Originally Posted by
Fox Farm
This was what I was about to say! Tubulars take a lot of criticism as being a PIA to mount, etc. BUT, the wheels can be 200 grams lighter, the ride is better, and from my personal experience of riding tubulars for 15 years, often as my every day wheels, I have had 3 flats in total. I have considered tubless but the issues that the OP listed have kept me from doing this. Just purchased a set of Boyd 44s in carbon tubular to replace my old and worn out Rolf wheels.
Hey, great minds think alike.
I went *back* to tubulars about 5 years ago. I keep detailed records on bike maintenance like a good OCD cyclist. I get about 1/6 to 1/8th the flats I got with clinchers. The last several tires I've had on the bike have gone down to the threads and were replaced without ever getting a flat. Flats are just a non issue with me now. If I do flat, I carry some of the Tufo extreme sealant to fix the tire and get me back home. If I'm riding with no one around to help me from home, I carry an extra tire in a Arundel pack that is pretty aero and pretty petite. I've never had to use the extra tire yet.
I can change a tubular about as fast as I can change a clincher. It's pretty simple especially with some of the tapes that are out there. I've used Tufo tape for years but recently switched to Effeto Mariposa's new tape that comes off perfectly clean from the rims and is enthusiastically recommended by Leonard Zinn for even cyclocross usage. For tires, I run the Tufo Tubless tires with some sealant in them. It's just so easy and there are so many less problems than with clinchers plus the ride is better, I don't have to worry about a flat and the tire coming off the rim and getting caught in the frame, and the an Aluminum wheelset is about the same weight as a carbon clincher wheel set. What's not to like?
J.