Fred Smedley

Are you suggesting solvent is better? It is never necessary to take all the glue off.

merlinextraligh

I don't trust many people to glue tubulars. Its not an everday thing at most LBS's, and a lot of kids working in bike shops don't have a lot of experience doing it.

There's only two mechanics at my LBS that I would trust to glue a tubular.

Hence, you're likely safer learning to it yourself right.

The process is really pretty simple, albeit a bit time consuming: Pre stretch the tire by mounting it on a rim without glue; put a light layer of glue on the tire, and a light layer on the rim, let dry, preferably overnight; repeat with another layer on the tire and rim, let dry again. Put a light layer on just the tire, wait a few minutes until its tacky; roll the tire on the rim, center, inflate, wait 24 hours; check by pressing on the sides of the tire that you've got a good bond all the way around; go ride.

roadwarrior

Watch and learn...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY7polDoW1c

No doubt it will take a nanosecond for a bikeforums thinktanker to tell us Zipp guys do not know what they are talking about.

When I was racing and a tire was being replaced, all the glue came off unless we were on the road and didn't have time. Once the rim was back in the shop it all came off every time.Your mileage may vary.

LesterOfPuppets

Wire wheel in the drill works pretty well on alu rims. Wonder if that's too aggressive for crabon...

roadwarrior

Pretty much got it...pre stretching, make sure you inflate the tire. I am sure you meant that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93-ND_wX-UU

79pmooney

Another "Remove the old glue? What???" guy. Granted, I haven't ridden sew-ups for 20 years, but I did my share. Always considered the first glue job suspect. Never felt confident until I pulled a tire and the glue stayed firmly bonded to the rim. Then it was one coat, tire on and ride around the block at about 100 psi very gently. Good to go the next day. And on-road changes? Did them dry, rode the first 5-10 miles carefully and the tires were always decently bonded when I got home. I don't recall ever putting glue on the tire itself. Raced criteriums, Vermont road races and did all the rest of my riding on that setup for 20 years. Had adhesion problems twice. Once with the old tape before I started gluing and melted the glue riding down Mt Washington. Learned about the glue when I burned my hand when I blew my front tire and puled the wheel.

Ben

StanSeven

Anyone that spends time here and carefully reads their posts understand that Merlin and Roadwarrior know what they are talking about. You can either accept or blow off what others say here, but when one of those two say something, it's right.

I <3 Robots

This is pretty much my process. One layer on tire...one layer on rim. Wait about 30-40 mins for the glue to dry a bit...then add another layer onto the rim...mount tire immediately. Let sit overnight.

I used to do the Zipp way where they use three layers of glue on the rim and tire. I have found that when doing it that way...I was not physically able to pull the tire off the rim. The shop gorillas had issues pulling off the tire. The Zipp method requires 3-4 days to mount a tire? I've never seen anybody do that.

I've had my tub 404's since 2012...and I've been through multiple tires. I have yet to remove any of the glue. So far there are no lumps when I'm rolling.

I've seen lots of real poor glue jobs. I mean...there is so little glue on the tire. One guy came in after rolling his tub...destroyed his carbon rim. It looks like the guy used three long brush strokes of glue on the tire and mounted it.

TriEngineer

cool, then you are fast

hueyhoolihan

so Monday first layer on tire and rim, Tuesday second layer on tire and rim, Wednesday third layer on tire only then mount tire, wait until Thursday to ride? how long to pre stretch?

if the LBS goes through all that OP, IMO, $120 ain't enough.

OTOH...

after having abandoned the use of tubulars in the early 80's i recently built up a set, and after reading all i could about tubular tire mounting, i decided due to the amount of controversy between glue and tape that any preference was most likely due to the cyclist's first experiences, to try the tubular tape. it took all of 40 minutes to mount them.

i've had zero trouble. and when mounting a new tire, i used a rag dipped in kerosene to clean the rims in five minutes. i then retaped and mounted the tires in about 20 minutes. it couldn't be easier.

big chainring 

$120 to put some tires on your bike, yikes.

I've ridden and raced on tubulars for uh 40+ years. 3m Fastack trim adhesive. Glue and go. Takes maybe 10 minutes a wheel. And you can ride them 10 minutes after you mount them. I never heard of this glueing the tire, glueing the rim, drying over night crap until I read it on this forum.

