How many folks use or have tried latex inner tubes in clinchers?

In my never-ending quest to waste $20 every few months on trying something new I'm tempted to try some.

I hate pumping up tires every day, so I'm not sure I'd like the reality of living with them, even if they are faster and more puncture resistant as reported.

Let's hear some personal experience, please!

Liked them very much when I used them with my Specialized Turbos in the 80's and 90's. Helped me achieve the lightest clincer wheelsets for my bike You do have to pump them pretty much every day as they are more porous than butyl rubber tubes. I was surprised how the latex tubes actually outlived the tires I put them in. I was suspecting that the latex would break down much quicker, but as they are protected from UV inside the tires , there really is not concern for quicker degeneration than standard tubes.
Not sure if there was a difference in ride quality compared to regular tubes, but they did ride nicely.
Unfortunately, they are not that easy to find these days, and if you can find them, they tend to have very long valve tubes for use on modern, deep section rims.

Chombi

Very light, and I also used a set in some Specialized Turbos. However, they flatted constantly. I took them back to the LBS, and he said "oh, yeah, the Bontrager ones we had were defective." If I remember, they were peach colored. The hipsters at the LBS called them Trojans.

I once was given a Trek 460 series that had been outside for at least 15 years. The latex tubes (clear yellow) continued to hold air quite well, but the water in them made me kind of nervous.

One of the bike magazines recommended them in a list of cheap ways to lighten your bike. Maybe so, but my experience with the Bontragers was enough for me.

are you talking about the "no-flat" riv ones?

I've had some 50 year old 3-speeds with original latex tubes! They're red.

I've been riding for about 40 years, started on tubulars which had latex tubes inside, switched to folding clinchers when they folding models first came out in 78 and started using butyl, few years later switched back to latex but kept the clinchers, a couple of years later switched back to butyl, many years later tried latex again last year and switched back.

Why did I switch back? What were the pros and cons to latex?

First off your reason for not wanting to fill your tubes everyday is NOT valid regardless if you're using latex or butyl, because even though latex may lose 33% of it's psi in 24 hours, butyl will lose about 8%, so regardless before every ride you're going to have to fill up anyways...or at least you should be.

False advertisement warning. Unlike the dramatic picture shown of a latex tube being stretched over a sharp piece of glass and nothing happening to it doesn't work like that when the tube is inside a tire pumped to 100 psi! Anything going through the tire will have an equal chance of penetrating a latex tube vs a butyl tube.

Speaking of flat repair, latex don't repair easily. I love and use glueless patches but they don't work for more then a month on a latex tube. Rema glue on patches will fall off latex tube in about 3 to 5 months. So the best way to patch latex tube is the old way when I use to use tubulars. First you find an old latex tube and cut 1" inch circles, these will be your patches. Next buy some Pastali tubular rim glue. Now when a flat occurs you fix the tube by buffing the area where the hole is slightly larger then the patch will cover (just like using glue on patches for butyl), next spread a very thin but even coat on the patch and tube in an area slightly larger then the patch will cover, then immediately...DO NOT LET IT DRY LIKE GLUE FOR BUTYL PATCHES...immediately press on the patch to the tube very tightly and as flat as possible for about 60 seconds. So patching is a bit of a hassle.

Latex tubes are very prone to tearing in the install process, must make sure the tube is one size smaller then the tire and it has a nice amount of talcum powder on it. Paying close attention not to get the tube trapped between the tire and rim or your tool.

Cost are about 33% more then a good lightweight butyl tube.

Pros are;

sometimes their lighter, but they do seem to save about 3 watts of pedaling energy which you would never notice and not important unless your racing a long distance.

Latex rides at 100psi but feels like butyl with only about 75psi, so their more comfortable.

And that's it! I can't justify the cost of latex unless I was racing.

I've had good luck with Victoria latex tubes. Nice ride quality. Buy them on Ebay