Making the transition to tubulars

Wheels, Tires, Tubes, Tubeless, Tubs, Spokes, Hookless, Hubs, and more!

Moderator: robbosmans

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The spirit of this board is to compile and organize wheels and tires related discussions.

If a new wheel tech is released, (say for example, TPU tubes, a brand new tire, or a new rim standard), feel free to start the discussion in the popular "Road". Your topic will eventually be moved here!
fdegrove
Tubbie Guru
Posts: 5894
Joined: Tue May 03, 2005 2:20 am
Location: Belgium

by fdegrove

Hi,
1.I always bring following things: Tufo Extreme Sealant (works most of the time), Campagnolo Tyre Levers (best to remove Tubular tire if needed), Spare Tufo Elite Jet <135gm preglued tire (i have the same tire for few years, used few times allready and check glue on begining of season and i just correct few spots if i realized it's needed), and Mini Pump
Those light tubulars are invariably more fragile than heavier ones.
I use a cheap Schwalbe tub which has a butyl inner tube that allows me to use a CO2 cartridge. Butyl holds air better than latex.
I too used to use Tufo sealant, it works well enough. Yet lately I use Effeto Mariposa which is really superb.
It's a synthetic latex which does not clog up valves and since it is a foam it's light en effective.
In all this time riding tubulars I only double punctured one. Not a joy when you're in the middle of a rural area at 35 degress C 15 km from home....

Cheers, ;)
Being a snob is an expensive hobby.

DHG01
Posts: 705
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2020 7:14 pm
Location: Madrid

by DHG01

montee wrote:
Thu May 27, 2021 3:29 pm
Thanks, as probably shows I'm pretty novice with tubs. My worry whenever I ride them is either being stranded by a puncture, or having to carry a taped spare. How effedtive is it to run tubs with sealant in the tubes - is success rate for a 'self-healing' puncture likely to be similar as running tubeless?
Well, this is a good place to learn and we ve already seen a few good posts.

Tubulars with latex inner tubes, along riding very well, seal very well with Effeto Maripossa and other latex based sealants (I recall Bontrager being quite good); not so with amonia based sealants (eg Tufo).

I flat quite a bit (4-6 times a year) and very rarely carry a spare; sealant works quite well for me.

I used the phone spare card twice. One was pinch flat on Almanzo s (too low pressure), the other was Effeto Mariposa not working well with Corsa Elite (which has butyl inner tube); Tufo sealant wouldn't have solved that one.

by Weenie


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Kayrehn
Posts: 1775
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2011 6:06 pm

by Kayrehn

Echoing the others here, just bring sealant and use where necessary, vittoria pitstop is a poor substitute. My personal experience is that sometimes it takes a while + 2/3 inflations for the tube to finally start holding air, so don't be in a hurry to throw the tire away! More sealant/time is needed sometimes.

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addictR1
Posts: 1878
Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:11 am

by addictR1

fdegrove wrote:Hi,
1.I always bring following things: Tufo Extreme Sealant (works most of the time), Campagnolo Tyre Levers (best to remove Tubular tire if needed), Spare Tufo Elite Jet <135gm preglued tire (i have the same tire for few years, used few times allready and check glue on begining of season and i just correct few spots if i realized it's needed), and Mini Pump
Those light tubulars are invariably more fragile than heavier ones.
I use a cheap Schwalbe tub which has a butyl inner tube that allows me to use a CO2 cartridge. Butyl holds air better than latex.
I too used to use Tufo sealant, it works well enough. Yet lately I use Effeto Mariposa which is really superb.
It's a synthetic latex which does not clog up valves and since it is a foam it's light en effective.
In all this time riding tubulars I only double punctured one. Not a joy when you're in the middle of a rural area at 35 degress C 15 km from home....

Cheers, ;)
Is this the sealant you are using?

Effetto Mariposa Caffelatex Tire Sealant One Color, 250ml https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OEVIM3S/re ... KDWCGJCJAE

3Pio
Posts: 1577
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2016 7:13 pm

by 3Pio

fdegrove wrote:
Thu May 27, 2021 7:21 pm
Hi,
1.I always bring following things: Tufo Extreme Sealant (works most of the time), Campagnolo Tyre Levers (best to remove Tubular tire if needed), Spare Tufo Elite Jet <135gm preglued tire (i have the same tire for few years, used few times allready and check glue on begining of season and i just correct few spots if i realized it's needed), and Mini Pump
Those light tubulars are invariably more fragile than heavier ones.
I use a cheap Schwalbe tub which has a butyl inner tube that allows me to use a CO2 cartridge. Butyl holds air better than latex.
I too used to use Tufo sealant, it works well enough. Yet lately I use Effeto Mariposa which is really superb.
It's a synthetic latex which does not clog up valves and since it is a foam it's light en effective.
In all this time riding tubulars I only double punctured one. Not a joy when you're in the middle of a rural area at 35 degress C 15 km from home....

Cheers, ;)
I bring my spare Tub in my rear pocket of Jersey so beeing lightweight and compact is important to me :) (dont like saddlebags).. In last few years i used 2-3 times and never ever dissapointed me.. Another positive thing of Tubular vs others is that is maybe possible to ride it almost flat...

Regarding Tufo spare i use.. I had to use Tufo spare and beeing lazy to replace it immediately i used a bike for a short commute.. And Murphy law i got a puncture on the spare :) Ok, i have a brand new Spare, but want to test if the sealant will work on old punctured one.. I used Continental Revo Sealant (beeing more liquid then Tufo and less chance to destroy the tire after beeing packed and put some air inside...)

