ChallengeLatex Road Tube(Return to Product Page)

Bought 2 that installed easily and rode great, but both developes small holes that were hard to find and patch.

Should have payed more attention to the reviews. I like smooth stems and I want short stems. I'll added extensions to make the proper length as I want as little stem protrusion and weight as possible. The Challenge tubes were more expensive and I thought I'd step up try them. Bought two of them from BikeTiresDrect. I carefully partially inflated it to straighten it out to insert in into the tire. One 5cm section expanded like a toy balloon, never seen a latex tire do that. The diameter of the tube was much smaller than the rim making it difficult to install tucking it in the GP4000 tire as I worked the bead onto the rim. It was very difficult to get the tub out from under the bead as to not pinch the tube. About 4 minutes after inflating the tire - pow. Taking the tube out, there was 15cm split along the tube in a fairly straight line. Neither split occurred near the final place that I finished beading the tire where is was most difficult to tuck the tube over the rim. Got out the second tube, partially inflated it and once again a thin section that ballooned. Install the tube even more carefully, inflated it and - pow. Same thing with a long split. There went $35 just like that. I got out a Vittoria latex tub installed it, no problem and have been riding on it every since. Challenge might make good tires but these tube at defective.

I have these tubes paired with Challenge Grifo open tubulars and they are a great combo. I'm 195 lbs and run these at 30 PSI front and rear for cyclocross.

I can feel the difference in ride quality between these and butyl tubes. It takes some getting used to as more compliance can almost feel like your tire is going flat. But once you get used to running lower pressures and letting the tires do their job everything really hooks up.

Worth the money. Spend it and get some nice tubes. Your base miles will thank you.

I found this tube difficult to mount with the unused Strada Bianca. I think the Strada Bianca needs to stretched and formed a bit first with a butyl tube.

Solid, even manufacturing, removable valve cores - longevity, and 74gramseach - cheapest and best upgrade to any ride :)

After reading a few reviews, I was still very skeptical about these tubes. They cost 2-3 times more than regular tubes and some have said that they don't hold air that well. Here are my thoughts:

1. I liked the way they feel. Very supple, and they seemed to hug the contours of my wheel when installing them (better than butyl tubes do)
2. After pumping them up to 60 psi, I found that they lost 20 psi overnight. It's no big deal. I always pump my tires to my regular pressure, 100 psi, before every long ride
3. At the beginning of the ride, my wheels felt somewhat heavier than usual. It may just be something that I imagined
4. An hour into the ride, I felt like the wheels were at higher pressure. I know this happens, but I almost never notice it. But this time it did feel like I had a stiffer ride. I liked it!

I'm still not quite sure if these observations are more in my head than quantifiable differences. Mainly I wanted to rebuke the claim that these tubes are more prone to problems when installing them. There's also a feeling of quality in these tubes, from the packaging, talc, unusual color and clear cap.

Use these tubes mounted in Conti Supersonic tires (I know, not exactly a typically heavy duty training ride tiretube combo). Gawd! Do these roll! And keep on rolling!

Carefully mounted four times on two different rims, with partial low inflation and careful checking all around to be absolutely sure that there was no pinching anywhere. Each time, when pumping up and pressure reached about 100 psi, tube exploded. Then would patch hole and try again with different tire andor rim after checking for any sharp object or bump thru rim tape. Holes were always on the inside of the tube, but off center. Failure locations did not coincide with locations of grommet bumps or spoke hole edges. Rims were Mavic Open Pro and Kinlin 28mm deep, tires used were Vittoria Open Corsa, Forte Pro Plus, and Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp. No problems whatsoever using thin wall lightweight butyl tubes on identical applications.

NO, don't blame it on me. I am an expert bike mechanic, most likely been doing this since before you were born.

Also have had bad experiences with Challenge Criterium Open Tubulars which are exceptionally flat prone, especially on rear wheel, and have treads that will eventually start to peel off of the casings.

I have a High performance Lowracer style of bicycle and these tubes do everything I bought them for.They are one of the lightest tubes I could find, always important on a bike and they give a noticably smoother ride than butyl inner tubes which lets you go farther and faster for a given watt output.

The latex tubes are very light and you can feel the advantage, however, the tubes lose air very quickly, I have to pump them up before every ride (daily).

These are light and add a small degree of comfort to your ride because they are more supple than butyl. Puncture resistance is on par with butyl tubes of similar thickness. The only real drawbacks are the high price and the need to check inflation more regularly as these do not hold air over long periods as well as butyl.