Making the transition to tubulars

[Evosolution]

I don't carry a spare either just stans sealant, a pump and loctight 402
I'm riding my Veloflex tires into the threads now
the 'gel super glue' technique has me getting an extra 1000kms outa the rear tires and my ride home has gone from 70% with sealant to 99% with sealant and the 402

Hey, I am brand new to tubulars. Can you elaborate on your use of the above mentioned items.
Do you preload the tubular with stans or use it after a puncture?
Are you repairing the tire with super glue post ride clean up?
What are you doing with the Loctite?
Thanks for any knowledge you can pass my way

[thprice]

My tyre life is currently:

• Rear tyre: Veloflex Carbon (with 6+ months ageing): 3500 - 4000 km
• Front tyre: Veloflex Extreme (with 6+ months ageing): ~6000 km

End-of-life is when most of the black outer rubber tread has worn through, thus riding on the Calicot protection layer.
By then it may have a little Stans in it to repair a small puncture, occasionally a larger puncture needs needle, thread, etc.
Pre-ride tyre maintenance is:

• Pump tyres to correct pressure
• Check tyres for embedded crud, nicks, cuts, damage, etc.

Sugarkane, Fdegrove, others,

• What tyre life do you get for Veloflex (and other) tyres?
• How do you determine tyre end-of-life (Calicot protection layer, casing, other)?
• What is your tyre maintenance routine?

[fdegrove]

Hi,

Running the same combo most of the time I get similar life out of them but I do retire* them way before the calicot layer shows.
That said, I don't race them either which should prolong life expectancy by at least 30% if not more.
An important factor IME is where you ride as well. I avoid urban areas like the plague as I find Veloflex to be surprisingly puncture resistant all things considered, they're just not city tyres. Were never meant to be either, so...

* Either I put them aside as emergency replacements should I run out of stock or put them on the winter wheels, either way I don't bin them unless their totally shot. I may have binned 3 to 4 Veloflex tyres over the past 10 years that were beyond repair or were badly repaired (by me) and ended up not being round enough to be put back into service but that's about it.

Whenever I get back home I check the tyres for flints, cuts, whatever and they're wiped clean using a small kitchen spunge soaked in water and some mild dishwasher liquid or, occasionally, a wipe down using a mixture of 1/3 household vinegar and water. The vinegar/water mix degreases the tyres nicely improving grip for a while. It's also being said that it sort of "nourishes" natural rubber similar to waxing leather etc. No idea whether this is actually true but it does not seem to do any harm either and vinegar is cheap anyhow.
After another check up I deflate the tyres to about 1/4 of the usual pressure and that's that.

Minor repairs are done using Tufo's old liquid latex (15ml often suffices) formula which is replaced by Tufo Extreme if I'm not mistaken. This yields an almost 100% success rate with a negligible amount of unwanted secondary effects.
Major punctures or multiple punctures receive surgery. I.e. the inner tube is replaced as I often find this to be faster and requiring much less sewing work on my part than spending time localizing puncture(s) followed by local surgery...
You do need to know how the put a cut in two latex inner tube back together though which can be a bit tricky at first until you get the hang of it.

Ciao,

P.S. Naturally, every single tubular I own, regardless of pedigree, does receive a goodnight kiss on the forehead every night before I hit the sack....

[dha]

Hi,

Generally speaking a tubular should be at least equally wide as the rim, preferably 1mm wider.
See Zipp's 23mm wide Tangente or similar.
Anything narrower than that would expose the rim bed's edges cancelling out any aero advantage, not to mention the risk of actually damaging it by impact. Rocks, boardwalks' edges, you name it.

A wider tyre on the rear wheel should yield less rolling resistance with maybe a minor or negligible impact on aero. Due to it being wider it should also be less prone to puncture compared to it's narrower brother.
The added weight has little to no impact on actual performance.

When in doubt I'm Zipp could advise you further.

Ciao,

Thanks (sorry for delay on reply, was riding in the alps with no internet)

[sugarkane]

I'm getting 2-3000kms in the rear from the carbons and 6000ish from the fronts
I bin em when I get to the cords.
I'm 85kgs and I ride in an urban setting more often than not so I don't expect massive mileage and some times I race too on a really rough track

The loctite 402 superglue is what I use to repair the external cuts in the tire, which become more common as the tire squares off and gets thin. And stans when needed in the tires but I only juice em if they need it.
Check the tires every few rides and remove any chips/glass and fill the holes with my 402
Don't ride in the gutter and avoid shinny things on the road

[Ceebers1]

I rode tubulars for about 20 years.

I glued, repaired, and mounted tubulars for 20 years.

While they are lighter, and generally handle better, they are overall more expensive and a pain when you get a flat..

In the summer, I usually ride 300 to 350 miles a week, and now with the advent of lighter aero carbon clinchers, I have just moved over to Vittoria Open SC's and light tubes... I'm sure this isn't for everyone.

I usually only got a flat once every year and a half or so, but it was always a slash, and always when I wasn't carrying a tubular...

I still have a good many tubie wheelsets, but I hardly ride them. My favorite tubies ride-wise are the 25c Corsa's, but I love Conti's because on everyday wheels they don't
lose 60 psi a day..

[Geoff]

While typically only for World Tour cast-offs, I would be pleased to extend my tubular wheelset retirement facility to your wheelsets...

[RMcC]

I'm just about to order my first set of carbon tubulars so finding this thread very helpful.

Can someone explain the process of what to do with your spare if you want to carry one i.e. how to glue it and not have it stick to your jersey and if you leave a space near the valve unglued to aid removal if you do need to use the spare(think I picked this up from the tubular thread although I might be wrong).

Thanks

[Geoff]

If you check-out page 149 of the main 'Gluing Tubulars' thread, I show you how to do that in some detail.

Personally, I think that deliberately building a 'weak spot' into your glue job (the same glue job that you just spent 4 or 5 days of fastidious work to ensure was perfect so as to maximize the quality of the bond), is crazy. Don't do that.

[RMcC]

Thanks.

It is your gluing guide that I was planning on following as it was on the first few pages and no one seemed to disagree. I havent managed to get to page 149 yet.

[Geoff]

I've been doing it a long time...

[dha]

Quick question, if I get a flat and then replace the tub (at home not a roadside quick fix) do you re-start the gluing process or just add a single new coat to the rim before attaching a glued tub?

[Geoff]

It depends upon the condition of the remaining glue on the rim.

If you have done everything 'right', your glue job should have resulted in a very strong bond to the rim. As a result, you should have a nice, even layer of glue still adhered to the rim. If that is the case, all you need to do now is lay-down a thin, even layer of fresh glue on the rim, let it cure overnight and you should be good-to-go. The new tire is still prepared in the same fashion.

If the glue has pulled-away from the rim in clumps, then it may not have properly adhered to the rim in the first place. If that is the case, you should consider re-gluing the rim from scratch.

[dha]

Thanks Geoff

[laxer29]

How's the glue holdup if you don't ride for several months? Good to just inflate again?