jim haseltine
Senior Retro Guru
The Chang Star brand that was beloved by lower spec companies were made from a material alloy so flexible that I'm sure that latex was part of the alloy.
There'll likely be other stuff to scrub off if you rely on them too much - mostly in the saddle area.Yes I believe they have been referred to like that, I think their true function is probably just to scrub of speed, not fully brake.
Ray