Butyl Rubber vs Natural Rubber

There are two types of rubber used to create inner tubes. There’s Butyl rubber and Natural rubber. Our honest opinion is that they’re both very similar but some riders will only go for one type, so we thought it best to explain to you their different properties.

Butyl rubber is a synthetic rubber. Generally speak these inner tubes us a mix of natural and synthetic rubber. They are more flexible than natural rubber and they tend to age better (with less perishing due to their age) and they are also slightly more puncture resistant.

There’s also Natural rubber which tends to have a good wear resistance, more elasticity and a higher tensile strength. However natural rubber will perish quicker than synthetic rubber and it’s not as good as synthetic at coping with high temperatures.

So which one is best? It really is a preference thing. Some riders swear by natural rubber and reckon they form to your tyre’s profile better than synthetic and get fewer punctures. However other riders will go for synthetic because they think they last longer and work better at wider temperature ranges. The truth is they’re both very similar ways of keeping your tubeless tyres doing what they’re designed to do. Unless you’re an expert, you probably couldn’t tell what tube you are running.