Glueing tubulars [the tubular thread]

[11.4]

Hey guys. I'm gluing up some new nemesis rims.
Put on 2 coats so far (shown in pic)
Does it look good ? Not too thick ?

I haven't ridden tubulars in over 6years.
I've added two coats to the tyres and will add a final coat tomorrow and attach to the rim.

Just not sure I haven't got too much glue.

Also, don't run the glue quite so far over the edges of the tire bed. The tire is only going to bond along the radius of the tire bed, not around the edges at all. If you put glue on those edges, the glue can peel up there, and you have to clean it up anyway so it doesn't interfere with braking.

And it's too thick. It can have trouble hardening up properly and if it remains soft and rubbery, your glue joint won't be strong.

I'd also add, to the discussion of hysteresis and rolling resistance above, that hysteresis is primarily about two dissimilar materials bonding, in particular, two materials with different measures of rigidity. Successive thin layers of rim cement basically will still act like one layer. They just act like a relatively rigid layer because they have dried well, as opposed to the way a soft glue job like in the photo above will act. It's the condition of the specific glue joint, not the number of glue layers in it, that determines the bulk of the hysteresis issues.

[PinaRene]

Glued some Schwalbe One 24mm tubular tires last week. Basetape is more like the Continental ones and the roundness is almost perfect. I had some Vittoria Corsa CS ones on my DA7850 C50 wheelset , but they kept coming loose on the sides. Glued them with Continental glue just as the package/video said, but is was just like the glue didn't hold well on the basetape. Basetape on the Vittoria's was cleaned with a bit of acetone. So removed the Vittoria's ( hardly any glue on the tires ) and started all over again. So this time with the Schwalbe One's. Glue on the basetape was more firm as far as my knowledge reaches, and the perfect roundness of the tires keep them well in place. The bonding between rim and tubular is really firm now, and getting the tires of will give me some blisters I guess.

Last month my son bought a pair of Fulcrum racing speed with Schwalbe Stelvio tubulars ( glued with Conti glue ) and had to replace the rear. So bought him a Mavic Yksion and also noticed the perfect roundness of those tubular tires. And gluing them with Continental glue was easy and perfect.

Normally I've used Vittoria Mastik glue, but since I had to remove the residue last time.....damn that was a messy job with white spirit / rag / more spirit. So that was the last time for me / no more greasy messy job for me as the Continental glue residue is easier to remove.

[sungod]

the schwalbe the glue remover works much better than white spirit on vittoria glue

[Ste_S]

I've got a vintage road bike that I'm after a set of tan wall tubs for. Will be used infrequently for City cafe rides this year so want something that either won't get cut to pieces by glass, or is cheap enough to replace when cut.

Normally I'd recommend Conti Sprinters to myself, but of course they don't come with a tan wall. Challenge Vulcano's are 220tpi, have a puncture belt and are cheap - any experience of those ?
The bike will get the rubber it deserves next year - planning on doing the Retro Ronde, so will get something appropriate from Dugast/FMB/Veloflex as I start riding it 'properly' next year in prep.

[tigoose]

Hi
My first glue job done 2 hours ago.
First mistake I didn't pre stretch the sprinter gatorskins enough so a wrestling match took place.
Due to this a valve wasn't straight so I pulled tub off and realigned then refitted as soon as possible.
Is this ok?

They're now curing.

I used instructions from the vittoria website.

Thanks in advance

[dj97223]

Been there, done that, was not a problem.

[dj97223]

Also, if you are worried, you can check your work. After the glue cures, deflate the tire and use your thumbs to check where the base tape meets the edge of the rim. There should be no no gaps/voids of any significance.

[tigoose]

Thanks for the help
Regards

[tigoose]

I had a couple of gaps. Also it didn't take much effort to pull parts of the tubular off the rim where it was glued right up to the edge.
I'll rip em off and reglue. I might not have had enough glue on.
I didn't quite finish the second small mastik 1 tube for both wheels.
Does that sound like I didn't use enough to you for new tyres and wheels?

