Why tubular?

[L3X]

Pros still seem to run tubular. Fear of change, tradition, lighter weight where it counts, better tolerance to flats (not as dangerous or dramatic).

Not sure if you come across a lot of pros when they're riding outside of competition, but in my experience 99% of them are running clinchers in that scenario.

Whether its more convenient or not pretty much depends on what you're used to as well. For me clinchers are the way to go but I do ride with people who can change a flat tubular in no time as well.

[fabriciom]

Comfort for me.

I ride at 5-6 bars and if I get a flat just ride back slowly and change it when I have time.

[alcatraz]

Will riding on a flat tubular destroy any chance of repairing the inner tube? Would be an expensive flat no?

[Calnago]

I certainly wouldn’t be citing the fact that you can ride a flat tubular as a huge advantage. Since it’s glued on, the main advantage here is the safety factor in that if you flat there’s likely always going to be some rubber between your rim and the road versus a clincher coming off the rim entirely and perhaps even wrapping itself in your spokes. But it’s not like if you flat a tubular at speed going downhill you’re going to say “oh well, I’ll just keep bombing down this thing and change it at first chance”. It is unsafe to ride at that point. My two worst crashes ironically have been due to initiating a turn on a tubular that was essentially flat. And I ended up in the hospital after one. I really prefer fixing a tubular on the road than a clincher these days, since all I have to do is put some sealant in. It’s clean, and it works. And the sealant always stays inside the tubular versus becoming a gooey mess within your rim and tire not to mention the mess you’re dealing with if you have to insert a tube in a tubeless setup. I do carry a spare tubular but it sits under my saddle and it’s been so long since I’ve had to change one on the road it just doesn’t matter. But it’s there should I need it.
There is certainly a ritual with running tubulars and I believe if you’re running tubulars you should just accept the ritual and learn to do it yourself. There’s people that essentially want to be treated like a sponsored rider... and while I quite enjoy the ritual on my own bikes, I really kind of resent doing it for someone else. It’s kind of a “right of passage” if you will... you can buy all the fancy stuff you want but I want to see that you can actually maintain a couple of things on your own, and if you’re running tubulars you should be able to glue them, remove them, and be able to deal with a flat on the road by yourself. But if you don’t mind accepting that ritual, then riding them is just sheer joy. And for me, that’s what riding a bicycle is all about.

[KarlC]

I certainly wouldn’t be citing the fact that you can ride a flat tubular as a huge advantage. Since it’s glued on, the main advantage here is the safety factor in that if you flat there’s likely always going to be some rubber between your rim and the road versus a clincher coming off the rim entirely and perhaps even wrapping itself in your spokes. But it’s not like if you flat a tubular at speed going downhill you’re going to say “oh well, I’ll just keep bombing down this thing and change it at first chance”. It is unsafe to ride at that point. My two worst crashes ironically have been due to initiating a turn on a tubular that was essentially flat. And I ended up in the hospital after one. I really prefer fixing a tubular on the road than a clincher these days, since all I have to do is put some sealant in. It’s clean, and it works. And the sealant always stays inside the tubular versus becoming a gooey mess within your rim and tire not to mention the mess you’re dealing with if you have to insert a tube in a tubeless setup. I do carry a spare tubular but it sits under my saddle and it’s been so long since I’ve had to change one on the road it just doesn’t matter. Butnits there should I need it.
There is certainly a ritual with running tubulars and I believe if you’re running tubulars you should just accept the ritual and learn to do it yourself. There’s people that essentially want to be treated like a sponsored rider... and while I quite enjoy the ritual on my own bikes, I really kind of resent doing it for someone else. It’s kind of a “right of passage” if you will... you can buy all the fancy stuff you want but I want to see that you can actually maintain a couple of things on your own, and if you’re running tubulars you should be able to glue them, remove them, and be able to deal with a flat on the road by yourself. But if you don’t mind accepting that ritual, then riding them is just sheer joy. And for me, that’s what riding a bicycle is all about.

I totaly agree, what sealant do you perfer to use ?

.

[Calnago]

Orange Seal (Regular). I got fooled once by thinking the “Endurance” formula had to be best (right?) but all the Endurance part means is that it will stay liquid longer when it is in the tube. Since I only use it when/if I puncture the Regular version is what you want as it seals better, and quicker it seems. My entire repair “kit” fits into a Snack size ziplock bag and I can fix/adjust virtually anything that might happen on the road, not just a flat tubular...



Contents:
- old 50ml Tufo sealant bottle (filled with OrangeSeal) that is a much more convenient size to carry than the smallest size OrangeSeal bottle. I just swap caps since the orange seal cap, with the clear plastic tube for getting sealant through the valve without making a mess is really key to an easy mess free fix;
- 2mm and 2.5mm hex wrenches;
- old Mavic Hub tool which is very thin and strong and perfect in the event I need to get underneath a glued tubular to work it loose around the rim for removal;
- presta/schrader adaptor in the event I have to use a gas station for air;
- teensy Swiss Army Knife for whatever, but mostly so I can pick out any debris from the tire that caused the puncture in the first place. It even has tweezers;
- valve core removal tool... need to remove the valve core to inject sealant;
- Spare valve core (just realized it is missing from my package that I just emptied. I will add it after this post;
- Small Lezyne Mulittool (3,4,5,6mm hex keys, Torx25, small Phillips screwdriver;
- spoke wrench, fits my Nemesis wheels and a good portion of spokes that people you may encounter might have.

