Originally Posted by noglider

OK, now I don't get it. Either you're joking or referring to someone else.

Originally Posted by Coal Buster

My friend who rides sew-ups says he does so because he knows he can ride home on them in case of a flat and, in fact, has for many miles. He lives in NYC.

Originally Posted by LesterOfPuppets

Not recommended on carbon rims. Not very fun on aluminum rims.

Originally Posted by Coal Buster

But impossible on clinchers.

Originally Posted by Andrew_R_Stewart

A few observations.

-Placing the valve at the very top of the wheel will let any goop in the valve stay there. Placing the valve at about 4 or 8 o'clock will let any sealant drain from the valve 9assuming the tire is filled less the 1/4 full).

-Lot's of sealants have a shelf life, or a in the tire life, of about a season. Some will tend to harden and cause clumps that roll around in the tire. I'm not sure that I would want old goop in my fancy tires.

- There's a basic goal involved here. Using ultra light and nice riding stuff. At what cost does one get to have the "good stuff".

-BITD we had 70psi gum walls or sew ups. Those who wanted to go fast learned to deal with the hassles of the more flat prone sew ups, or they went back to clinchers (actually wired ons, but that's another topic) as they were then. As clinchers evolved they got lighter, narrower, higher pressured and now their performance can come close to that of good sew ups. But still human nature prevails. Some riders want the "best" but not the cost of dealing with it.

I tell anyone who asks me about riding sew ups that they need to think about how they deal with their bike first. Do they look forward to tinkering with the bike every week or so? Do they replace parts before they're worn out? Do they do this themselves? Do they accept hands that don't clean off without serious chemicals? How sensitive to odors and solvents are they? All these questions are because I don't feel that anyone how rides sew ups should have others (shops) do their mounting/gluing. Why do I say this? because sew ups are not any where as reliable or flat proof as clinchers are (with the possibility of impact flats being the exception) and if the rider can't accept the chance that 1 in 4 tires they buy (and have a shop mount) will not hold air after a few rides then they are the wrong rider for sew ups. Remember that once a tire has been glued on a rim all warranties are invalid.

So there's my triad about sew ups. I got my first set in 1973. For a long time my only road bikes were sew up fitted. The last year I rode them weekly was 2009. Andy.