I'm currently using 23mm wide Vittoria Corsa Evo CX Tubulars on my Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 and really do not like how the tires fit on the rim. My Bontrager's are around 5 years old when the spokes were laced in pairs. I use to always use GP 4000's and they were a perfect fit. The glue was in contact all the way to the edge of the rim and tire. There was never any gaps around the circumference of the tire.

After reading reviews of the Vittoria's and the Veloflex tubbies I decided to try the Vittoria's but really don't like how they fit. When glued up there are quite a few areas where you can push the tire away from the rim. When the tires are dry mounted there is a small gap more or less all the way around the edge of the rim and tire.

The GP 4000's are seamless which must be why they were such a good fit where as the Vittoria's have the large seam in the middle and don't allow the sidewalls to come in full contact with the edge of the rim. Something else to note is the GP 4000's were also a perfect fit at the valve stem but the Vittoria's were incredible bad at the valve! I had to cut the base tape around the valve and make the valve hole in the rim way larger and it's still not a good fit.

Hard to say weather I should be concerned of rolling a tub? Frustrating as the 4000's were a perfect glue joint but the Vittoria's have a much better ride feel and can be opened up for patching.

Anyone have any experience with this issue or any advice? Would a pair of Veloflex tubbies fit any better? Would a wider tire maybe fit better?

Thanks,

Can someone tell me if I should be concerned regarding how these tires fit my rims? Am I just over reacting or is this normal? I just had another look at them before gluing and there is a slight gap between tire and rim when dry fitting. With a minimal amount of thumb pressure you can push the tire away from the rim with 110psi.

Should I just glue them op or should I be looking at a different tire?

Thanks,

Just glue them up and you should be golden. When you glue them, pump them up to 60 psi and then put your weight on the wheels and rotate a full rotation and let set up. I thinks the Vittoria's are a much better tire than the Conti's.

At first I thought that photo was after gluing (in which case there would be a problem) but then re-read your dry fit comment. I don't see any issue and should be fine after glue.

Thanks, last year when I glued my first Evo CX there was still some spots where the tire was not fully bonded at the edge. Two coats on the tire and three on the rim and always seat the tire to rim with full weight but still some gaps showing. Even once glued you can push the tire away from the rim fairly easily. My GP4000's always bonded right to the edge and you could definitely not easily push the tire away from the rim. They were always a perfect bond right to the rim edge.

I have two new Evo CX tires sitting here so I guess I will try them again. Really don't want to take a chance of rolling a tire!

I am guessing the Bontragers don't have a relief channel in the tire bed. My experience with Vittoria has all been on Zipp wheels which do have a relief channel so the tire settled down into the rim a bit more.

With a good glue job there is no chance of rolling a tire but I understand your concern. You may notice that after some miles the tire may seat itself a little better as the stitched seam compresses.

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No, my Bonti's do not have any relief channel. Never knew that other wheels did! That definitely makes sense as the stitching on the tubular is exactly what is causing the problem.

Wow, just googled pictures of tubular rim bed's and see the relief channel as described! Never really looked closely at any other rims then my own. Wish I would have known that before I bought these wheels. It was never a problem without the relief channel as I started with the seamless Conti 4000's which always made a perfect glue job.

So much to lean and discover on this forum!

Thanks again!

Hi,

Just so you know, this is a pretty common "problem" with Vittoria tubulars (plus all others made at the same factory) and actually one of the reasons why some rim manufactures adopted a different rim shape.

While I do not know the exact width of the Bontie rim I do believe you'd be better served by a slightly less wide tub without a protruding seam at the base tape.
Even though Veloflex now advertises their 22mm wide range of tubs as 23mm ones (they've always been a tad on the wide side of 22mm), they would fit well on that rim.
Whenever you get the chance you owe it to yourself to give them a try, especially with an Extreme on the front wheel and a Carbon on the rear (or their para sidewall versions).
You'd be surprise how much better they are than most other tubs.

Ciao,

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Being a snob is an expensive hobby.

Thanks Fdegrove,

I was really wanting to know if this was a common problem or if I was just making a big deal out of nothing. Definitely wont be buying the Evo CX for these wheels in the future. Believe me, from all your other posts you have me sold on the Veloflex, its just they cost 36% more when I already feel like I shouldn't be riding tubbies in the first place. Even if I have to ride my clinchers for a while I will save up for the Veloflex and give them a try.

My Bontie rims measure 22mm outside rim edge.

Thanks again,

Hi,

I felt exactly as you felt when you started this post. Though after I glued up my four tires I changed my mind about the Vittoria's. They are definitely a great tire and glue up easily as well. Granted my carbon tubular rims did have a relief channel. The lump of material around the bottom of the valve is normal, though on past versions on the evo cx tire they were smaller. Zipp's diameter for the valve hole on their rims are around 7mm, the size on the carbon rims I received were 6mm. I did enlarge the hole slightly to around 8mm... now here is the trick to get the valve hole seated perfectly, when you are ready to mount and glue the tire you must immediately stretch the two sides/sections right next to the valve while mounting. (grab the tire with the valve in the middle and stretch right away) Then continue to stretch and the lump shouldn't pose a problem.

As for the solution to your problem with the tire not seating well, what I did was to begin the standard procedure for gluing the rim & tire and what not, but after I glued them on, I inflated to somewhat full pressure of the tire or somewhat close and adjusted the tire. After 24 hours I could not see any places where the tire would not sit properly. I was so happy that I got this result because when I dry fitted the tire, I saw a few spots where the tire wouldn't sit in properly.