CastleDerosa

Have recently purchased a set of Tufo tubulars and added tyre sealant as well ..question is ..do i leave them inflated during off season ?? I surely will keep rotating em' every other week .

DiabloScott

Yeah, you should never let the air out because that goop will clog up the valve. Store the bike with the wheels rotated so the valve is at the highest point and the goop will all flow away from it.

CastleDerosa

Will it also prevent me from inflating ...i never really put too much taught into it ?

fietsbob

To put the sealant in them they Must have a removable valve core, pick up some spares .

air escaping out the stem anywhere but while on top and the goo settled down is bound to spray some sealant out.

and so then a un clogged valve core would be useful , while you rinse the goo out of the other one ..

Andrew R Stewart 

A few observations.

-Placing the valve at the very top of the wheel will let any goop in the valve stay there. Placing the valve at about 4 or 8 o'clock will let any sealant drain from the valve 9assuming the tire is filled less the 1/4 full).

-Lot's of sealants have a shelf life, or a in the tire life, of about a season. Some will tend to harden and cause clumps that roll around in the tire. I'm not sure that I would want old goop in my fancy tires.

- There's a basic goal involved here. Using ultra light and nice riding stuff. At what cost does one get to have the "good stuff".

-BITD we had 70psi gum walls or sew ups. Those who wanted to go fast learned to deal with the hassles of the more flat prone sew ups, or they went back to clinchers (actually wired ons, but that's another topic) as they were then. As clinchers evolved they got lighter, narrower, higher pressured and now their performance can come close to that of good sew ups. But still human nature prevails. Some riders want the "best" but not the cost of dealing with it.

I tell anyone who asks me about riding sew ups that they need to think about how they deal with their bike first. Do they look forward to tinkering with the bike every week or so? Do they replace parts before they're worn out? Do they do this themselves? Do they accept hands that don't clean off without serious chemicals? How sensitive to odors and solvents are they? All these questions are because I don't feel that anyone how rides sew ups should have others (shops) do their mounting/gluing. Why do I say this? because sew ups are not any where as reliable or flat proof as clinchers are (with the possibility of impact flats being the exception) and if the rider can't accept the chance that 1 in 4 tires they buy (and have a shop mount) will not hold air after a few rides then they are the wrong rider for sew ups. Remember that once a tire has been glued on a rim all warranties are invalid.

So there's my triad about sew ups. I got my first set in 1973. For a long time my only road bikes were sew up fitted. The last year I rode them weekly was 2009. Andy.

Looigi

^^^ good post.

CastleDerosa

Sew ups left me stranded over 9 miles along the highway this past summer and that was that ..was done with them !
As much as i love the ride i changed over to Tufo's with tape ..easiest and best decision ever made yet !

Grand Bois

You're saying that you switched from sew ups to Tufo Tubulars? I've always thought of tubulars and sew ups as being synonymous, but I guess that Tufos aren't really sew ups because they can't be sewn up.

I'm using Tufo tape with Tufos as well as some non-Tufos. I'll never go back to glue.

trailangel

What about your spare and repair kit?
They went bad too?

jyl

Not clear why Tufos are more reliable than other tubulars?

I use Tufos on one of my bikes, but I glue 'em.

Grand Bois

I'm not either, but I've never had a flat with Tufos.

I carry the sealant with me, along with a home made wrench for the Presta valve. The sealant isn't supposed to be in the tire for more than 2 months, so I'll wait until I get a puncture to use it.

Andrew R Stewart 

Sorry to CD but- This is exactly what I was talking about. A rider using sew ups who wasn't prepared or didn't know how to deal with a flat and the remounting of a spare. Perhaps I'm being too harsh, I know clincher using riders who don't have a spare tube or only carry one CO2 inflation cartridge. Andy

jyl

I also carry the sealant but, so far, have not had to use it. I also have a stretched and glued spare tub strapped under the saddle. I've previously had to peel off a ruined tubular and replace with the spare, by the roadside. It didn't take too long.

CastleDerosa

Did not have spare since i was riding spare ..repair kit would include more than i was prepare to bring with me !

CastleDerosa

Preparation has nothing to do with mishaps ..i fix and ride all my sewn ups to date when i changed over to Tufo's since then no trouble with either flats or glue !

Andrew R Stewart 

Lack of preparation has a lot to do with the aftermath of a mishap though. Your statement, if placed into another situation, will have far different acceptance. Lack of auto liability/medical insurance has nothing to do with having an accident. How many drivers and courts will accept this statement? While factual your statement reflects a disconnect between hope and reality. Andy.

noglider 

I once saw a guy sewing his tire at the roadside in Central Park. I don't expect to see that ever again.

hueyhoolihan

if it was the spring of '82, i might have been me.

noglider 

Oh my God, I think it was. It was on 72nd St, near Central Park West. You were sitting on the wooden rail fence, if I recall right. I said, "You're sewing a tire here?" and you smiled and said yes. You looked happy.

hueyhoolihan

MY GOD! is that you dad?

mom said when you left, you just didn't want to be around me and Mikey anymore. we always thought it was somehow, someway, OUR fault. i hope it wasn't because i borrowed mom's sewing kit...

noglider 

OK, now I don't get it. Either you're joking or referring to someone else.

tcarl

Back to your original question. In the only Tufo tire that I've added sealant to I used the "extreme" sealant (I think that's what it's called) which is only for "repairing" punctures, not putting in in advance to prevent them. The tire's held air for two years with it in now. Regarding other tires (both clincher and tubular) I've used other brands of sealant. Over periods of long non-use the tires have lost their air - I've never bothered to keep them pumped up, and as has already been mentioned you can't let the air out without the sealant coming out also. When it comes time to use the tire again I just pump it up and ride it to redistribute the sealant evenly around the tire. They've worked fine for me for years. By the way, I also use the Tufo tape - very easy and works well.

CastleDerosa

Any statement can have different conotation for some or none whether you choose to or not....keep it simple or go to court is of political view !

aljohn

I rode tubs for several years, on both my road bike and my track bike (on the road). Glued them on myself, carried a spare, and when feeling rich, two spare tubs. Repaired them myself and my wife took over sewing them up. Only stopped using them when riding in Spain. Miles from anywhere , no traffic, no people - I got paranoid, carrying two spares just in case. I then changed to wired-ons, clinchers and carry a spare inner tube and a puncture outfit. I read in a magazine where a member of the staff rode a sportive. He had a puncture and fitted his spare inner tube, had another puncture and that was his day finished !
How long does it take to mend a puncture? If you bother to carry a repair kit? Better than spoiling your ride, unless you really must like waiting for the sag wagon. Kids, Huh ;-)

Coal Buster

My friend who rides sew-ups says he does so because he knows he can ride home on them in case of a flat and, in fact, has for many miles. He lives in NYC.