Classic & Vintage - Tubular Tire Cement Colors

Does anyone know what brand of tubular tire cement is clear? Can anyone identify the color of each manufacturers cement? I'll be gluing tires soon for the first time in 30 years and I remember the red stuff (Clement) being a tad messy and hard to clean up. I think the clear will help hide my goofs.

Continental glue is red
Vittoria is ???? red?
Soyo/panasonic is clear, hard to find and excellent stuff.
Tubasti is red
Wolber was red
Clement is long gone but I do remember it too to be red

Thanks Lotek,

Anyone got an explanation why so many manufacturers would make the glue red?

ingredients make it such? Seeing is an advantage so you get even coverage?

Continental glue is red
Vittoria is ???? red?
Soyo/panasonic is clear, hard to find and excellent stuff.
Tubasti is red
Wolber was red
Clement is long gone but I do remember it too to be red


I would say Vittoria is on the clear side of red, but with a red tinge certainly.

Tubasti is that horrid white crap that never seems to set up hard.

Clement is still around, it is red, but still around.

Continental glue is red
Vittoria is ???? red?
Soyo/panasonic is clear, hard to find and excellent stuff.
Tubasti is red
Wolber was red
Clement is long gone but I do remember it too to be red

The problem is that adhesive colors/formulas changed.

Most recent purchase of Vittoria is translucent orange red, very light tint. Earlier more clear. 30 years ago Tubasti (sp?) was white/cream translucent, Current Clement I suspect is from the makers of Vittoria branded stuff. Clement ruled for decades, with other brands following suit, the primary advantage that all the "red" gleus had was the ability to rebond with existing glue as long as it was not too old, I had spare tires with a layer "rebond" so well that after I got home there was no need to remove and glue them on properly. There was also a Pista version of Clement, ugly brown tinted stuff, smelled to high heaven, in fact that is what probably killed off all the "good" glue, user safety and VOC levels.

Thank goodness 3M still makes Fasttak 8031, for velodrome use, very poor retack on the road. Not to be confused with 8001 that is also Fasttak, that one is too brittle.

One day I will try the Tufo tape.

I have tufo tape on my GP4s with Tufo elite roads. I hate it.
high pressure and high heat = gummy mess oozing out from under the basetape.
I will give Tufo the benefit of the doubt and try the extreme tape, maybe that
one will hold up better.
Funny I left a wheel in the car, in Texas heat (98 degrees outside) all day, regular
tubular with conti glue. . . no muss no fuss no softenening.

For track I would seriously try to find the Soyo/panasonic great stuff.

Clear is harder to see the mess ups, which makes cleaning it up a bit more difficult (imho).

marty

Continental glue is red
Vittoria is ???? red?
Soyo/panasonic is clear, hard to find and excellent stuff.
Tubasti is red
Wolber was red
Clement is long gone but I do remember it too to be red

My last two tubes of Conti cement have been clear.

See my comments on Tufo Extreme tape before you try it. Post #147. YRMV.

Tufo extreme comments in Totally Tubular (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=154679&page=6)

My last two tubes of Conti cement have been clear.

See my comments on Tufo Extreme tape before you try it. Post #147. YRMV.

Tufo extreme comments in Totally Tubular (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=154679&page=6)

I purchased the Continental cement with my tires but haven't opened it yet since I'm letting the tires stretch for a few days. I will post back what the color is for anyone interested when I glue the tires on.

Hmmm, I know I'm colour blind, (oh wait that's chromatically challenged) but
I know the conti glue I've used was a nice reddish colour. Did they change the
formula lately? They changed just about everything else about the sprinters
(including black base tape, yuck).
I have a new tire to glue and I'll double check, I think I may have an older
tube of glue here to check against.

I think I'm going back to just glue based on Lynn's comments. I really
hate that residue on the Tufo tape. Jantex in the 80's sucked, and the
same idea still does.

Marty

Oldyellr, you certainly are British Old School. Not too many still refer to "Campag" and "cement". Maybe you are recalling one of the British cements like Tubtac or Tubweld? I don't remember the colors but quite a few of the older, British cyclists used it.

Oldyellr, you certainly are British Old School. Not too many still refer to "Campag" and "cement".:D Tom, you're confusing me with Old Yeller from Indiana. I did start riding in England, but as a student could not afford sprints and tubs or Campag gears. I had a Claud Butler New Allrounder with steel rims and Simplex gears.

I opened 2 tubes of Conti glue last night, one reddish the other sorta clear. . . sigh

I'm in Tufo tape hell at the moment, trying to clean up the mess after just about ripping my
fingernails off trying to get the damned things off.
Most of the tape stayed on the tires so at least I can clean up the rims fairly easily (I'm told
heat is the key here). The tires, although perfectly servicable (less than 1000 miles on them),
are probably a total loss since I can't get the glue off of them. I'll try different heat sources
but somehow I don't think the propane torch will be too good for the base tape.

From now on, non tufo tires and real glue for me once is more than enough.

marty

Propane is great for the base tape. Remember the weenies and marshmallows.

I opened 2 tubes of Conti glue last night, one reddish the other sorta clear. . . sigh

I'm in Tufo tape hell at the moment, trying to clean up the mess after just about ripping my
fingernails off trying to get the damned things off.
Most of the tape stayed on the tires so at least I can clean up the rims fairly easily (I'm told
heat is the key here). The tires, although perfectly servicable (less than 1000 miles on them),
are probably a total loss since I can't get the glue off of them. I'll try different heat sources
but somehow I don't think the propane torch will be too good for the base tape.

From now on, non tufo tires and real glue for me once is more than enough.

marty

Didn't someone say Goo Gone for Goof Off would take the tape residue off?

Didn't someone say Goo Gone for Goof Off would take the tape residue off?

it works for the wheels, I'm not sure about the tire though. I don't imagine that
goof off or gone would be very good for the base tape.

I wrote to Tufo North America, and so far have heard nothing back, great customer
service, and their forum hasn't had a new entry in about a year.
I'm pretty fed up with Tufo.

Marty

it works for the wheels, I'm not sure about the tire though. I don't imagine that
goof off or gone would be very good for the base tape.

Marty

I guess if I had read your original post more closely, I would have realized you were refering to the tires and not the wheels.:o

3-M Fast Tack is the only thing I've used. I don't place my bike under tremendous stress, but so far (2nd year now) it has worked well for me. This formula has a tinge of amber to it.

I glued my tires on today and the Continental glue was an amber color. Much nicer looking than the old red stuff.