Let's talk about tubulars

Discuss light weight issues concerning mountain bikes & parts.

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Geoff
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Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2003 2:25 am
Location: Canada

by Geoff

Sorry, @mentok, I haven't been checking-back.

I got my wheels as a tester set from Vladimir Juhas at Tufo North America here in Canada. I got them as wheels built-up with DT Swiss centrelock hubs and Sapim spokes. They have been just fine. I don't know if Vlad has rims, but I could ask him...

mentok
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Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2012 9:58 am

by mentok

hey geoff, all good. i'm in Australia so it might be a bit of a round-about way to go, but if they are available retail anywhere then i'd be interested.

based on available data, i think i'm going to have to go with the chinese carbon on this one. I'm 90kg and the frm/drc option has a weight limit that i'm right on the edge of so i think i need to rule them out.

stretching to ~$200 a rim is not ideal, but i guess it's ok. it should be considerably stronger and i can possibly drop a few spokes and still get a quality build. 1430g for the pair built around BHS hubs is ok, but not featherweight though at my weight i can't complain too much. i need somewhat durable rubber so the dugasts are out and i'll probably try the tufos first up.

will report back in a month or so once the parts have been assembled and the build is done.

by Weenie


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Geoff
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by Geoff

I'm 59kg at race-weight and would still always choose reliability over weight reduction at any cost. Tubulars are lighter, but the real reason to run tubulars is that you can safetly run pressures way down without the same risk of pinch-flats or burping that you get with other systems.

With respect to tires, I don't think you will find them to be anything other than really durable. The Tufos, however, are just about bullet-proof. The tread, too, is pretty good for our terrain and conditions. As you know, tire performance is very terrain-specific.

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LeDuke
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Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 2:39 am
Location: Front Range, CO

by LeDuke

I continue to be impressed by my Tufo XC4s.

My Challenge MTB Ones? Garbage.

They were INCREDIBLY fickle, pressure wise. I'm talking about a ~2psi window, between too much and skipping and sliding through every turn, and too little, and feeling like the tire was going to roll off the rim, with rim strikes on nearly every rock. Frightening, really.

The Tufos are flat out amazing. Great puncture resistance, smooth ride, great traction and lateral grip. Super fast, hold air for a long time, and can operate well under a very wide range of pressures.

I'll be ripping the Challenge MTB Ones off and replacing with an XC4 on the front, and an XC6 on the rear.

YB1
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Joined: Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:55 pm

by YB1

I have ridden tubulars on my 29'ers for the last three years. Enve rims on Extralite hubs, so very light wheel sets. Tires I've used are Dugast RhinoXL's but the 43's, the Geax Saguaro, and a few rides on the Schwalbe Rocket Ron. I don't race very much, I chose to go tubular because I wanted to switch to wagon wheels and pay ZERO weight or rigidity penalty. Overall I've been extremely happy with the performance and reliability. The biggest issue I've found is lack of choice in tires.

jooo
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Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2011 3:48 am

by jooo

Another 'pro' with tubulars is that when they do puncture, it's often possible to ride to the pit area, which is generally not something that's easy to do on normal tubeless setups. This is not great if you're paying for your own rims, but could help with valuable seconds for a top level XC racer.

Geoff
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Location: Canada

by Geoff

Actually, even when flat (if you're careful and not slewing all over the road), a properly-glued tubular will stay on the rim. I have twice had a teammate complete a sprint with a flat tubular (rear tire). One the rim was toast, but the other time, the rim was fine!

krzysiekmz
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by krzysiekmz

LeDuke,

at what pressure do you ride your XC4 tubulars?

How much do you weight, hardtail or full suspension?

Chris.
Orbea Oiz - xxxx
MSC Koncept Carbon Di2 - 6955g
Leichtkraft Team Carbon - 6868g.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

Given my 26" race bike has died my 26" tubular wheels are now redundant. So a 29er will be coming and that means 29er tubular wheels.

1) will the Major tom rim be wide enough to securely glue an MTB tyre if so I will give them a try.
2) any source for carbon 29er rims. I know about FRM but they are a bit pricey. I was hoping for a chinese rims as it will be fine but I cannot find one.

I am going to have to sell my 26" tubular wheels and tyres now what a shame.

mentok
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by mentok

yishun will sell me this: http://yishuntrade.en.alibaba.com/produ ... &edm_ver=e
USD150 each plus 30 shipped to australia. seems in line with what carbon_zone (i think) are selling on ebay. yeoleo also do them. farsport don't do them. light bicycle may?
ninja edit: someone like carbon_zone or carbon_cycle is doing a full wheelset on novatec or chosen hubs (can't recall which) for about USD400 delivered if you want a super budget option.


but yeah, it seems like USD330 for a pair is about the best price for chinese carbon.

I'm not sold on the major toms - if you can deal with 23mm width then why not chinese carbon "cyclocross" tubulars? they're all 23mm or there abouts and significantly lighter. light bicycles or nextie 38mm deep "cyclocross" rims are 350g and 310g (! no brake track) which could build some pretty light wheels that should be stronger than the similarly weighted DRC alloy alternatives.

as i said though, from a laymans perspective i'm not sold on a <25mm gluing surface. i know guys ride TB25s for cyclocross (19.5mm), but i'm a big guy and i don't want to be restricted to only the narrowest of mtb tubular tyres.

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LeDuke
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Location: Front Range, CO

by LeDuke

krzysiekmz wrote:LeDuke,

at what pressure do you ride your XC4 tubulars?

How much do you weight, hardtail or full suspension?

Chris.


My pump is definitely off, so I can't give you an accurate reading. However, the last time I used someone else's pump, it was under 20psi for both front and rear.

I'm 143lbs/65kg, on a HT 29er.

jooo
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Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2011 3:48 am

by jooo

bm0p700f wrote:any source for carbon 29er rims. I know about FRM but they are a bit pricey. I was hoping for a chinese rims as it will be fine but I cannot find one.

Yes, search, they've already been talked about in this thread. Lots of places selling the 30x30mm tubulars, just like mentok posted. FRM/BOR also have their aluminum tubular rim if you don't feel like paying name brand carbon prices. These aren't much wider than some road offerings but they're pretty well proven at world cup level so are another reasonable option.

Not too long ago there were a huge number of DT carbon rims floating around on ebay for a great price but these seem to have dried up unfortunately :noidea:

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

FRM alloy rims (24.5mm wide so they are wide enough) are ones I am looking at I have just e-mailed for another price list as I lost it. I enqired about those Yishun rims - thanks for identify them- but a google search for 29er tubular rims turned up nothing hense the question.

mentok
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Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2012 9:58 am

by mentok

no worries.

yeah, ~24mm seems pretty common - the dt swiss wheelset, drc, frm, i think it must be fine, i just personally don't want to go any skinnier. if i were smaller i'd definitely try some cyclocross rims for a cheap set.

Geoff
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Location: Canada

by Geoff

@mentok, sorry. I have just heard back from Tufo and they cannot sell me just rims. Interestingly, as well as 26 and 29's, there is/will be 650b tubular wheels, too.

by Weenie


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