klehner wrote:
PhilDBasket wrote:
> You can really tell the difference between latex tubes and butyl tubes in the ride quality?
Yes
> Color me dubious.
Color me certain.
How are you certain? Pumped to the same pressure with the same wheels and the same tires, I'm guessing any differences in "ride quality" (whatever that is) would be lost in the noise.
I'm convinced that it is possible to perceive it...but, it also possibly depends on the "quality" of the tire you're putting it inside.
In a low Crr tire, a latex tube will drop the Crr by ~15% (AFM's testing shows us)...that percentage is going to be much less in some tires with the words "Gatorskin" or "Hardcase" in their names since the casing will be a much higher percentage of the overall "stiffness"...so you'll be much less likely to be able to feel the difference in those cases.
If you've read my 404 FC clincher review, you'll see that I reported that as they were delivered to me (with Tangente tires and butyl tubes) I thought the wheels felt "dead". It wasn't until I decided to swap out the butyl tubes for latex (on a hunch) that they "nearly literally 'came alive' " (Hi styrrell! :-) in my opinion.
It's my (pure) speculation that the common refrain of "better ride quality" of tubulars over clinchers is the direct result of the fact that most "high quality" tubular tires have latex tubes sewn up inside of them while VERY few people (especially as a percentage of riders) ever use a latex tube inside of a clincher. I recall Slowman himself commenting that Open Corsa CX tires with latex tubes inside of them (to paraphrase) "felt just like tubulars!" after trying that combo out for the first time.
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