Run out of patience with tubulars,what clinchers to race on?
Moderator: robbosmans
Nicos wrote:I think you just used all your bad luck, so now you are going to be lucky with tubulars, try again
I hope so Nicos!
Thanks all for the advice. I have a set of new C24s and am delighted with them, I think the hubs are under-rated as I freewheel faster than almost everyone on them. Will keep Pacenti in mind for the future, but can't imagine there being a huge gain over the C24s, but either way, I'm covered for clinchers for the moment. Partly for bling, partly for supposed aero gains, I want to use deeper rims for flat races, so I've decided to stick with my tubulars.
I'll go for Continental Competition 25mm tubs. Have heard that Gatorskin tubs aren't as poor gripping in the wet as the clinchers are but it's still a concern and I think they're heavier than the Competitions so may be too far down the puncture-resistance:performance trade-off for me. Might get a Gatorskin as my spare and have a look at it and see whether I'd be happy to give it a go for racing.
Will take the tips on sealant and tightening the valve extenders onboard. I use plumbers PTFE tape on the valve extenders on my current tubs and that has helped give a good seal.
I generally do a decent job of avoiding debris when I can see the road ahead of me, but in a race you've less sight of the road ahead and that's when my Veloflexes just aren't up to the job. Looking forward to getting these new tubs and hopefully falling back in love with my carbon rims, though I never fell out of love with the Chris King hubs!
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I had same problem when switched to tubular race wheels. I was riding Vitoria Corsa Cxs and flatted on average about every other ride. Didn't take me long to switch to something tougher and a lot cheaper. I also found the Vittoria sealant came pouring out causing a flat and messy frame. It is important though to get the wheel spinning as soon as you put the sealant in.
I switched to cheapo conti sprinter and haven't had any problems. If you are going to run sealant make sure you have tubs with removable valve stems.
As a final comment, for guys that like to push the envelope equipment wise the members of this board are really traditionalists when it comes to tires. Generally tubs are lighter but the benefits of ride quality are minimal compared to what they were in years past. A good wide set of clinchers or tubeless really aren't much worse in terms of ride quality and no worries about rolling them in a crit corner, once you put a set of latex tubes in a good clincher you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. I have my tubular race wheels so will ride them but would never bother with tubular again.
I switched to cheapo conti sprinter and haven't had any problems. If you are going to run sealant make sure you have tubs with removable valve stems.
As a final comment, for guys that like to push the envelope equipment wise the members of this board are really traditionalists when it comes to tires. Generally tubs are lighter but the benefits of ride quality are minimal compared to what they were in years past. A good wide set of clinchers or tubeless really aren't much worse in terms of ride quality and no worries about rolling them in a crit corner, once you put a set of latex tubes in a good clincher you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. I have my tubular race wheels so will ride them but would never bother with tubular again.
ghostinthemachine wrote:I'd rather have a tiny piece of glass or flint embedded in my glove (where I can flick it out at my leisure) than having it slice through the skin of my finger tip as it whips past at 30 kmph.
Everyone says that but I've been brushing my tires off with my fingertips for 20 years and have yet to get cut or have something stuck in my finger. And I have soft office worker hands.
I do a lot of races with carbon clinchers, always ones with lots of climbing and descending. The rims are lighter or more aero than aluminium. I don't have a problem with braking (some training rides however are on steeper and much more technical roads and I don't use carbon clinchers there). These races have little to no support, are extremely remote and are of a nature where a flat and quick tube change won't cost too many places. So rather than give up if I have a flat I want the ability to fix it fast and keep going. I can't do that with tubulars.
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I've cut myself two or three times in a similar time period, but it'd rather not do it at all. And for the sake of not dragging your fingers along the tyre, why not use your glove.eric wrote:
Everyone says that but I've been brushing my tires off with my fingertips for 20 years and have yet to get cut or have something stuck in my finger.
It will also depend on the local geology, where I live now there's a good amount of flint about. That'll make a mess.
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bm0p700f wrote:Yes you can eric you change a tub over in the time it takes to do a tube.
Under 2 minutes?
drchull wrote:As a final comment, for guys that like to push the envelope equipment wise the members of this board are really traditionalists when it comes to tires. Generally tubs are lighter but the benefits of ride quality are minimal compared to what they were in years past. A good wide set of clinchers or tubeless really aren't much worse in terms of ride quality and no worries about rolling them in a crit corner, once you put a set of latex tubes in a good clincher you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. I have my tubular race wheels so will ride them but would never bother with tubular again.
