Tubulars and Veloplugs

[nickd01]

This might be a daft question, but I need to ask...!

I bought some 24mm carbon tubular wheels from Farsports to see if I get on with them before investing in something more expensive. (Wheels seem good, but quite prone to cross-winds)

All seems to have gone well, I admit I don't venture too far yet as I've not sussed out my puncture strategy but that's the next step.

Still, when I was gluing the tyres etc. I put Veloplugs in the spoke holes and glued 'over' the Veloplugs. Is this correct? I needed to put Veloplugs in didn't I ? In all the threads I've not seen people say what they do with spoke holes.

[Causidicus]

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[mattr]

BITD we used to use small cork bungs in the spoke holes. Both gives a flatter bed profile (no holes) and keeps the glue off the heads of the nipples. So you can true with the tub in place. (when its deflated of course)

With modern rims being far far stiffer, i doubt whether the bonus of being able to true with the tyre in situ is that much of an issue. And as above, the veloplugs make the rim bed less uniform as they bulge up slightly. Not sure how well tub glue will stick to the plastic surface of the plug either.

[Geoff]

You never need to worry about the spoke holes when gluing a tubular wheel. No need to glue around them, either. When you apply the glue, 'load' the rim between the spoke holes and spread the glue right over top. Very little will get down there, certainly not nearly enough to make trying the wheel any kind of issue (other than wheels for which you need to adjust the nipples from the inside, in which case you have a different problem).

[Causidicus]

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[fdegrove]

Hi,

Yes, you can drag the brush straight over the hole but a little extra care/dexterity with the brush can avoid any extra glue being left within the spoke hole at all.

It only becomes a minor problem when rim cement gets stuck in the spoke holes of rim with internal nipples.
Nothing a bit of petrol won't cure but most FMs don't like to see rim cement here, it's sticky and doesn't provide proper grip for spoke keys.

That said, the Veloplug idea to prevent cement from entering the rim is rather cute. Just remove them before the glue settles, clean them and that's that. Neat.

Ciao,