And what’s all that weigh...

I just put the pen there for scale, it’s really small and fits easily and comfortably in my jersey pocket. For comparison, my iPhone 10 which I’m writing on right now weighs 210g in its silicone case and fits in my other jersey pocket.

[KarlC]

Very nice Cal !

Here is my everyday repair kit, sealant with air so I dont carry a pump, so far its only not worked 1 time when I had a large cut thru the tire from a road full of glass I could not avoid on a 50mph down hill run. For all day rides I carry a bit more.

[Calnago]

Vittoria Pittstop was a disaster for me. It sprayed foam everywhere, and still never fixed the leak, and even if it had, there wasn’t enough air in the canister to achieve any decent pressure since most of it escaped as it was trying to seal the hole. And it wasn’t even that big of a hole. Plus it’s a one shot deal. If the first try doesn’t work, then what do you do. I do have a Lezyne Road Drive pump attached to the frame, and I would still carry that regardless of what type of tire (clincher or tubular) I was using. Much prefer it over C02 canisters which can blow out the puncture without giving it a chance to seal. And with a pump I’m never without air, no matter how many times I have to use it. The key is to have a system, whichever you prefer, and know how to use it before you need it. I’ve been guilty of that, and with each unforeseen circumstance it ultimately led to carrying all the little doodads you see in my “kit”. I’m sure at some point some new ugly unforeseen event will pop up, but for the most part I have most things covered now. I think .

[Jugi]

Not sure if you come across a lot of pros when they're riding outside of competition, but in my experience 99% of them are running clinchers in that scenario.

99% of pros do not glue their racing tubulars by themselves, so why would they go through the trouble of gluing tubulars for training?

Will riding on a flat tubular destroy any chance of repairing the inner tube? Would be an expensive flat no?

Yes, a tubular is toast if ridden completely flat on a hard surface. Effectively it is like pinch flatting it all the way around. It is also quite uncomfortable. But as the most common leak is a slow leak (in my experience), it is easy to avoid riding without any tire pressure.

In my opinion life is too short to not enjoy life's little pleasures. The "tubular experience" is in that camp.

[Calnago]

In my opinion life is too short to not enjoy life's little pleasures. The "tubular experience" is in that camp.

This

[mattr]

It's why i have a set, never going to race them, probably never even going to take them on a club ride.

But they corner and descend really nicely.

[KarlC]

Vittoria Pittstop was a disaster for me. It sprayed foam everywhere, and still never fixed the leak, and even if it had, there wasn’t enough air in the canister to achieve any decent pressure since most of it escaped as it was trying to seal the hole. And it wasn’t even that big of a hole. Plus it’s a one shot deal. If the first try doesn’t work, then what do you do. I do have a Lezyne Road Drive pump attached to the frame, and I would still carry that regardless of what type of tire (clincher or tubular) I was using. Much prefer it over C02 canisters which can blow out the puncture without giving it a chance to seal. And with a pump I’m never without air, no matter how many times I have to use it. The key is to have a system, whichever you prefer, and know how to use it before you need it. I’ve been guilty of that, and with each unforeseen circumstance it ultimately led to carrying all the little doodads you see in my “kit”. I’m sure at some point some new ugly unforeseen event will pop up, but for the most part I have most things covered now. I think .

I had the Vittoria Pittstop spray out on me once when I was not paying attention and did not line it up right, that was a bit of a pain. But that was it just once and it was my bad. But you are right use what works for you, we are all on different tires, different PSI, different roads, use what works for you and enjoy your tubs !!

.

[IchDien]

Tubular are, for me, much more comfortable to ride as well.

[bm0p700f]

Pitstop has worked for me. Its essential when using my MTB tubs . I can't pack a spare MTB tub in my back pocket. I only did not race on them on Sunday because I ran out of glue to glue a fresh set on.

My repair kit for a road is a spare tub and my hands. A pump helps. I still think tubeless is more practical but not as much fun. Anyone tried the one tubular tyres? One distributor has them at £20 each. Should I get them.

[LouisN]

Can't comment on the Pro One, but I have a personnal feeling from experience Schwalbe doesn't "get" tubular tires. I bought some CX Racing Ralph's HT and they were too narrow, even 2-3 mm too small compared to the advertised size, awful to ride CX . The road tubs I tried weren't the best ones, the Lugano K ( I think) and had just about every defect you don't want in a tubular tire (both of the ones I tried). So based on our experience bm0p700f, you should love the Pro Ones

Louis