Will Goes Boing

I'm quite new to road biking, and stupidly jumped on the ebay/china deep carbon wheelset bandwagon without doing much research. I accidentally ordered the tubular version instead of the clinchers and right now I'm contemplating about whether I should just keep them or exchange them. I'll be taking a pretty big hit on the shipping charges if I opt for the exchange route since I already paid $65 for the initial shipping, now I have to pay another $65 to ship them back and I'll have to pay another $65 for the new set.

I did some research on tubulars and it seems like even though it's a lot of work, they offer a lot of advantages. If I do keep them I plan on running the continental gatorskins and if I can go for months without a flat, it might not be such a bad thing. The only thing I'm worried about is if I start getting flats every month, the price of buying new tires would murder my wallet.

I ride about 50-80 miles a week, and eventually plan on racing. What do you guys think? Keep them or just bite the bullet and exchange?

aramis

I guess you could hold onto them if you want to race in the future or just cut your losses, return them and just ride whatever whatever you have now. I've found out after riding for a while that having "ok" equipment and not worrying about it and just riding makes it easy since the differences in equipment past a certain point don't amount to much. Plus you can figure if you're ever racing and coming in near the top, you can get fancy equipment to maybe help you win. If you go race and are in the back, the fanciest bike in the world isn't going to help.

50-80 miles a week is one ride for a lot of recreational riders, so I'd worry about riding more. I have a quick 1500 ft climb and turnaround I do as a TT test for myself and I beat my best time today on my aluminum bike I bought for $600 with regular unfancy wheels vs a $3000+ carbon bike I used 6 months ago. The difference was I've been riding more and with groups.

hueyhoolihan

if i was in your shoes, i would just accept them, buy the tires and try them out. it never hurts to have a real life experience to back up your preferences. hearsay is weak IMO.

fietsbob

IDK about Carbon Clinchers. Ive stuck with Aluminum,, as a tubular rim has the tire pressure
contained within the tire, the rims are able to be lighter.. even the old aluminum ones..

resell them locally is what I'd suggest . you can knock off$50 and still come out ahead of the return shipping

or buy a few sew up tires to get a feel of the traditional race tires ..

Jandro 

Return them and get something more sensible.

terrymorse 

Other than a modest weight savings, there is no advantage to tubulars over clinchers.

Get rid of the tubular wheels.

Ice41000

It seems that tubulars are your destiny.
Try them out.

gsteinb

I wouldn't ride tubulars on a day to day basis. It is possible to have tires repaired (tire alert), but they're expensive. There are clear performance advantages of tubulars but I know I certainly don't need those advantages on a day to day basis and reserve my carbon tubular wheels for race day. Getting out and home with the least amount of aggravation is what I seek from an every day wheel set.

Homebrew01

Maybe they haven't shipped yet ?
I advise against tubulars in general and think most people are better off without the extra hassle. I always race on them but use clinchers for training.

thehammerdog

Buy some tires and slap them on....then ride it.Whats the big deal? Tubular's rock the ride is great but cost is the issue. Enjoy

datlas 

Too much of a hassle ESP for a newbie.


Return.

garysol1 

The last thing a new cyclist needs is something thats a huge hassle and tubulars are just that. Gluing and mounting tires can be a very messy affair and carrying a spare tire around with you takes up quite a bit more room then simply carrying around a spare inner tube for clinchers. You could carry a can of sealant around instead of a spare tire but if the punture is big enough the sealant will not work. My suggestion is to ditch the tubulars before you open a big can of headaches. Again there is nothing wrong with tubulars but learning the basics of cycling and your equipment can be overwhelming enough as is.

echotraveler

Thats unfortunate. Id take the loss...but return for a refund. Ride what you have for some time...save for the right wheeslset.

Cheers,

FLvector

There may be a few advantages with tubulars, but the disadvantages far outweigh them. You'll see many racers use them for weight savings and better performance, but they are usually their extra set of wheels and not their primary. Most don't ride on tubulars for recreational rides or even training. The first flat will convince you if the can of leak stop fails. Changing a flat with clinchers on the road is a breeze. The initial mounting/gluing can be a nightmare if not done properly, and it will cost you to have them properly mounted. I'd return for clinchers, bite the bullet and try to read more carefully before the next purchase.

LowCel 

I know that there are people out there that ride tubulars on a daily basis, I'm not one of them. I love my tubulars for race days but for day to day nothing beats the convenience of a clincher.

merlinextraligh

+1 on saving tubulars for race day.

If you are going to race, and you have a decent set of wheels to use now, you could go ahead and keep the wheels, and use them when you do race. That decision actually comes down to time value of money versus the shipping cost.

rpenmanparker 

I tried tubulars back in the '80s when clinchers were still not cool. Much hassle. Valuable if you need them, but too much trouble if you don't. I agree with the resell approach. Knowing the China Ebay business model, I think it could take you forever to reverse the sale and get paid back. And your shipping costs back (with insurance) will surely be higher than you paid to get the tires to you. Make sure to feature the comment, "Shipped from the USA (or wherever)." in your sales pitch on Ebay. That ought to attract customers who want to avoid problems similar to what you are experiencing. The slightly lower price will also help.

Good luck.

jwill87ta

My concern with "china carbon wheelset" clinchers would be that they are of the 1st generation design and will not properly dissipate heat, leading to rim/tire failures. Especially in a new rider that is inexperienced in how to effectively slow the bike down.

Tubulars may not be the best option, but given this possible risk, it may be better than clinchers.

Aluminum is probably your best bet for now anyway.

kleng

I ride tubulars all the time, just get a tubular with good puncture and cut protection (vectran belt) e.g Conti competition and gp4000. The more expensive tubulars have latex inner tubes which improve the ride and puncture protection, Putting a heavy tire like a gatorskin on a tubular rim kinda of defeats the purpose.

I love the comfort from a tubular and you'll notice the rotational weight saving from the lighter rim . I use Tufo tape to mount the tubulars and have never had a problem, it takes about 5 minutes to put the tubular on but it's difficult to get one off. I carry a small bottle of Stan sealant and have only needed to use it once in 3 years

Ferrous Bueller

fify
I'm in no way suggesting that our young friend keep the wheels, but let's at least be honest about why others ride them.

Will Goes Boing

Thanks for all the responses. It looks like the majority are saying to not use tubulars on a day to day basis. There's a local race coming up this weekend, so I'll go there and try to see if I can sell the wheels to somebody there. If not I'll try my luck on craigslist for another few days. Worse case scenario I'll either just keep them and save them for when I start racing or ship it back and cut my losses.

rpenmanparker 

Kleng, that is very interesting. I have always agreed with what you say about the ride quality improvement of latex tubes, but I was not aware of the puncture protection and actually thought the opposite all these years. Would you mind saying more about this, please?

ultraman6970

If the wheels are for campagnolo and you want to sell them, send me a PM.

Will Goes Boing

Sorry they are Shimanos.

CrankAndYank

Tubies for racing, clinchers for training.

Burp.