jim hughes

Who rides with tubulars and has had experience changing them on the road?

I'm riding an older bike with tubular rims. I'm using 'training' tires with Kevlar, and I used the Tufo tape to mount them. They've held up for quite a few miles, but of course the day will come. I am wondering if it's even worth carrying a spare. Has anyone used this tape and successfully changed out a flat? If so did you use any tools?

Henry III

It's only hearsay but I heard the Tufo extreme is a nightmare to get off while the standard Tufo tape is roadside friendly. I just use conti glue as the Tufo tape is a bit rich for my blood now matter how easy it is to do.

jim hughes

This is Tufo standard tape.

ciocc_cat

Since I began riding tubulars in the mid-1970s, I've only flatted once: during the Cullen-Baker Road Race in east Texas in the late 1980s. So no, I've never had to change a tubular on the road. Nowadays if I had to switch to my spare on a ride, I'd just rely on what little adhesion was left in the old rim cement combined with the tight fit of my new spare tubular to limp home. If that fails there's always my cell phone . . .

Ex Pres 

I carry a spare, folded in the diabloscott way, and have changed out tires twice on the road. One was quite worn, the other I ran over a sharp rock and knew instantly it wasn't good. It did take a little while to go down, however.

I use glue, not tape. Changeout is quicker than a clincher flat. I do carry one tire iron from a Park multitool. It can help get things started.

gmt13

I have rarely flatted. I use glue and find that it is still sticky enough to trust adhesion until I got home. Just don't try taking corners wildly. I have never used tape because I have never really trusted it - no reason, just irrational concern.

-G

rootboy 

Regular glue, carry a spare.

ultraman6970

Tape is good stuff but it sticks too much in my opinion. Specially if you need to take the tubular off the rim. As for flats, I agree with the previous posters but at the same time u have to take care of the tubulars too. I know I'll get some eyebrows but anyhow.

Some stuff u have to consider all the time:

1 that the tubular says u can put 150 pounds of air in there doesnt mean u have to do it, usually between 80 and 110 is more than enough.

2 as much air you put in the tubular the faster and harder it gets. BUT. as much air u put the more chances to get a flat u get, the reason is because a tubular is like a balloon, so if you have the bad idea of putting like 150 pounds of air for sure at the 1st sharp pebble the thing will blow up, and it will be useless maybe forever.

3 This is something I do even with clincher and since 1981 I have gotten maybe like 10 flats, always take the pressure off the tubular if you are not going to use the bike for a couple of days, people say that the valves leak blah blah, what if it doesnt? The reason I say this and that I learned the hard way in 1983 maybe was that tubulars tend to expand, the constuction is natural fibers and cloths so kind'a help to take at least 50% of the air off the tire to avoid the problem. Left 2 panaracers tubulars with 100 lbs for 3 months stored, when I went to use them looked like 40 mm wide cx tires, dumb kid, dad almost killed me because were pretty expensive. Learn the lesson. When i was racing I was getting form a training 250 grams tubie maybe a year this way and I was retiring them after 18 months because they were more than used.


good luck...

jim hughes

The tape costs money and is maybe stickier than necessary. But using a wicked solvent to remove old glue is no fun, and applying new glue is messy and tedious. I thought the tape would be easier to manage. Yes, the cell phone is the tool of choice for dealing with tubular failures.

Ex Pres 

1. you probably don't need to remove the old glue, it gets activated by putting new glue on it, but if it's really dried out then
2. wire (brass) wheel on a cordless drill if your friend, and
3. I use my finger in the corner of a baggie. It's really not a mess at all.

due ruote 

I'll go with the general consensus. Glue, not tape, carry a spare. I very rarely flat, and hardly ever on tubulars.

horribleoldman

I use tape, and am also a fan of the tufo tubular tire sealant, use in conti sprinter gator skins no problem. 1/3rd bottle goes in the tub when it is first installed.

