ilovecycling

Hey guys,

So after watching Paris-Roubaix last weekend, I have come to the conclusion that tubular tires must offer some sort of advantage over clinchers.

Up until now, I have always considered tubular tires to be "old school" and never considered them for my own bike. However, now I'm starting to open my mind up to the idea of keeping a set of tubular wheels on hand for special occasions.

The problem is that I don't fully understand all the ins and outs of running tubulars, so I was hoping you guys could help me out with that.

First, I don't care too much about the rolling resistance or corning arguments. I'm more interested in reliability, puncture resistance, and comfort- I assume these are the real reasons why tubulars are used for cobbled classics like Paris-Roubaix.

So are tubulars really the only good option for racing or riding on rough roads? I'm aware that clinchers were ridden to victory in the 1997 Paris-Roubaix, but there still must be a reason why 99% of pros go with tubulars.

I also understand that tubulars can be ridden for a good distance even when flat, which is a nice competitive advantage. What I don't understand is the procedure for repairing road-side flats. I've read in more than a few places that people will carry a spare tire rather than trying to replace the punctured tire. How are you supposed to change a tubular tire on the side of the road when you have to glue it and all that? If you don't completely replace the tire, how do you reliably repair a punctured sew-up on the road? Patches? Thread and needle? I don't get it..

Thanks in advance for any input!

hao

Did you also conclude that Chevy Camaro is the best car in the world after watching Transformers?

ilovecycling

Umm thanks???

topflightpro

Do a search: "Tubulars vs. clinchers" and you will find all the answers you need, plus more opinions than you probably care to read.

ericm979

It is:

*****en' Camaro!
*****en' Camaro!
Tire tracks across your lawn!

merlinextraligh

On the road, you put a spare tire on. The spare should be an old, already glued tire, or if it's a new tire you put glue on it ahead of time.

The old glue on the rim, the glue on the tire, and air pressure will get you home (although you don't want to corner hard on it)

You can repair a tubular, but it's a PITA. First you find the hole, Next you cut open the tire where it's sewn together, pull out the innner tube,and patch it like a clincher inner tube. Then you sew the tire back together.

A lot of people find that to be too much bother, and don't repair tubulars with flats, just replace them. Downside is this gets expensive.

Shimagnolo

Or, just raise your arm, and a car will bring you a new wheel.

Shimagnolo

1. A 25mm tubular puts more distance between the rim and the road than a 25mm clincher, so pinch flats are less likely.

2. A tubular can be ridden flat because the glue keeps it in place, but a flat clincher will be trying to crawl off the rim and leave you with the rim edges on the road.

datlas 

More trouble than it's worth unless you have a team mechanic who will maintain them for you.

Yeah, they are better, but not THAT much better.

surgeonstone

Another option. There are places you send your flat sew-ups for repairs- like 15 dollars apiece.

K.Katso

I've run the same set of clincher tires and the very same tubes for two editions of the Ronde van Vlaanderen (~262km) and one Paris-Roubaix Challenge(138km) on the same cobbled roads. No flats. I do however run a normal pressure and just suck it up on the cobbles. I noticed a lot of guys getting pinch flats which I have to assume is from running lower pressures, so maybe tubulars allow you to do this with less risk, I don't know. All I know is that I don't have a team car following me around with spares, so I have to deal with my own problems. Clinchers make that less of a hassle, but as someone stated earlier you will probably find a lot of differing views and opinions on that.

mkadam68

I've just taken the plunge into Tubular World myself this past week. Merlin states what I found about flats on the side of the road. Basically, I've been told, a flat in any sort of event, and you're done for the day. The replacement will get you home, but slowly & tentatively.

The gluing isn't as all complicated as I thought it would be. However, being new, I did make a bit of a mess I haven't ridden my wheels very far yet (11-miles), so I still haven't learned to trust my glue job, especially in crits (their intended purpose).

