Weight Weenies

Hi all

I’ve decided to run tubular on my new set of wheels. I’m having a set of Edge 1.45 built they should be in a couple of weeks. I’ve never glued a tubular before and wanted to verify that I got things straight.

1. Stretch the tire
2. Apply one or two base coats of glue to both the rim and tire. Allow each coat to cure at least 12 to 24 hours.
3. Apply final coat of glue and immediately place the place the tube on the rim starting at the valve and working evenly in both directions around the rim.
4. Inflate and allow curing over night.

Some questions

1. What’s the best way of stretching the tube?
2. How many tubes of glue are needed? They look small not sure how far it goes.
3. I’m planning on running Vittoria Corsa CX’s will I need to get a valve extender. I know the wheel come with one but is it long enough to use with the Edge 1.45 anyone else running this combination.

Thanks
Vince

[edited the title to accomodate more questions and answers. Frankie]

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Hi,

There are tons of topics on this already.

Sorry,

If you don't want to glue the tubulars you could use Tufo tape. I've never used anything else and it's very easy to deal with. Also, the tubulars a mounted very well. The standard Tufo tape should suffice...

I just stand on the tires and pull on them to stretch them (don't have an extra rim..)
I use Mastik glue which comes in a can and easily does 4-5 tires. Panaracer also makes a good glue that comes in a can. Get a brush and just brush it on.
You will need valve extenders. Edge makes some that has their logo on them (looks good) or just buy some other pair. Use a little plumbers tape on the valve stem before you screw on the extender so that you get a good airtight fit (pumping up tubulars is an every day event)
You will love the 1.45's

I'm no pro but,

I stretch the tire by installing it on a rim and pumping it up to 120psi or so.
The Mastik tube of glue is 30grms. I probably could do three tires on 2 tubes of glue.

A brush helps alot with the mastik. I tried latex gloves, but found they were a disaster since they just tore up leaving tiny pieces of latex on the rim. I pre glue both tire and tube let it sit overnight, repeat, and then when I apply the tire, I put a fresh coat of glue on the rim. The key is to line up the valve stem perfectly and make sure when you stretch the tire over the rim, you do it evenly working your way up the sides.

It's a bit of a nightmare the first time, but once you get the hang of it, you'll want to use tubies all the time. The ride is very nice and the set up is lighter than similarly built clinchers.

I have just started gluing up this years tires and here is what I am doing.

I use Vittoria Mastik 1-get the can for like 20 bucks from PBK and then go the hardward store and buy a handful of acid brushes they are cheap, disposable and perfect for the task.

Stretch the tire on a spare rim or as others say just yank on it. It would be ideal, if you can wait to let it sit on the rims for a couple of days at full pressure. Either way mount the tire w/out glue and make sure there are no imperfections. This also gives you a chance to practice mounting.

You will need vavle extenders and dont use the crap ones that most wheels come with. Try and find something like this
http://smartbikeparts.com/search_details.php?itm=PU3402
this way you can open and close the valve.

Good Luck!

enjoy

http://www.nimble.net/subpages/tubular_advice.html

You also need to ensure that the tire is straight when you get it on to the rim. It won't automatically centre itself so you need to see that when you spin the wheel there is no sideways wobble in it.

I have been gluing tubulars for 20 years. Your proceedure is pretty close to perfect. For a brand new rim, I would probably put a couple more layers on the rim (very thin layers, it probably won't take much more glue, if you do the layers thin enough).

I have never bothered with 'roughening-up' rims (besides, studies have shown it to be ineffective anyway). Aslo, on 'modern' tires, I do not scrape the base tape (I havent done that since the late '80s).

I believe that the only way to 'properly' stretch the tire (in order to prevent any chance of damaging the base tape or the tire) is to pre-fit it onto a rim and inflate it to 120 psi for a few days. Just get an old set tubular rims from your LBS (they will probably be happy to get rid of the old Nisi and Fiamme rims that have been lying around in their basement since 1982). It is also a good way to store tubular tires so that they will be ready-to-mount when you need them. I have 10 or 12 going at any given time, as I still believe that tires 'age' and are less puncture-resistant (probably another 'old-timer's myth, but I have only had 4 tubular flats in the last 20 years, so I will continue to do it...)

When you are putting-on the tire, make sure that you push down hard at as you stretch the tire around and it will go on much easier (I basically lift my entire bodyweight up as I work the tire around, but I am 59kg).

I put mine on a rim at 120-140 psi and reinflate them every day. I keep them on for a couple days before glueing.

Put your base layers on the new rim real thin. It's easier to put more on than to take a messy job off the rim. Just take your time.

After that, I just use one layer on tire and rim and put it on as quickly as possible, inflate to about 60-80 psi, just by feeling so you can center the tire quickly. I quickly center the tire by the 'blind man method' run my hands across the brake track and feel where the tire is off. After that, spin the wheel and check again.

Just takes a bit of practice really. You'll have to do it until you get comfortable with it.

Hi,

I have 10 or 12 going at any given time, as I still believe that tires 'age' and are less puncture-resistant (probably another 'old-timer's myth, but I have only had 4 tubular flats in the last 20 years, so I will continue to do it...)

I can assure you that the chance of puncturing a freshly made tubular is much, much higher than one that been left to cure for say half a year.

As usual it's a compromise between best rolling resistance and best puncture resistance, the choice is yours. Nothing mythical about it really.

An extra coat of liquid latex such as Jevelot Tirelife on the sidewalls of the lighter handmade tubs helps to prolong their life as well.
The rest is a matter of keeping the thread free of rubbish and greasy stuff picked up on the road.
Cleaning the tyres with a kitchen vinegar/water sollution helps to improve grip.

By doing so you can easily get 6 to 7.000 km out of a set of Veloflex Carbons which is alot more than advertised.

Ciao,

strobbekoen wrote:I put mine on a rim at 120-140 psi and reinflate them every day. I keep them on for a couple days before glueing.

Put your base layers on the new rim real thin. It's easier to put more on than to take a messy job off the rim. Just take your time.

After that, I just use one layer on tire and rim and put it on as quickly as possible, inflate to about 60-80 psi, just by feeling so you can center the tire quickly. I quickly center the tire by the 'blind man method' run my hands across the brake track and feel where the tire is off. After that, spin the wheel and check again.

Just takes a bit of practice really. You'll have to do it until you get comfortable with it.

This is exactly what I do too!

Since there is so much good info in this topic i decided to make it a stickey. Please keep the good questions and solid answers comming!

One thing I have just come across in gluing my tires for this year is that in some places, especially around the valve, the tire has not been seating properly or making great contact. I never had this problem with cross tires, granted they were dugast, so I used some zip tires to keep the tire down while the glue dried. Seems to work well. Probably not the best method but it seems to work?

Thanks for putting this information on a sticky!

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