer than other tubes.

I use these with training wheels/tires for winter riding because I do not want to flat (they are very puncture resistant). I use them with lightweight climbing wheels because they are so light. And I use them with medium depth aero wheels because I want to go fast and these are low rolling resistance.

I blew out an Aerothan on a steep decent when I hit a rock. It just popped and deflated instantly. No tire damage (Conti Grand Prix 5Ks). Aerothans may be puncture resistant, but they are definitely not impact resistant. Don't know when I can repair it since the required Schwalbe patch kit is currently unavailable.

I've been using the 700c version on my regular training bike for a few months. The ride quality is nice; perhaps a tad better than latex. Not scientific, but I went about twice as long without a puncture, which could be luck. However, patches aren't available ANYWHERE and those that have tried the Schwalbe patches seem to find they fail. Not worth it compared to good latex or butyl which you get much more life out of for a small weight difference.

Offers great rolling resistance similar to latex, but can be used on rim brakes without worrying about the amount of heat build up. No problems except for availability!

The tubes are very light, install easily, and provide a great ride.

However, two of six I bought failed right out of the box, just don't hold air. Another had the valve easily damaged when removing a pump head.

I think they need further development.

Did a Century ride and got two rear tire flats. Purchased 3 tubes so that I would have a spare. The stem is plastic and can cross thread very easy, even just using your fingers.

If you like super low-maintenance like me, you probably like the idea of fewer flats, and tubeless sounds like a hassle (having to replace slime every once in a while). So to reduce punctures on my daily commute I went with Schwalbe Marathon tires and these more puncture-resistant tubes (and lighter tube weight helps offset the heavier tires a bit...although I was actually impressed that the tires aren't crazy heavy considering their much thicker construction)

Ordered a pair of these for road bike, 700x25 tires. They are lighter than latex and seem to not lose air as fast as latex do overnight or a day or so. Don't have too many miles with them yet, but they seem comparable to latex in ride quality, maybe not quite as supple. They make mounting tires easy with their small profile when just enough air is added to keep them from twisting when you are putting them in between the tire and rim. Can't speak on puncture resistance since I don't have many hours on them, but sos far so good. They are a bit pricey for tubes.

I have installed two of these tubes on two different bikes and they seem to roll a bit faster, are lighter and, I have had no flats thus far. I just ordered another tube to put on the rear of my Wife's bike.

These things ride smooth and I can tell the difference even against Continental supersonics. I purchased them for their flat avoidance claims first but was curious about ride quality.

These tubes are expensive! For the price of one tube you can get 10 cheap, heavy, poorly constructed, flat prone, toxic chemical laden tubes straight from a Chinese sweat shop. So yeah, I paid more but my expectations were to avoid those issues.

I was let down as I had a flat within 2 months of purchase and claims of patchability are poor (tpu does not repair the same as butyl). Simply finding special Schwalbe glueless patches are currently almost impossible. It's most likely this tube will be going in the trash, a shame as I can buy a tire at that cost.

I was very surprised by the ride quality changes. I have 700x28 tires and run 70psi which probably helps. I have never tried latex, but I was able to pump these suckers up once a week with the pressure off only a couple psi.

Even in light of the issues I will give them at least one more try. The ride that incurred the flat was a day after rains with roads still wet and that breeds flat inducing situations, this was not a pinch flat, no snake bite. These are also very space saving and keeping one as a spare may let you keep an additional inflator in your bag.