[LouisN]

HI all,
Question over "centering" the tubs on shallow rims:

I sometimes have some difficulty to center the tubular on a shallow rim. The valve seems dead center, also the basetape.
But when inflating the tubular it's not centered, off more to one side.
There seems to be a natural tendency with tubulars to "roll" sideways when inflated with high pressures...

I don't have problems with my carbon rims, beacuse the channel is deeper.

What's your trick to move the tub, once in place if it happens ?

Louis

[Calnago]

No trick. I have a truing stand so that makes it much easier. As soon as I mount the tire, I will inflate it just enough so that you can see where it needs straightening. It's much easier to see in a truing stand. From there it's all about how manly you are in being able to lift the tire in the spots where it needs centering and "git er done". Try to spread the area you're working on over a longer area than just one spot if that makes sense. It will better even things out rather than just creating another isolated spot that's off center. Once I'm ok with it, I inflate hard, roll on floor side to side and set aside for 24 hours before riding.

[Geoff]

Well, the first 'trick' I ever learned about gluing tubulars is to completely ignore the basetape - it is rarely matched to the tread. Instead, inflate the tire to just round it out. Spin the wheel holding it at arm's length whilst looking down the tread to see that it is straight. After a few rotations, you will see the slight wobbles inn the tread. Holding the wheel sideways, you can use two thumbs pressing on either side of the casing to straighten those small wobbles. Once the tread is straight, you should be able to fully inflate the tire before checking it again. In my experience, once the tire is straight, it will stay straight as you inflate to full pressure.

[cyclespeed]

Been riding tubs for many years now, but I glue them a bit differently to most it would seem;

I rip the old tub off. If rim looks reasonably clean, I'll just apply 1 layer of Conti alu (not the carbon stuff) glue to the rim. (I do occasionally clean all the residue off but this is hard work!)

The new tub has already had a coat of glue and allowed to dry.

But I actually mount the tub to the (carbon) rim while the rim coat is still fresh (and therefore not dry). I find this aids centering the tyre as you can move it around a bit easier.

I pump to about 1 bar and check for trueness, bumps, etc, and work the tyre with my thumbs until it's looking pretty good.

Then I inflate as hard as possible (about 160psi), check it (it's always good after this) and leave it overnight.

This method has always worked well for me and when I come to pull the used tub off, it's clear that it's well glued down.

I mostly use Vittoria CX's.

[sawyer]

@cyclespeed, that is pretty much what I do. Once mounted and inflated to 150-160psi I go for a ride round the block and back with a bit of exaggerated cornering left and right just to increase the pressure from all angles prior to the glue setting

You're right re removal ... you know if you've glued well by how hard it is remove an uninflated tub

[nemeseri]

I just glued my very first tubular tire on a used reynolds wheelset.. First of all let me thank all the contributors in this thread. I read most of the thread and got a lot of good advice.

I leave a few tips here, maybe someone newbie like me will find it useful:
x) Always apply the glue in a well lit area, preferably with natural light. I did the tubs in our apartment after sunset with a lamp next to me and I ended up with some glue on the sidewalls.
x) Gluing with a brush wasn't hard at all. Use a cheap tire truing stand.
x) I was really worried about centering the tires, but because of the deep rim bed it looks ok.. I think. I even ended up sticking the tire walls into the glue, but I could lift it up and center it with no problem. I mounted the tire right after the last glue job.
x) I found using gloves more of a hassle. I didn't end up with glue on my hands.

=================

About the ride. Well I think the ride is very good, although I didn't have an "oh my god this is amazing I'll never use clinchers again" moment. I use vittoria corsa g+ tires 23mm in the front and 25 in the back. I used them at the same pressure I use my clinchers (90-95psi) and I'm not a heavy rider at 128lbs. I would say the difference to me is subtle for now but in the upcoming weeks I will use them more and more and see how it goes.