Schwalbe Aerothan (are they just Tubolito reinvented?)

[redefined_cycles]

Got one of these on order from LadyPoolCycles in Birmingham. Question is, are they just the same as Tubolites cos I seem to remember peeps weren't too impressed with them (or thats how I interpreted it).

I only ask cos it'll be a 100g weight saving on my mtb (tubeless obviously) with not having to carry the 220g tube about... Should I be thinking about replacing my road inner tube - again on tubeless - to one of these... another saving of about 50g...

https://singletrackworld.com/2020/10/ae ... nner-tube/

[Richard G]

I bought one, not used it yet but my first impressions are that it seems a lot better than the (awful) Tubolito.

Massive benefit in being able to use standard glueless patches with it too.

[Lazarus]

they need special patches [according to the maker]and one review said they did not work anyway.
the tubes dont work with sealant so not much use as your spare if tubeless - how long it takes to degrade due to this is anyones guess - minutes hours day weeks

As its new i would not want it as my only spare tube till there was a lot more user feedback.


https://road.cc/content/review/schwalbe ... ube-277797

[Richard G]

they need special patches [according to the maker]and one review said they did not work anyway.

Not as far as their site is concerned.

"You can easily repair Aerothan tubes using Schwalbe Glueless Patches. Roughening, as with a butyl tube, is not necessary. Instead, the self-adhesive patches are directly placed on the area to be fixed. To do so, the surface should be as clean as possible."

Schwalbe glueless patches are just standard glueless patches. Nothing special about them. As for sealant... you can't put sealant in them as it wont seal, nothing to do with degradation. You can use them just fine as a spare in a tyre that was previously tubeless.

I had seen the review, but then I also note that mountain bikers don't run their tyres at 80PSI+, so very unlikely the patch would fail in the same way. Time will tell!

[Mr conners]

What’s wrong with the Tubolito? I’m asking as I always carry one as a get out of jail spare. I’ve not used it yet but now I’m worried.

[redefined_cycles]

What’s wrong with the Tubolito? I’m asking as I always carry one as a get out of jail spare. I’ve not used it yet but now I’m worried.

I wouldn't be too worried. But there was a thread on here at some point last year which didnt3fill me with too much confidence.

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John/Rich, thanks for your inputs. So, so far I've determined to only get the one (saves me £25ish from getting one for the road bike) as I'll only be pushing about 20psi through it should I need to patch it up...

[lune ranger]

What’s wrong with the Tubolito? I’m asking as I always carry one as a get out of jail spare. I’ve not used it yet but now I’m worried.

Some users have had the tubes go down quickly when used as spares. I think on the whole they were the variety with detachable valves. FWIW I used a 29+ Tubolito as a spare when I ripped a side wall. That was day 1 of a 3 day trip. Once installed the tube was fine. It was still at basically the same pressure a week later when I finally repaired the tyre.

[Lazarus]

I stand corected re the patches my error
Not wrong about selant though

. As for sealant... you can't put sealant in them as it wont seal,

Who puts sealant in a tube is this a thing ?
From the STW article

Interestingly, the material isn’t designed to be used with any sealant (which is fair enough, it’s an inner tube) but Schwalbe also advise against the Aerothan tubes coming into contact with latex sealant for too long – which is exactly what would happen if you use one as a repair for a tubeless tyre.

Therefore its use as a spare for a tubeless set up is questionable as you wont be able to remove all the selant from your tyre

[redefined_cycles]

I stand corected re the patches my error
Not wrong about selant though

. As for sealant... you can't put sealant in them as it wont seal,

Who puts sealant in a tube is this a thing ?
From the STW article

Interestingly, the material isn’t designed to be used with any sealant (which is fair enough, it’s an inner tube) but Schwalbe also advise against the Aerothan tubes coming into contact with latex sealant for too long – which is exactly what would happen if you use one as a repair for a tubeless tyre.

Therefore its use as a spare for a tubeless set up is questionable as you wont be able to remove all the selant from your tyre

I think i can answer/manage this. I stopped using Stans and the Shwalbe sealant was also rubber based AFAIR. I'm on the conti stuff which isn't rubber based and nir does it vulcanise as much. Hence I should be ok from that angle

[Richard G]

Who puts sealant in a tube is this a thing ?

People that don't like / cant do tubeless. I know quite a few who have done it.

Either way, even if it could degrade it, how long are you likely to have a spare in? Couple of days max realistically.

[Lazarus]

That is thing until we get real world reports of it being placed in as a tubeless repair we dont know

I very much doubt its instant but it must be real/known issue if they advise aganst it

[Alpinum]

What’s wrong with the Tubolito? I’m asking as I always carry one as a get out of jail spare. I’ve not used it yet but now I’m worried.

First batch(es) had a few QC issues.
Former version had leaking valves. Fixed with a tad of glue.
New version seem okay.

I used one once on my bike and found it quite okay. Damaged an Ikon beyond (in the field) repair, tubeless. Put in a Tubolito. Rode home with loads of pressure fearing another pinch. Took the Tubolito out after a few days, wiped it free from sealant, checked it and since it seemed fine I put it back into my rucksack for the next time...

[Richard G]

Mine leaked air, and punctured continuously (worse than I'd expect a normal tube to). Pure garbage.

[ScotRoutes]

There are two Tubolitos. IIRC the issues were all with the "Lìte" version.

[mattpage]

That is my review on road.cc above.

I can confirm, standard Schwalbe glueless patches did not work. A Tubolito patch also did not work.
Frustrating as there is a genuine difference in ride feel and of course the weight, but if you can't patch it then realistically you need to carry a normal tube as spare, which defeats the object a bit.

[redefined_cycles]

That is my review on road.cc above.

I can confirm, standard Schwalbe glueless patches did not work. A Tubolito patch also did not work.
Frustrating as there is a genuine difference in ride feel and of course the weight, but if you can't patch it then realistically you need to carry a normal tube as spare, which defeats the object a bit.

Thanks Matt... so if I carried the Aerothan as my spare (in case the tubeless failed) then I'd need a standard tube as spare for the Aerothan... hmmm... I might be out afterall!

[mattpage]

Well you'd hope you wouldn't need to fix it, but should something happen you might be screwed.

It might be better at lower MTB pressures mind. Any patch tried failed when pumped to 80psi.

And should you have an accident as I did, you'd be gutted at spending £20 on a tube!

[redefined_cycles]

Well you'd hope you wouldn't need to fix it, but should something happen you might be screwed.

It might be better at lower MTB pressures mind. Any patch tried failed when pumped to 80psi.

And should you have an accident as I did, you'd be gutted at spending £20 on a tube!

Thanks for this. Yeah, mine is on 20psi mtb tube (saving about 110g as its a plus 650 tube). Will see if I can get Rich to puncture his and do a real world test on the lower pressures

[Richard G]

There are two Tubolitos. IIRC the issues were all with the "Lìte" version.

I've had issues with both the screw in valve one, and the hard valve one too.