I did a poor gluing job on the rear first time, so after 2-days removed it to re-glue. Boy, was that hard!! My thumbs/hands still ache from it.

There is an online source for repairing tubulars. Looks cheap $25 or so.

Last, a friend told me to put sealant into the tire before getting a flat to help prevent them. I haven't done this yet. Maybe soon.

kenl666

You definitely want to do this. I just started with tubulars this year and followed the recommendation. I put one of the little tubes of Stans in each tire.

I was checking my tires after a 200k a few weeks ago and found a big chunk of glass embedded in the tire. Pulled it out, the tire hissed and spurted for a few seconds (note to self: make sure the bike is outside next time ) and the I'll be darned if that stuff didn't plug the hole. It's been a few weeks now and no noticeable leakage, I've even done a few races on that tire

San Rensho 

You don't need sew ups. The main reason to get them is that the good ones (very expensive and fragile) do everything you quote as something you don't need. Main reason sew ups are used in P-R is to avoid pinch flats.

MegaTom

My parents drove it up from the Bahamas.

kleinboogie

Agreed. If you don't care about the main benefits of tubulars then you don't need tubulars.

JohnJ80

I switched to tubulars last year. It was a good move. Here's what I found:

1. I don't glue, I use the tufo pressure sensitive adhesive. Not messy, very easy and the tires are *really* stuck to the rim. There's a video on their website of a guy changing a tubular in 50 seconds. It's easy and quick.

2. I'm getting about 1/6 to 1/8th the flats (or better) with tubulars that I got with good quality clinchers (Vredelstein Tricomp Fortezza). Put another way, I haven't had a flat on a tubular (I use Tufos tubeless tubulars) yet. Same experience with others I know only it was almost worn to the threads, so I can't really blame that on the tire.

3. The ride quality is considerably better. Very noticeable when riding over broken pavement. Before, where it could dicey at speed, it's much easier to control the bike. I'm much more confident on tubulars and the handling is much more predictable.

4. I don't carry a spare tire unless there is no other way to get home or it's a really long ride. I do carry the tufo emergency repair goop that will let me plug a pretty big hole. I also run with the regular tufo goop in the tires. With this stuff I don't have to pump up the tires often either (time to ride is better). I wind up pumping up my tires every 3 or 4 weeks or so. I was quite surprised to see that my tires were darn near rideable after hanging in the garage all winter.

5. If you do get a flat, and you do put on a new tire, even if you don't glue it, it's going to be fine unless you are intent taking corners ala TDF downhills. It's not like you really need to baby it and limp home. Finish the ride and don't be extreme in the corners.

6. It's safer. You can still ride/roll with a flat tubular. You can't do that with a clincher.

One of the big things here is the 1st one - the pressure sensitive adhesive tape from Tufo. You put that stuff on and the tire is stuck to the rim in something like 3-5 revolutions of the wheel. It's really easy to do, it's not messy and you don't need to prepare tires ahead of time.

Watch these videos and see for yourself:

https://www.tufonorthamerica.com/instructions.php#Instr6

This has directions for changing a tubular using the tape, the 50s change out, and some other stuff.

I'm really happy that I made the change. I'm building a new cross bike (gunnar) for commuting and "adventure" riding. It's going to have two sets of wheels - both tubular. One set for road tires and one set for cyclocross tires (32c or so) for trail riding and different gearing.

So, after riding clinchers for years (decades) I'm wishing I'd made this switch a long time ago.

J.

tcarl

I'll second JohnJ80's post. I only do recreational riding, no racing. On a crushed limestone rail-trail nearby I've been riding Tufo cyclocross tubulars for years. The ride quality is wonderful compared to clinchers. Got my first flat last summer. I'm planning on trying Tufo's sealants to see if it works. If so, that tire goes back on the rim. I use the Tufo glueing tape - extremely easy to use.