First part of the test passed - (if Conti Sealant will fix the puncture)

Second part of test seem positive for now - (To pack the Spare tire with sealant inside and after a while to test if i can inflate it properly and if air stay there.. For now passed too :) Of course this is not my Spare choice for long riding distances but still seem that can be helpfull :) (as maybe second spare tire)

DHG01
Posts: 705
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2020 7:14 pm
Location: Madrid

by DHG01

In terms of spares I use two: a Tufo Jet 160 (purposefully bought as a spare) and front/pretty worn out 23 mm Corsa Speed.

The Corsa Speed occupies about the same place as the Tufo; in spite of being 23 mm. I guess this is due to the softer rubber.

I find behind the saddle the most comfortable place to hold it; it's held with straps to the seat rails, so it's easy to swap from bike to bike.
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fdegrove
Tubbie Guru
Posts: 5894
Joined: Tue May 03, 2005 2:20 am
Location: Belgium

by fdegrove

Hi,
Is this the sealant you are using?

Effetto Mariposa Caffelatex Tire Sealant One Color, 250ml https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OEVIM3S/re ... KDWCGJCJAE
Indeed, that's the one.

Cheers, ;)
Being a snob is an expensive hobby.

ooo
Posts: 1590
Joined: Sat May 21, 2016 12:59 pm

by ooo

Is it true, that rear tubular is much less likely to roll off (vs front tubular ungluing)?
'

Geoff
Posts: 5395
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2003 2:25 am
Location: Canada

by Geoff

Hmmm. The only time I ever rolled a tubular (leading-out into the final corner in a Canada Day Crit, took-out my own spriner :oops: he crashed and I skidded into the bushes, bud did not go down), it was a rear tire (no, I did not glue that one, the Team Mechanic did - but it was certainly the last time I ever raced a tire I did not glue myself and the experience set me on-the-road to tubular gluing as an art form!) Conceptually, it does make sense to me, as the distributuion of weigh and the application of power would seem to suggest that there would be greater forces on the rear.

nick12
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 3:33 am

by nick12

Question for the tubular pros: I'm new to tubulars and planning a bike trip abroad (not bikepacking, just multiple days of road riding with a home base to store our belongings). Should I take my tubular wheels with 2 spares (one on the bike at all times and one back at the hotel) and some sealant, or is better to just roll clinchers with a few spare tubes?

fdegrove
Tubbie Guru
Posts: 5894
Joined: Tue May 03, 2005 2:20 am
Location: Belgium

by fdegrove

Hi,

It's perfectgly fine using tubulars. I'd take more than 2 spares tubs, some rim cement and ofcourse a good pump.

Enjoy, ;)
Last edited by fdegrove on Thu Jun 17, 2021 5:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Being a snob is an expensive hobby.

Rossin67
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2019 8:01 pm

by Rossin67

montee wrote:
Thu May 27, 2021 3:29 pm
Thanks, as probably shows I'm pretty novice with tubs. My worry whenever I ride them is either being stranded by a puncture, or having to carry a taped spare. How effedtive is it to run tubs with sealant in the tubes - is success rate for a 'self-healing' puncture likely to be similar as running tubeless?
I got my first road bike in 1987 and it had tubulars, that's what I started on and I have always had at least one bike with tubulars. And when I buy a bike with clinchers I end up switching to tubs.

Never in my life have I been stranded by a puncture and I've gone many, many thousands of miles at a time without a puncture. I've gone years at a time with no puncture and I ride almost everyday (I do have clean country roads). Of course a spare is always strapped to my saddle rails, I'm not sure why you would have an aversion to that, and I can swap on a tire in the same time or less that it takes to change a tube.

But when sealant came out it was a godsend. I carry a small 2oz bottle of Stan's in my jersey pocket. I had to use it one time when I got a rare pinch flat after I hit some RR tracks at the wrong angle. I squirted in half the bottle, aired it up and was on my way on a couple of minutes. It sealed so well that I could go days without having to top off the air pressure. I do prefer tires with butyl tubes and I currently run Challenge Elite Pro's.

A lot of people complain about the time it takes for the whole tire mounting process, usually people who've never touched them, but after you do it a few times it doesn't take long and I actually enjoy the process of gluing them. I even enjoy repairing them although that's a rare occasion.

Nicke
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Jul 20, 2021 4:33 pm

by Nicke

Is it worth going for tubulars in 2021 for the first time ever vs tubeless or tubed?

Do they go for cheaper etc, is there still a good supply of wheels and tires?

Context: building up my first road bike and wheel choice is still open.

DHG01
Posts: 705
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2020 7:14 pm
Location: Madrid

by DHG01

Plenty of supplies for tubular.
I see more advantages on rim brake than disc.
I can see the debate versus clincher. I don't like tubeless; excellent puncture protection but messy and tedious if something does go wrong. It has some challenges with tyre pressures above ~5 bar.

May not be your case; but if you have various bikes, in different locations, sealant tends to dry.

Nicke
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Jul 20, 2021 4:33 pm

by Nicke

The upcoming bike is a rim brake one.

I use tubeless on MTB and gravel but I've heard mixed things about it when it comes to road.

For someone with really no experience with tubulars, is it something I should realistically consider? The wheels will obviously be much lighter, but will the tires themselves be too much of a hassle?

by Weenie


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