Review on SL Bicycle Tube Challenge by Eric Avina

I've heard a lot about latex tubing, from its puncture resistance to its reduced rolling resistance, so I decided to give it a try. I used latex tubes on my mountain bike in the 90's and they were great. Unfortunately there was none. When I tried to mount the tubes, I noticed that they seemed too small. A butyl tube usually fits all the way around the tire, but these seem to be shorter so the tube doesn't fit all the way around the tire. I even double-checked that I was the right size - and I did. This means that when you put the second bead on the wheel you have to be *extremely* careful not to pinch the tube between the rim and tire as the short tube is always trying to detach and get to where you are are Install the bead. This turned out to be too difficult. To make matters worse, the usual trick of putting a small amount of air in the tube to shape it works, but only to the point where the tube inflates to about 3 inches in a small spot while it's being formed remains smaller in all other places. means you have a very narrow pressure window in which to pre-inflate the tubing to make it easier to attach. I also found that copious amounts of talc (baby powder) helped reduce friction and lessen the likelihood that the tubing would break sticks to the tire and I finally managed to mount the tire. So once I had pulled the tire in and checked everything around the bead very carefully to make sure I wasn't pinching the tube between the bead and the tyre, I inflated the tube. In both cases - both hoses I just bought - didn't hold pressure along the seam between the butyl reinforcement ring around the valve and the second had a failure near the valve. I made sure before assembly that both the rim and the tire were in good condition with no problems, so these instantaneous failures can only be a manufacturing defect. I think now I understand where the name "Challenge" came from - it's a real challenge to hold these lights long enough to actually get them on a bike. Don't make the same mistake I did - skip these tubes.