Hi -
The people on this forum doing it properly don't have to worry about rolling tubs. It never happens if you glue properly
I agree generally on the ride quality being similar but the handling of tubs is better, the wheels have a nicer lighter feel, and importantly descending is much safer
The risk of rolling a properly glued tub is an order of magnitude less than a clincher blowout
To OP - get 25mm Comps or else Sprinters (as tough but 1/2 the price, though only in narrower width)
And clean tubs regularly with gloves while on ride
Ergott is right re carbon clinchers - market exits only for people who can't stomach tubs. The benefits vs alloy clinchers are mainly aesthetic for a lot of coin
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Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!!
Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!!
Interesting thoughts on the narrow gains of carbon clinchers over good alloy clinchers. I've gone ahead and ordered Continental Competition tubulars and extenders and some Tufo Extreme Sealant. Hope I have more luck with these and become comfortable sticking with the tubs for flat races.
I do use latext tubes on my C24 alloy clinchers and with GP4000S II tyres, I find the combination absolutely superb, very puncture-resistant and very smooth rolling.
Haven't glued a tub for over a year, so is my memory of the process about right: Stretch tub overnight (will use old clincher wheels for this). Remove current tub, sand off any lumps in glue on the rim, only use glue remover if there's major lumps, put one layer of glue on rim, one on tyre, leave overnight, put another layer of glue on the tyre, then apply - does that sound about right?
I do use latext tubes on my C24 alloy clinchers and with GP4000S II tyres, I find the combination absolutely superb, very puncture-resistant and very smooth rolling.
Haven't glued a tub for over a year, so is my memory of the process about right: Stretch tub overnight (will use old clincher wheels for this). Remove current tub, sand off any lumps in glue on the rim, only use glue remover if there's major lumps, put one layer of glue on rim, one on tyre, leave overnight, put another layer of glue on the tyre, then apply - does that sound about right?
that is about right yes (you could read the 9,000 page thread of course)
you can just stretch on the rim to which the tub is going to be glued ... i.e. the tub rim. Jack it up to 150psi and it makes things a fair bit easier when it comes to mounting. Conti don't stretch that much but because the are quite tight IME they still benefit from a stretch. btw you may struggle to get a cont on a clincher rim
I would avoid the pre loading with sealant, though it avoiding punctures is top priority then fair enough ...
you can just stretch on the rim to which the tub is going to be glued ... i.e. the tub rim. Jack it up to 150psi and it makes things a fair bit easier when it comes to mounting. Conti don't stretch that much but because the are quite tight IME they still benefit from a stretch. btw you may struggle to get a cont on a clincher rim
I would avoid the pre loading with sealant, though it avoiding punctures is top priority then fair enough ...
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Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!!
Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!!
just to reinforce the comment about
i suggest do not preload with tufo extreme unless you are really desperate to reduce chances of a flat for a particular event, in which case i'd only do it on the day or the day before
reason is that it hardens fairly quickly, certainly in veloflex with latex tubes, maybe it'd last longer in conti with their butyl tubes but i'd still reckon on it setting within a very few weeks at best
i suggest do not preload with tufo extreme unless you are really desperate to reduce chances of a flat for a particular event, in which case i'd only do it on the day or the day before
reason is that it hardens fairly quickly, certainly in veloflex with latex tubes, maybe it'd last longer in conti with their butyl tubes but i'd still reckon on it setting within a very few weeks at best
Thanks for emphasising that. I won't plan to put sealant into the wheels in advance, only when there is a puncture.
Funnily enough, I did actually read that entire thread on tubulars 18months ago and it helped me get through what was the daunting process of glueing my first tubulars...but there is so much information overload it's hard to remember all the key points. Though I think I did paste key steps into a OneNote notebook so I'll go search that for a more digestible refresher than re-reading the whole thread!
Funnily enough, I did actually read that entire thread on tubulars 18months ago and it helped me get through what was the daunting process of glueing my first tubulars...but there is so much information overload it's hard to remember all the key points. Though I think I did paste key steps into a OneNote notebook so I'll go search that for a more digestible refresher than re-reading the whole thread!
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