just out of interest, how does one fix a puncture on tubular tyres??
ta all, paul.

New tire.

One of the rfollowing.

1. You peel the seam covering strip in the vicinity of the puncture (good luck locating it), cut the threads in the casing for a few inches, pull out the tube, patch it, tuck it back in and resew the casing using the original holes and being careful not to poke the tube. Replace the seam strip and reglue the tire.

2. You send it to a commercial service and pay them to do the same thing.

3. As above, buy a new tire.

so if you're out on a ride and get a puncture theres nothing you can do to fix it? surely not. why do people use them then?

Most people don't use them day to day. I like them for racing, where you can have spare wheels in the pit or follow vehicle. I use clinchers for training and would only go to tubulars if that sealant stuff was more reliable than people say it is.

Tubular tires are less likely to flat on the whole, so that might be a reason for those who ride on them all the time.

Riders who use tubulars typically carry a spare tubular tire folded up in their jersey pocket or tied under the saddle. In the event of a flat, they strip off the flat tire and replace it with the spare and inflate it the way you would a clincher tube.

The glue bond isn't as reliable as a new one but the tire is usually held on adequately by the residual glue and pressure.

Cell phones are a required tool in dealing with a flat tubular. Usual
approach is as Hillrider describes. Take curves very slowly in this
scenario as rolling a tubular off the rim is a significant risk, resulting
in instant crash. Use of tubulars makes very little sense for any
one not supported by a team and a Cat 1-2 or Pro level rider.

I've been riding tubulars all of my adult life. Flats are rare and nothing compares to the ride quality. Changing a flat on the road is no big deal and the residual glue works well enough for moderate speed in corners.

I used tubulars exclusively for racing and fitness riding from 1974 to 1999. Never carried a cell phone, never rolled a tire, even on one 55 mph descent into Estes Park on a warm August day (without a helmet, no less). I still use one set for riding my old steel bikes on nice days.

Got and fixed lots of flats, though. If I got one, I used my spare, and if that went flat (rarely), got a loaner from a companion.

My latest discovery is a tube sealant made by Tufo. It works really well on small punctures such as those made by goat head thorns.

I wouldn't go as far as to persuade people to switch to tubulars, but in my opinion the horror stories are grotesquely exaggerated.

"tuck it back in and resew the casing using the original holes and
being careful not to poke the tube." QUOTE.


And talcum powder in the inside casing and tube, lots of talcum powder.

(Baby powder works just as well and btw, use talc when mounting

your clinchers too!)


Regards,
J (smooth as a babies you-know-what) T

This makes me want to switch even more. I have never had a flat on the tubulars I raced on, and figure it wouldn't be much of a problem on the road. It sounds even better if that sealant really works for most jobs. I have seen a person walking home with a flat tubular before, but then again I have walked home because of a defective CO2 pump, so nobody is immune to misfortune.

HI... I have been using tubulars since 1982 aprox. Way faster than a clincher, but i have to recognize that some clinchers feel almost like a tubular. Regarding the USE of a tubular, just glue them fine, put 100/120 lbs of air in there and u'll hav no problems with them.

Regarding fixing them? Well, U can fix them in the road but i doubt u'll be willing to do so. Why? because u have to take remove/cut and unglue the inner tape of the tubular to reveal the stitches, then cut the stitches, then take the tube out, apply the patch as in any tube, put a little bit of air to see if u still have air leaks. Put the tube in again, sew up again, glue the tape. Mount the tubular again. IF yo uare good enough it will take you 10 minutes.

Taking care of the tubualrs tips, Do not put too much air or u'll get flasts right away, do not under inflate them also. Like 120 ls is more than ok.

WHen u get back to your house from training and u kow u'll not use the bike untill nect day, then take the preasure off the tubulars, take some of the preassure out. like 50 lbs, use the eye method , clean them with a wet towell or paper to take all the junk that could be stuked in the rolling band.

This way your tubualr might last you probably 1 year or even more with no flats.

For traning use heavy tubulars all the time, reason? Well a 300 grams tubualr will last forever, second it will perform better or almost the same than the fastest clincher of the market right now. Racing day? put the best u have, but as makes sense the idea is go fast and do not get flats, adive? use a 250 grams tubular to play safe.

Thanks...

