Handmade Clincher Tires and Latex Tubes – Still Around for a Reason

As tubeless technology has evolved, handmade clincher tires have quietly become a rarity. Many brands have shifted entirely toward tubeless development, leaving traditional tube-type riders with fewer premium options each year. At Challenge, we continue producing handmade clincher tires because we know a significant number of riders still want them. For many cyclists, the simplicity, familiarity, and clean serviceability of a tube-type setup remains an advantage, not a compromise. But just as importantly, we are not standing still with this system. We continue to invest in it. Tires like the 2026 ELITE PRO Handmade Clincher and 2026 STRADA PRO Handmade Clincher represent exactly that approach—modern materials, refined construction, and ongoing development built into a format riders already trust.

Pairing Challenge Handmade Clinchers with Challenge Latex Inner Tubes is an example of proven performance that hasn’t lost relevance. Even as the cycling world started to analyze modern aerodynamic wheel/tire interfaces, engineers were already measuring the advantages of latex inner tubes. Performance-focused brands and engineers—including early work associated with Zipp and later commentary from industry experts like Josh Poertner—helped popularize testing that showed measurable watt savings when switching from standard butyl tubes to latex. Even today, modern comparisons continue to confirm that latex tubes remain one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce rolling resistance without changing the rest of a rider’s setup. Riders often describe the result as smoother, faster, and more responsive—not because of new technology, but because the physics behind it has always been sound.
You can explore more on this topic through resources such as:

Latex vs Tubeless vs TPU: Which Is Fastest? — Bicycling Magazine
https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/a70349449/tubeless-vs-latex-vs-tpu-which-is-fastest/

Interview with Josh Poertner — NYVelocity
https://nyvelocity.com/articles/interviews/josh-poertner/

We continue making handmade clinchers and latex inner tubes for the same reason we continue making handmade tubular tires: because performance is not defined by trends alone. Riders choose equipment based on trust, experience, and results. Tubeless may dominate the conversation today, but tube-type setups remain a reliable, high-performance solution for riders who value simplicity, proven efficiency, and the unmistakable ride quality of a handmade tire paired with latex. And at Challenge, continuing to produce these systems is not about maintaining legacy products—it’s about continuing to improve them. Riders who prefer tubes deserve access to the same level of innovation and performance as any other system, and that commitment remains a core part of how we design and build our tires today.