Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Spring is here: Just installed the 1/8" drivetrain with 74.3" gear and tubular wheels

I hope it doesn't rain Sat b/c I am anxious to try out my tubular wheelset on my Waterford. Laced some DA high flange hubs to Mavic Reflex hoops with the shiny machined braking surfaces using DB 14/15 gauge spokes. Tires are a pair of Vittoria Special Pros I had in storage. Rubber looks good and just applied new latex to the sidewalls
I had read on another post that TA chainrings were less round than Biopace but the 1/8" width one I installed was as round and true as any Campy, Sugino or DA.
My bike is steel so she isn't some 15 lbs aluminium flyweight, but with the sew-up wheels she weighs in at approx 18-19 lbs. My clincher wheels have quick release skewers so I have to remember to carry along my new Campy "Peanut" wrench. My equipment is so much fun!:D
Gerry

Oops! I meant ti type NEW equipment is so much fun. Must have been a Freudian slip. Gerry

congratulations?

Very late last night when I posted. I meant to pose the question "What are others on this forum doing to their FG bikes for spring riding?"
I for one am glad to be putting my clincher wheels away until next winter!
Gerry

tubulars are sooooooooooooo nicer over clinchers....too bad the roads here still have so much sand/glass/crap ont he shoulders from the overly sanded roads for the 3" total snow fal we had....


/rant

Oddly enough, I replaced my tubular wheels with my clinchers on my Mercian for a quick ride last night. No way I'm going to skid on my Conti Sprinters!

Rain today:( so I'll have to wait until Sun to try out the new set-up. I've never used a 1/8" drivetrain nor have I ever used the Scram chains with their "Master Link" Any opinions on Scram 1/8" chains?
I am leading a 40 mile club ride tomorrow which is moderately hilly. Might not be the best scenario for my FG esp if I have not tested it out beforehand.
Gerry

A pic would be nice...

Oddly enough, I replaced my tubular wheels with my clinchers on my Mercian for a quick ride last night. No way I'm going to skid on my Conti Sprinters!

get the gatorskin sprinters or some tufo trainers. im down to the threads on mine at the moment, doh. i hate buying tires. i think ive got another week or so of life in em...

get the gatorskin sprinters or some tufo trainers. im down to the threads on mine at the moment, doh. i hate buying tires. i think ive got another week or so of life in em...

i've got a front wheel i'm lacing up tubular for my bike, 36H aero spokes, DA7600 hub and Matrix aero rim that i got from the bike co-op (yellow bike) for free, lol...it's 2 cross...gonna be so sweet.
tubulars to ride so much nicer but i don't really think i could handle replacing a $60 tire every month or so...so i'm just gonna run tubs on the front.

A pic would be nice...
I still need someone to show this old fart how to post photos.
BTW Most of us get a season or more out of a $60 tubular w/o flats. Running 2 types of tires means you will need to carry twice as many spares.:D
Gerry

get the gatorskin sprinters or some tufo trainers. im down to the threads on mine at the moment, doh. i hate buying tires. i think ive got another week or so of life in em...

The Gatorskins were out of stock and a fellow employee accidentally ordered an extra pair of the regular tubies, so I figured it'd be less of a hassle. I had planned on running the Gatorskins so I could occasionally ride on the road, but the bike's smooth enough with clinchers that changing wheelsets for the rare time that I'm not riding it on the velodrome isn't that big of a hassle.

I'm a big fan of latex sealant. No more flats.
http://www.tufo.com/img/big/tuby.jpg

for spring eh rebuild my beater and a new bike on the way finally replace the cranks on christine and rock & roll

I'm a big fan of latex sealant. No more flats.
http://www.tufo.com/img/big/tuby.jpg

could you or someone else explain what this is exactly?

its similar to "goo" but suited for road tubular tires..

Rain today:( so I'll have to wait until Sun to try out the new set-up. I've never used a 1/8" drivetrain nor have I ever used the Scram chains with their "Master Link" Any opinions on Scram 1/8" chains?
I am leading a 40 mile club ride tomorrow which is moderately hilly. Might not be the best scenario for my FG esp if I have not tested it out beforehand.
Gerry
Hit the road with them, rain on shine - I am using tubbies on my winter ride (too, as I use them on all but one of my wheelsets).
http://www.pbase.com/wojtek_burkot/image/71657616/medium.jpg
Tufos are pretty durable (except for the top of the line track/tt ones), I coudn't kill training S33s for 10000k and the front stlll has ok looking thread.

this thread is making me want to run tubs front and rear.
so a quality tub will last a pretty good while if you do frequent skips and hops but not much real skidding...i gots me 17 skid spots right now.
actually i probably get 2 months out of one of these (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=121&subcategory=1254&brand=&sku=17535&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Subcat%3A%20700x18c%20to%20700x28c)

spring=
new cranks. sugino 75 fsa ring.
new bars. 40cm kona risers on 90mm nitto jag stem
cleaned the bike and rebuilt all the bearings and replaced the balls

its similar to "goo" but suited for road tubular tires..

sort of. "Goo" or "slime" brand sealants are fibers suspended in a glycerine/glycol mix. When you puncture the goo seeps out of the tube and the fibers, in theory, are supposed to get clogged in the hole and plug it up. It works ok, but sometimes the goo will keep seeping out. Plus, it's heavy and has a noticeable effect on ride quality.


Latex bases sealants literally "glue" small punctures from the inside out. You don't use very much, so you don't really notice it's there. It doesn't clump on the inside of tires too, which can lead to a noticeable out of balance. The tufo stuff works well, either for racing or street use with tubulars.

I use a totally different sealant/system in my mountainbike tires, and did the following test with the same results:


http://www.notubes.com/moviedemo.php

Clinchers for me. I like to change my tires too much.