Please tell me which ones, because I don't feel as solid of a feeling while cornering on any of my clinchers as I ever did on tubulars. Tubulars transition so much better than any of the clinchers I am stuck on for daily training.

Hi... well the only ones i have tried lately that feel like tubulars are vittoria Zaffiro Pro, i put 8 bar to them just in case. Probably the upper class ones like the open corsa ones fell even more solid. Many people will say continental for sure but since I havent tried them since 1987/90 i cant tell you anything about them now. Back in the day were nice but too much drag. I have tried other brands that i dont even want to mention because they are expensive and last probably 2 months, and to pay 35 bucks eeach month i rather get a vittoria rally that will it last probably the whole year for the same 35 bucks or less.

My advice since u love tubulars? built yourself a set of normal tubular wheels and put heavy tubulars in there. I remember a set of alvarez (argentinan brand), 320 grams each, 25 mms wide. THe road band was made of the same material than the big commercial planes wheels. They last me probably 5 years riding only week ends, I had to trash them because the silk and cotton everywehre was too hard and looked/felt like burned paper you know, I never got a single flat with them. In a matter of fact i still have them in my garage, probably they still can be inflated at 100 lbs w/o any problems.

Thanks.

Thanks! I'll look into those when I get around to getting a set of tubulars again. Although I dread getting a flat with them, I'd be more confident with tubulars on my morning commute down a twisty 4 mile 5% grade at 40+ mph.

Really good clinchers are better than cheap tubulars. The key with tubulars, from what I understand, is the glue. If you do a good job initially, any time an on-the-fly repair is needed, it will still be fine for riding.

Cheep tubulars are worse then worthless.

Do Continental Giro and Vittoria Rally count as cheap or are they decent for daily riding? Of course, I'd race on Continental Sprinter or Vittoria Evo Corsa.

1. Remove tire from rim.
2. Place tire once in garbage can.
3. Glue new tire on rim.

Its like doing abdominal surgery on a snake, and in my case, the patient always died within a day or two of the surgery. Others have had great results w/ patching, I have not.

I've aways trained on Continental Sprinters and raced on Continental Sprinters, Continental Podiums, Vittoria Crono or Corsa.

I have the Continental Giro on a bike that sees little use. They seem ok. The ride might be a little harsh?

I have used cheap tubulars and to tell you the truth they perform way better than some crappy medium range clinchers. In a matter fo fact the tubulars have last me longer.

Americans usually just send them to the trash can but where im from a tubular is expensive so you have to learn to take care of them all the time. I would had love to have an sponsor as continental or tufo to give me free tubulars but so far my dad at the begining was my sponsor so you have to learn to take care of the stuff. Vittoria rally is just ok, it is cheap but if u take care of it as i mentioned a few days a go at least they will last you 6 months w/o a single puncture. Old tubulars are always good as a spare.

Just in case everybody looks like forgot TUFO Tubular-Clinchers, thats a tubular that can be put in a clincher rim. That thing is good stuff, I sold my wheels with those things in 2 years ago, like 1500 miles in them no problems. U have to be sure to put some anti-puncture thing anyways because the tubular clincher cant be repaired. Those things are sealed. How they manufacture them, who knows.

Thanks

The Vittoria Rally is quite decent for a $29 tire. I know of a guy who also swears by cheap Hutchinsons.

By the way, Tufo sealant works only on small punctures. Any hole that causes immediate flatting (rather than gradual detumescence) is probably too large.

Wonderful illusion!

You carry an extra tubular tyre out on the ride with you. I ride with clinchers now but, for many years there was nothing but tubulars. You can look at an old retro pic from the TdF or Giro and see how they can be knotted and carry over the shoulder or wrap them in a brown paper bag and tie them with a strap under the saddle or saddle bag. Another novel idea I have seen recently is the use of a water bottle with the top cut off and 2 tires carried on the down tube.
Repair is not done on the road. If you have a good LBS in town offer one of the people who repair the tubulars a 6 pack of their favorite beer to watch them do it (that is by far the easiest way to learn). Get a 6 pack for your self to drink while you are watching them effect the repair (you will need it for your nerves). I have repaired many a flat on tubulars and found a glass of wine and good music in the background made the experience fun.
Luckily the usual high TPI of the tubulars prevents many flats and they do give a good ride.

This is a joke right?