On smooth paved roads or dirty/debris covered roads I use clinchers. On the rural chip and seal roads nearby I prefer tubulars. Again, much better ride quality! (If you've never ridden them, you don't know the difference!) I Never get flats, and use the Tufo tape - so far (last 6-7 years) it's worked fine on Continental tires along with the Tufo's it's designed for. In terms of reliability, I've never had any trouble, but I only use them on clean rural roads. Puncture resistance - I've had very little trouble - again, I try to use them on clean roads. Compared with 20 or 30 years ago I think the tubular tire manufacturers are trying to make them more puncture resistant. You can still get light racing tires, but I recently found and purchased some Continental Sprinter Gatorskin tubulars with the "anti-cut" sidewalls and a Kevlar bead. Probably not the lightest tubulars, but even at 120 - 125 psi they "rode like tubulars". (By the way, they had excellant instructions for installing - glueing - them included. I used the Tufo tape though.) In terms of comfort...well, you've got to ride them to believe it. Whenever I hear anyone ask why I ride tubulars I always want to say (but never do) "It's obvious you've never ridden them - if you had, you wouldn't be asking that question." If you have clean roads where you ride, get them. If they're clean but rough, get something sturdy or wide (there are some 25mm width tubulars out there).

My only two drawbacks are that I don't think I get as many miles out of the rear tire as I do with clinchers and while you won't get pinch flats, you can get rock bruises. Over the last dozen years I've wrecked 3 tires from hitting large rocks. So if there's any rock on the road, slow down and be careful to avoid them. Speaking of no pinch flats reminded me - they cyclocross tubulars (for the crushed stone rail/trail) can be ridden as low as 30 psi pressure. I usually ride them in the 50 - 60 range, but with 35 - 40 lbs you get a really interesting feel.

A few more points. I always carry a spare or two. Rarely need them, but if you get a flat, you need one. I'm planning on getting the liquid sealant though. If it doesn't work, I'll use the spare, if it does, no need to take the tire off. If you put a spare on - just be careful on the ride back, especially cornering. The glue on the rim and tire (if it's an old one) will provide some bond. I still think the "feel" of tubulars is their selling point for recreational riders' use. You don't have to but the really expensive racing level tires. Check some of the online companies in Great Britain. They sometimes have good prices. I got the Gatorskins from PBK for $42.00 each.

JohnJ80

Yellow Jersey Bike Shop in Madison, WI sells a three pack of tubulars for $50. Apparently they import them themselves.

I haven't bought any yet but I know several guys who this is all they buy and love them.

https://www.yellowjersey.org/tt.html

J.

Shimagnolo

So how tough is it to remove the Tufo tape from a rim?

JohnJ80

Do you mean after you change a tire? Not bad nor hard.

J.

topflightpro

No way! You're kidding me!

Psimet2001 

I have a set of 404's that a team member gave me. Found TUFO under the tires - as they were peeling off. I am 6 or 8 hours into removing it at this point.

I personally have rolled 1 tubular - it was the 1 time I have used tape.

I use and advocate tubulars for racing. The tires are more expensive but they can be saved, and the risk of a flat seems to be less - both from obstacles and pinch flats. The wheels are lighter and actually less expensive - although a couple of sets of tires and you're in the same place cost wise.

I glue a ton of tires. It's no much of a hassle once you have it down. I don't ride them for training or general riding. I understand people like to do that, but honestly - there is no real reason to. Clinchers are perfectly suited for daily riding.

JohnJ80

I believe Tufo tape is specifically to be used with Tufo tires although others have had good success with it with other tires. If you had a tire roll off the rim, then something wasn't right either with (a) how the tape was installed or (b) some incompatibility with the tire. It's not easy to get the tire off the rim when it is properly applied with the tape.

J.

wfrogge

To repair a tubular you peel back the base tape, cut the stitching open, replace the tube/fix hole in tire, sew the tire back up, then replace the base tape (with new base tape if you can find it using a base tape type glue). If the tire is one of those tubless Tufo styles or that crazy conti design with no base tape you are out of luck