I went down the latex tube route. After a couple unexpected failures (exploded days after install both times when pumping them up)… I decided I prefer durability and piece of mind over faster and more supple.
I use to grab ultra light tubes when using butyl, but never a specific brand. If an ultra light wasn’t available, I grabbed a standard tube by any maker. For some reason, if one tire was a standard tube and one was an ultra light, my ocd needs them to match. I don’t like when my valve stems don’t match either! Lol
Looking for new tubes and figured I would ask what is everyone’s favorite.
You didn’t state what your goal was with tubes (ie. lowest rr, durability). If you really want the best performance it is latex. Instead of giving up on latex, please tell us about your install process, did you do pump to 15 psi and do the extra check to make sure no tube was sticking (peeking) out, did you use smooth tape? I 100% believe that latex tubes, when installed correctly are safer than butyl, but if you want butyl, and I never had good luck with the Supersonic tubes, they were 10x more fragile than latex. But, if I were to race butyl, and to answer your direct question, I would go with Conti Race Light tubes. In fact I stopped carrying a spare Supersonic tube many moons ago in favor of the Race Lights.
My biggest goal is durability, no flats.
I did notice the last set of latex that sat in my wheels, and not ridden or pumped up for about 2 years… the tube folded against itself and became discolored and stiff. I threw them away. It seems as though latex has a shelf life, where I haven’t seen this with butyl.
I was using Vitoria, FYI. It would also be nice if someone made a 60 or 80mm stem length latex. I think my Victoria’s were only like 42mm and I needed to use valve extensions. S
I’ll add the Josh makes some great tubes and tape as well. I really would like to see you give Latex another shot, but yes, old Latex can be problematic. I like to run sealant in my tubes as well for a little extra insurance and when the sealant gets to dried out and clogged I like to replace the tube. The sealant, if it doesn’t seal the hole helps slow down the rate of air escape leading to a more controlled stop in the event you are bombing down a descent.
The really nice thing about Josh’s tape, is that it is super thin, and semi transparent. Being thin means tight tires slip on a bit easier, and I found the semi-transparent tape slightly useful when wrapping two layers to line it up better. Also could still probably read a Zipp serial number if you ever needed to without taking of the tape in a warranty issue as well. Here is Josh’s tape. I used the 25mm tape for HED and Roval Wheels (these wheels are 21mm internal), but probably going to use 21mm for most other wheels still.