Originally Posted by
Fiery
Tubulars resist pinch flats thanks to latex tubes they typically use. Tyre and rim geometry are less important factors. Guess what? You can get latex tubes for clinchers too.
Even if you don't flat the tyre, bottom out one too many times and your rim is toast, especially with carbon.
Nope. The reason why tubulars are almost impenetrable to pinch flats is due to the rim profile. Look at a tubular rim from the front: it has rounded profile. No sharp edges. The clincher rim has two hooks that are (obviously) required to hold on the clincher tire bead. These hooks are sharp, hence the pinch flats. In addition, these hooks add weight at the worst possible place on a bike (rotating mass at extremities) and they are fragile.
Listen: the entire problem with clincher wheels comes down to these rim hooks. The extra weight, the fragility, the pinch flats, and blowout safety issues. If you could get rid of the hooks, you'd have a perfect rim profile. Which brings you directly to the tubular rim profile.
BTW: I was riding for the last 7 months on 22mm tubulars. Of this, at least a thousand miles was over packed gravel - not a single pinch flat. No flats at all actually, due to 20cc of Stan's sealant injected through the valve cores.