There is no denying that this product, be it the batch or whatever has a serious and dangerous design flaw. Upon inflating the seated tubes for the first time to 30psi just to get the tyre seated evenly and to check it over before inflating to 85psi the valve core simple blows out. It is inevitable that a plastic valve barrel won�t provide enough hold strength over the valve core. Shocking oversite.
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.
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.
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 bought this tube based on a friend's recommendation to replace a latex emergency tube for gravel racing. I haven't had to use it yet but it is super light and more durable then the latex.
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.
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.
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.
Makes for a lighter and more compact seat pack. What's not to like about that?
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.
Have changed over to tpc tubes. No more latex for me
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.
Horrible plastic valves. Don't buy these. Buy something with a metal valve.
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.
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.
I had been using latex tubes but was tired of the constant air loss so I decided to give the Aerothan tubes a try. So far I'm impressed by the feel and they don't loose air like latex. They are a bit pricey but so far seem to be a little more resistant to flats. Longer use will determine their true value. So far so good.
The Schwalbe Aerothan 700c tube is pricey, but it is a huge bicycle upgrade! I save on space, weight, and have a more puncture resistant tube. It is easy to inflate and install. I carry a 27 mm extender in my bag for aero higher profile wheels.
