I switched one road bike to latex tubes a month ago. Totally worth it for my purposes. After 600 miles I'm wondering what took me so long.

Main improvement is ride quality on chipseal and rough pavement. Due to chronic pain from a C1-C2 injury, this is a big deal for me. With latex tubes in my 700x25 tires (Conti Grand Prix Classic skinwalls, pretty nice handmade tires for the money), my road bike is now more comfortable than my upright hybrid with 700x42 tires. The hybrid *was* my most comfortable bike, but compared with latex tubes the hybrid feels a bit too bouncy rather than compliant. Not bad. Just not as good.

It may roll a bit quicker but due to the heat I've been riding mostly zone 2/3, no intervals or FTP sessions. It *feels* a bit quicker but I'd need to check during a cool morning or nighttime ride. I'm mostly riding a steel road bike with way too much junk on it -- two 24 oz water bottles, seat bag with two spare tubes and multi-tool, video cameras front and rear -- so I'm not setting any personal speed records until I remove some of that stuff or finish reassembling my carbon fiber bikes (an ongoing pandemic project that I've basically neglected).

Installation was easy too. I bought Silca latex tubes, the kind with smooth plastic covered valve stems, and followed Silca's video demo. The tricky part is making sure the gummy, sticky latex tube doesn't get trapped between the tire bead and rim. The video recommends powdering the tube but the tubes I bought came powdered. Much easier to handle.

It also helps to use tires that are fairly easy to mount. I can mount the Conti GP Classics with my hands. I need a Kool Stop bead jack for the Conti Ultra Sport II, so those wouldn't be good candidates for latex tubes -- too easy to pinch the tubes.

Installing was no more difficult than most tubes, but I'm usually very cautious and deliberate so it usually takes me about 15 minutes anyway.

Only drawback I can think of is it's not easy to patch latex tubes on the road. So I'm still carrying spare butyl tubes, usually Conti's very thin, lightweight Race 28 Light, which worked really well for me on my carbon bike all last year -- no puncture flats with those tubes and the same tires.

Latex tubes are pricey at around $15 each, but worth it for me for the improved comfort.