The tire brand VREDESTEIN—I think it used to be written as ヴレデステン in the past,
but these days ヴェレデスティン seems to be the standard way to write it, so I'll go with that.
But before that.
Vittoria made an Ultralight inner tube,
but that's already discontinued.
At 700×19–23C it weighs just under 90g, so it's not as light as the name suggests.
There was also an EVO 55g tube with a claimed weight of 55g,
but I hardly ever saw individual samples under 60g.
The successor to the Ultralight is the Competition tube,
which has a noticeably larger box than the Ultralight
and the tube itself is wider and thicker.
The Competition box in the image above is 700×25–28C,
and the thinner 19–23C size
has a smaller box than the 25–28C,
but it's still bigger than the Ultralight.
The side of the box says 105g,
and that's roughly the actual measured weight minus the valve cap and valve nut.
I only weighed one sample,
but in my experience, Vittoria tubes that actually weigh less than their claimed weight
are extremely rare (that's a diplomatic way of putting it).
The Competition tube (available only with 48mm valve length) has a claimed weight of
90g for 700×19–23C, and 105g for 25–28C as shown above.
The heavier Standard grade tube
covers a different size range than Competition:
700×20–28C with a 48mm valve is 116g
(117g with a 60mm valve).
Competition and Standard are butyl tubes,
but Vittoria also makes latex tubes.
The current model comes in a box the same size as Competition.
This also comes only in 48mm valve spec,
with 700×19–23C at a claimed 75g and 25–28C at a claimed 85g.
Over 20 years ago, latex tubes were the lightest option,
but as time went on, thin butyl tubes became lighter,
and nowadays there are polyurethane tubes at around 30g.
Latex tubes have the characteristic of leaking air rapidly,
and as for me, I find it annoying to pump up my everyday bike every single day—
a lazy excuse, really—so I don't use latex tubes.
But some people still swear by them because
they can feel a tangible difference in ride quality.
However, the current Vittoria latex tube has become
a bit heavy for "not choosing for the sake of weight alone,"
so
as the title says, I stocked up on Vredestein latex tubes.
According to the distributor's materials,
it says "Ultra-lightweight latex inner tube at a catalog value of 50g per tube."
It's spelled ラッテクス in the original, just so you know.
That cautious phrasing—"at catalog value"—makes me a bit uneasy, though...
↑The contents.
It looks and feels like a certain well-known Japanese brand.
The tube itself is quite narrow, and at least when new,
you don't need to stuff it into the tire.
Like that other brand, to avoid fusion or discoloration from prolonged contact with brass,
a transparent tube is attached to the valve.
The difference from that other brand is that the valve has no threads
and there's no valve nut.
To note another difference, that brand is 23–25C,
while this one is 20–25C.
You hardly ever see 20C WO tires anymore.
Also, the packaging shows a threaded valve.
Whether it was that spec at some point,
or whether the company just reuses boxes since their other tubes generally have threaded valves,
I'm not sure.
By the way, the Vredestein latex tube retails for ¥1,850 before tax,
while that other brand's latex tube is ¥2,500 before tax.
I've been comparing with that other brand this whole time,
but I'm not trying to suggest that one is the OEM for the other
or anything like that.
I mean, you don't normally get products made by a competitor, right?
Though the tubeless tire that other brand put out back in the day
was just a Hutchinson Fusion 2 Tubeless with a different label.
Actual measured weight excluding the valve cap and transparent tube.
Hmm...
This is...
Pretty impressive, actually.
I was thinking "if they're all under 60g, that would be great,"
and I was pleasantly surprised in a good way.
By the way, when I post images like this, I'm sure some people will start pulling tubes out of boxes
trying to buy the lightest ones,
so don't be that annoying asshole, okay?
↑Wait, what? That's true, but what a crass way to say it.
Sorry for the wait!
I've put a sticker with the actual measured weight on all the boxes,
so please use it as reference!
↑Stop it already!
but these days ヴェレデスティン seems to be the standard way to write it, so I'll go with that.
But before that.
Vittoria made an Ultralight inner tube,
but that's already discontinued.
At 700×19–23C it weighs just under 90g, so it's not as light as the name suggests.
There was also an EVO 55g tube with a claimed weight of 55g,
but I hardly ever saw individual samples under 60g.
The successor to the Ultralight is the Competition tube,
which has a noticeably larger box than the Ultralight
and the tube itself is wider and thicker.
The Competition box in the image above is 700×25–28C,
and the thinner 19–23C size
has a smaller box than the 25–28C,
but it's still bigger than the Ultralight.
The side of the box says 105g,
and that's roughly the actual measured weight minus the valve cap and valve nut.
I only weighed one sample,
but in my experience, Vittoria tubes that actually weigh less than their claimed weight
are extremely rare (that's a diplomatic way of putting it).
The Competition tube (available only with 48mm valve length) has a claimed weight of
90g for 700×19–23C, and 105g for 25–28C as shown above.
The heavier Standard grade tube
covers a different size range than Competition:
700×20–28C with a 48mm valve is 116g
(117g with a 60mm valve).
Competition and Standard are butyl tubes,
but Vittoria also makes latex tubes.
The current model comes in a box the same size as Competition.
This also comes only in 48mm valve spec,
with 700×19–23C at a claimed 75g and 25–28C at a claimed 85g.
Over 20 years ago, latex tubes were the lightest option,
but as time went on, thin butyl tubes became lighter,
and nowadays there are polyurethane tubes at around 30g.
Latex tubes have the characteristic of leaking air rapidly,
and as for me, I find it annoying to pump up my everyday bike every single day—
a lazy excuse, really—so I don't use latex tubes.
But some people still swear by them because
they can feel a tangible difference in ride quality.
However, the current Vittoria latex tube has become
a bit heavy for "not choosing for the sake of weight alone,"
so
as the title says, I stocked up on Vredestein latex tubes.
According to the distributor's materials,
it says "Ultra-lightweight latex inner tube at a catalog value of 50g per tube."
It's spelled ラッテクス in the original, just so you know.
That cautious phrasing—"at catalog value"—makes me a bit uneasy, though...
↑The contents.
It looks and feels like a certain well-known Japanese brand.
The tube itself is quite narrow, and at least when new,
you don't need to stuff it into the tire.
Like that other brand, to avoid fusion or discoloration from prolonged contact with brass,
a transparent tube is attached to the valve.
The difference from that other brand is that the valve has no threads
and there's no valve nut.
To note another difference, that brand is 23–25C,
while this one is 20–25C.
You hardly ever see 20C WO tires anymore.
Also, the packaging shows a threaded valve.
Whether it was that spec at some point,
or whether the company just reuses boxes since their other tubes generally have threaded valves,
I'm not sure.
By the way, the Vredestein latex tube retails for ¥1,850 before tax,
while that other brand's latex tube is ¥2,500 before tax.
I've been comparing with that other brand this whole time,
but I'm not trying to suggest that one is the OEM for the other
or anything like that.
I mean, you don't normally get products made by a competitor, right?
was just a Hutchinson Fusion 2 Tubeless with a different label.
Actual measured weight excluding the valve cap and transparent tube.
Hmm...
This is...
Pretty impressive, actually.
I was thinking "if they're all under 60g, that would be great,"
and I was pleasantly surprised in a good way.
By the way, when I post images like this, I'm sure some people will start pulling tubes out of boxes
trying to buy the lightest ones,
so don't be that annoying asshole, okay?
↑Wait, what? That's true, but what a crass way to say it.
Sorry for the wait!
I've put a sticker with the actual measured weight on all the boxes,
so please use it as reference!
↑Stop it already!