Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Tires

Did a search but didn't find anything here. I've picked up a new bike recently that has sew-ups on it and was wondering if anyone here uses them for long distance riding (centuries & brevets) or is it just too much trouble? I really don't think I'll have a problem with flats as I'm going to use the sealant and glue tape.

Check out the Randon group (http://groups-beta.google.com/group/randon/topics).
There was some recent discussion about all sorts of tires.

I'm debating the Tufo Tubular Clinchers. Heard good things about them from someone who uses them for cyclocross.

One guy I know, and have ridden with, uses them. He rides a recumbent. Somewhere around the 200K point of the Gold Rush last year, he had a flat. There were several of us riding with him and we had been questioning him about the viability of his tires on a long ride ... so when he had the flat, we all stopped while he gave us a 5 minute lesson on how to fix the problem ... and then we were on our way. Quick and easy!

From what I've seen and to my surprise, they actually seem like a viable choice!

One guy I know, and have ridden with, uses them. He rides a recumbent. Somewhere around the 200K point of the Gold Rush last year, he had a flat. There were several of us riding with him and we had been questioning him about the viability of his tires on a long ride ... so when he had the flat, we all stopped while he gave us a 5 minute lesson on how to fix the problem ... and then we were on our way. Quick and easy!

From what I've seen and to my surprise, they actually seem like a viable choice!

Yeah, I've been doing a lot of reading on them from the roadies and they love them for their comfort and speed, so I was going to give them a try since my new bike already has them. They seem pretty interesting though. I heard a lot of people complain about the tire changing issue but as you point out yourself, that just really isn't as big of a deal as people think. Can't wait to get out there and try them.

Im the mid 70's to early 80's I used tubulars to race on including centuries, but I didn't like them because I had to carry 2 spares along with a flat repair kit that Velox made for tubulars. Unfortunately if you used both of your spares then you were going to spend about 45 minutes repairing a tub on the side of the road, and I was only one of few that would do that on the road. Sealants were not around back then so I can't comment on that stuff, but Slime is crap and won't hold more then 65psi without blowing the Slime out of the hole, not sure if the other sealants on the market are better then Slime. But fortunately replacing a tubular is fast and easy, and fortunately flatting more then twice is rare, but it's happened to me many times.

Clinchers are really the only way to go, they are far easier to repair many times over. Once you figure out how to repair one you can repair it almost as fast as replacing a tubular. I can actually repair a front flat with a clincher in about 5 minutes and there was someone here that once said he could do it in 3, so really that's as fast as a tubular replacement if not faster.

The process to repair a flatted clincher fast is actually simple; let me know if your interested in knowing how.

I actually know how to change the tire. No problem. I'm using the tape by Tufos. Seems pretty good. I just got an unexpected bonus, so I think I'm going to go out and get me a set of clincher wheelset for it. Use the tubulars for racing, if I'm so inclined. They are very expensive Campy carbon wheels so maybe I'll just throw them up on EBay and see what they bring.

I actually know how to change the tire. No problem. I'm using the tape by Tufos. Seems pretty good. I just got an unexpected bonus, so I think I'm going to go out and get me a set of clincher wheelset for it. Use the tubulars for racing, if I'm so inclined. They are very expensive Campy carbon wheels so maybe I'll just throw them up on EBay and see what they bring.

It's really worth going and looking at posts on tubulars on the Randon group that bmike pointed out. I never would have thought of tubulars as being practical for a brevet, but after reading those posts, I was somewhat convinced. Sounds like you can buy decent-enough tubulars for $20 or so. Carry a couple of spares. They're less likely to flat than clinchers.

I use clinchers, myself, and am not likely to change since I'd need new rims. I use Conti GP4 700x28's and carry a spare as well as two innertubes and patches. I'd guess that the spare plus patches weighs about the same as a couple tubulars. I've only twice had a flat on a brevet -- but one of those times I got four flats in a period of four hours.

If I wanted to change out a flat fast with clinchers, I'd put some baby powder on the inner tube, put it into the clincher ready to be mounted, and then if I get a flat I'd yank the old one off, throw the new one on, and be ready to go in just a few minutes.

It's really worth going and looking at posts on tubulars on the Randon group that bmike pointed out. I never would have thought of tubulars as being practical for a brevet, but after reading those posts, I was somewhat convinced. Sounds like you can buy decent-enough tubulars for $20 or so. Carry a couple of spares. They're less likely to flat than clinchers.

If I wanted to change out a flat fast with clinchers, I'd put some baby powder on the inner tube, put it into the clincher ready to be mounted, and then if I get a flat I'd yank the old one off, throw the new one on, and be ready to go in just a few minutes.


Tubulars less likely to flat though is a myth and has never been proven one way or the other! My own personal experience proved to me that tubs flatted more often the clinchers but back in my day they were silk or cotton casing which were extremily flimsy; new casings are more durable then what mine were back in the 70s and 80s, but so are clincher casings! With clinchers you have a larger choice of tires from ultralight racing tires to heavier puncture resistent tires and everything in-between. Also if your away from home and have no spare tubs left you could be hard press finding one in some small town...though someone could have one Fed-Ex'd to your location.

I can repair a flatted clincher tube in about 5 minutes (depending on my mood at the time) IF I can find the hole fast which usually I can. I simply remove about 1/2 of one side of the tire and pull about a 1/4th of the tube out with the hole being in the center of the section. Buff the area and apply a glueless patch, then restuff and reseat the tire. It's just as fast for me to repair a tube as it is to replace it, plus this method allows me to always have a new tube if the other one is unrepairable.