I just bought Witcomb frame for $120. My god, mounting tires for $120, thats insane.

mattm

A little late to the party, but I just got some tubulars glued and it was $60/wheel fwiw.

The shop does a good job, it saves me time/trouble, and I'm not broke. So it works for me!

bitingduck

It's just not a problem.

I've done hundreds of track races on all kinds of tracks and could easily go through 3-4 sets of race tires per season and never had a problem either. You don't have to put tons on in the first place, and then you just need enough for the old glue to soften from the new solvents.

K.Katso

You don't have to go through all that. I use the method on the little paper tag that comes on Vittoria tires



Tire manufacturer-recommended method, and you can ride them safely the next day.

Road Fan

I like the Vittoria method, too!

The labor time should be maybe 30 minutes per tire at most. If the mechanic labor rate retail is $100/hour and there are two tubes of glue at $6 each (just a guess), then $120/hour is plausible.

But, I do my own since I learned how back in the '70s.

merlinextraligh

You can do it with one coat on the tire and rim, and one coat on the tire to mount.

The method I summarized, though, is pretty time honored, and spelled out by other manufacturers.

See, e.g., https://reynoldscycling.com/uploads/...ular.tires.pdf

Personally, I'll take the extra time, and extra coat, for a little more peace of mind.

big chainring 

And to some people $120 for a seat at a ballgame is no big deal. Its a class distinction. I would never let my bike be touched at bike shop. Heck I do the brakes on my car because the shop charge is ridiculous for such a simple job. But thats the difference in the economic recovery. And the new bike culture reflecting economic class.

gsa103

Why ride tubular if you're using tape? Tubeless or latex tubes both have lower rolling resistance that tape.

K.Katso

Oh I'm not arguing with you, that is the tried and true method, but to the previous point about having to wait so many days to ride - you absolutely CAN ride them the next day. If you do want that extra peace of mind and you have the time, there's no harm in an extra coat.

t3c9

Call other shops in your area and take the average of what they would charge.

woodcraft

Wut?

SevenTwentyNine

Ridiculous, I live in NYC which is too expensive and it's only about $40 around me to glue it - that is if you bring your own tubular. You're getting swindled.

StanSeven

I don't see economic recovery or class distinction having anything to do with bike or even car work. Most people work on bikes or cars because they enjoy it or think they can do the job better.

Even with cars you can usually find repairs that won't cost much more than doing it yourself - a moonlighting mechanic, someone who does repairs out if their home, a tech or high school, etc. Most do it yourselvers are doing it for reasons for other than solely economic.

SevenTwentyNine

This. When I first got my bike I'd always hover over the shoulder of the mechanic at the LBS when they were doing anything with it so I could learn it for myself. Not because I was looking for a way save money or cut the LBS out of the picture but solely because I really enjoy the idea of working on my bike by myself and being able to just do it on my own. There's just a thing about creating something with your own hands that can't be explained only felt - and it's a fulfilling feeling and nothing related to money in this case.

So I watched, asked questions, and learned the basic I could and months after getting the bike I had amassed my own set of tools, work stand etc and now do a bunch of little stuff on my own too.
Besides the specialized tools that are only practical if you're working on multiple bikes I have a good collection going to do the most basic repairs.

Minion1

I'm one of the shop rats that glues Tubs regularly and we charge about the same. I'll clean glue off if it's different to the glue being used, (especially Tubasti) and do 2 layers over 2 days. The reason it takes so long is so that the semi-pro riding the wheels won't roll a tub, come back to the shop and trash us for not gluing his tyre properly. As well as making sure the bond is good, we have to make sure the wheels are aesthetically perfect, glued straight and not lumpy to roll on - as nice as it would be to slap them on in half an hour and ride them, it does take more time to glue them right and clean up any excess glue. We glue for track and road, and some of the track riders are big units, so we have to make sure the bond is as strong as possible because of the extra strain (heavier riders, higher speeds, banking and rough tracks) so we throw on more layers. They tend to be happy to wait, and also tend to be quite organised (not turning up the day before a race to glue tyres - more like re-gluing before the season starts) to make sure we do a good job.

TBH it's a time consuming job and I'm happy to sell people glue and tubs and do it at home - less liability for us, increases the skill and knowledge of the rider, and means people are accountable for their own kit. Just don't take any shortcuts and if you're using glue, use the same brand and more layers is better.

TL DR; if you want it done right, and you want a shop to do it, you gotta pay.