Gary Fountain

+1

I rode for many years on tubulars - still do - and I think glue is the way to go. I have had many punctures and when I 'flat' I just pull the punctured tubular off and stretch the replacement on. I pre-glue my spare so it attaches to the rim, which still has glue on it, and check the adhesion when I get home. Occasionally I have found a replaced tubular that doesn't need re-gluing as it has positively adhered to the rim on the ride but usually I have needed to re-glue the replacement tubular at home to achieve a secure grip to the rim. I carry a tube of glue with me and use it if I think the replacement tubular is not going to be safe to carry on riding on.

As stated before - be careful of corners but I have never had a tyre roll off a rim when I have replaced a tubular out on a ride.

Fixing the punctured tubular is quite a job but it can be done if you have the time and inclination.

RobbieTunes

I used the Tufo Extreme on Tufo tubulars, and the roadside change was about 5 minutes. The tape stayed on the rim, and it pretty much held the spare in place.

When I repaired and re-installed the original tubular, I re-used the tape. I'm not running crits or anything on it, and it's been fine.

I thought about pulling off the tape to install new tape, but the idea of peeling off $14 doesn't appeal to me any more than installing another $14.

I concur that de-inflating the tires if you plan to let the bike sit is not a bad idea.

As easy as it was, it wasn't something I'd like to make any kind of habit of.

jim hughes

Were you able to pull it off with your fingers?

lotek 

I use glue. I absolutely refuse to use the Tufo tape.
Let me start by saying it's hot here, air temps over a hundred daily,
road temps probably in the 140 degree range. The tufo tape (not extreme) that
I had on one set of wheels melted into a gooey sticky mess that picked up as much
road debris as it could hold. cleaning the old tape residue was a nightmare, talk about
harsh chemicals.
I contacted Tufo about it and was told by Tufo North America that the regular tape
was formulated for cyclocross use, not road use. If you're going to use Tufo on
the roads and it's anywhere near hot use the extreme tape.
I've only flatted once in the past 5 years, pulled off the tire, put on new pre-glued
spare and was back on the road in about 10 minutes. The majority of the time spent was trying to break the tire off the rim and pumping the new tire up.

Bianchigirll 

I have never used any of the fancy tape and spray glues, nor do I routinely 'preglue' a tire for a spare. usually the only difficulty I have had putting the spare on on the road, getting the flat off. I have put spares on and ridden lots of miles after forgetting or being too lazy to reglue them.

I have noticed that for some reason the clear gues like Continental do not seem to have the same stiction to the rim as the old red Clemment glue. on new wheels I often see largish spots of glue coming off the rim.

DiabloScott

DiabloScott likes this.

Regular glue, carry a spare, and an old metal tire lever.

rootboy 

I'm late to this, may I ask what is the DiabloScott fold?
And Bianchigirll, nothing stuck like the old Clement gutta.
Wish they still made it.

JohnDThompson 

Lately, I've been using Tufo tape. I find the "extreme" tape easier to deal with than the regular, but I use non-Tufo tubulars. My understanding is that the regular tape is designed for Tufo's tires, and I found it very messy and difficult with non-Tufo tires.

I use a tire iron to lift the tire off the Tufo tape (slide it completely under the tire and then work it around the circumference of the rim, leaving the Tufo tape on the rim). A spare tire will readily adhere to the tape on the rim allowing a safe ride home.

IMHO, the Tufo tape is much better than the old Velox/etc. tubular tapes back in the day.

ciocc_cat

I fold my spare tubular so it fits neatly into my late 1970s Burley Designs tire sock:

When someone on the Road Forum saw this photo, he asked me if I was carrying a banana under my saddle.

DiabloScott

Instruction photos here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/1081129...ngATubularTire

LBS usually has Continental glue... works great for me.

gomango

Thank you for posting this for us.

I am pleased to notice that I have been doing this correctly for the last thirty five years.

rootboy 

Yes, thanks for posting! I've apparently been doing it wrong for the last 35 years. This is much more compact than my "standard" fold. Thanks DiabloScott.

edit: wait a minute. That is a triple fold, no? I'll practice it.

rootboy 

with as few flats as you seem to get Ciocc Cat, you might as well carry a banana under there.