+1 on no air in the tire while installing it on the rim. I got in the habit of taking fresh tubulars out and airing them up off of the rims, to about 125-140 psi and letting it sit for a few days, the repeating the process 2-3 more times with single days sitting. Then I will work the tire, sans adhesive, on to the rim and allow it to stretch, using 100 psi +/--. Other than these personal habits, Repechage and Salmandrine have it summed up very well. It takes patience, and I had to develop some when I began riding tubs, back in 1979.


Bill

Left it for more than a day fully aired. Let the air out, mostly, and then was able to push it on rim - not exactly centered. Filled it up and will let it sit for a few days. It should have a nice shape then and I should be able to begin gluing.

Stop calling them 700 or 27in. There is one size of tubular. Tubular size.
I don't consider Panaracer tubulars as quality tires. They are cheap. Consider buying from long standing manufacture that has been making tubulars for decades.

Actually, other sized tubulars are produced. Less common but available.

Secondly, some may be confused with such examples seeing 28" or 22-28" labeled sidewall. Vittoria as example.

You may know it as 22mm width by 700 but its goofy to someone not familiar with tires, especially the less common today tubular. I've been in a few bike shops where they've shuttered at the thought of tubulars. No stock, no service / replace, confused.

In reply to Panaracer, they've LONG been making tires (nearly seven decades) including tubular type. The 'natural' rubber formulas from Thailand have been what many seek vs synthetics. For budget, the Practice 270 is decent.

Tire is pre-stretched. On second application of rim cement it appears there is a small opening on side of cement tube opposite cap. I put in a zip-loc bag and squeezed air out but I am a bit apprehensive the cement will have less than normal strength on final application.

If its liquid, it will be fine.

Surprised no tape advocates have spoke up yet. I'm still on the fence about it but I did my first taped set last week and was extremely surprised at how easy and quick it was. Even getting the tire straight on the rim was so easy. I always make a total mess with glue not matter how careful I try to be.

I have done both, albeit once for tape and once for glue.

I did tape first for my first foray into tubies Tufo tape and Tufo s33...... it was very easy to use and the hold was great.... about a 1 1/2 years later I had to take the tire of for some spoke replacement.....it tool a lot of work to get the tire off and it took a lot of the fabric backing on the inside of the tire off with it (tufos seem a bit different in this area than others)

I just did my first glue install.. I was surprised at how easy it was... Challenge elite pro tires, Challenge glue. used finger in glove to spread glue on rim and acid brush to put glue on tire. did the yellow jacket techniqe to put tire on. Had time for adjusting tire. Dont have a lot of miles riding but felt solid. Have no idea as how it will be taking these off... time will tell

both work well, tape is super easy, but gluing is not bad at all

Where in Maryland are you located, Eric?>

Less than 10 miles outside of Baltimore.

Ran into a few problems, related to this being my first tubular glue. I left it to dry on my deck, and there was some debris and moisture out there today when I went to finish. If I had to do it again I would probably let it dry inside with a window open and finish only on a dry day. Also had difficulty getting the tire on the rim. Perhaps next time I would put a bit more air in the pre-stretched tire before putting it on the glue. As you can see from the photo below, a significant amount of fabric is showing on one side, not exactly even. If the glue holds I suppose I will hit cotton on some turns and this will affect traction and cleanliness.

There is some glue on the rim, and a little material stuck to the inside of the rim and tire (maybe small piece of glove). I don't think the material on the inside was enough to matter much. I suppose I should clean the rim and tire with a bit of acetone, Simple Green not doing the entire job. And, if I need to start over, I suppose I could get the tire off with acetone and then try again with just one layer of glue.

Part of the problem could be, related to this being my first tubular and Presta valve, that the valve became bent a bit when I first started airing the tire.

Dude! Start over! You shouldn't have let it dry like that. Try deflating to about 30lbs and see if you can lift and straighten the tire. Try to get the base tape even all around and equal on both sides.
If adjusting one part at a time is difficult due to it "drying" already, remove the tire completely, rest a few minutes, and then reinstall without any additional glue.

I just moved a pair of tubulars from one set of rims to a clean set of rims by only applying one thin coat of glue to the clean rims. They are stuck good.

I used the method where I had applied 2 coats on the rim and a coat on the tire (with lots of time in between) and then tried to mount after a third and thin coat on the rim. The stretch wasn't great and it was sticking right away. Maybe would have worked better if I'd have waited a few minutes after the third coat before trying to mount the tire.

I suppose I'll use acetone, leave the remaining glue on the rim and tire strip if it looks fairly even, use one layer on the rim, wait 5 -20 minutes and then attempt a mount, with either no air in the tire or very little air in the tire.

Naphtha, paint thinner, Coleman fuel, petroleum distillates (all the same stuff) works much better than acetone.

I frequently had “cocked” valve stems until I took care to evenly stretch both sides of the tire.

I try to to get the tire totally flat (zero air) then stretch it on the rim, center the tire before adding air (minimal glue contact at this point) then inflate.

Took me a few times to get it right, so good luck

joe

Happy Memorial Day! Learning a lot about tubular tire setups. Almost got the first one off, but I used a lot of glue and it isn't easy. I imagine I'll get it off, stretch it more, and then get it on nice.

An interesting thing occurred though. I noticed the front tire was out of air. Then saw then the glue had lost hold. So, I took it off, soon learning there might be a problem near the valve, because the tire looked to be in good condition. Seeing that it held air for a little while I applied glue, a different and perhaps stronger glue, Vittoria. Got the tire to set nice but then noticed after a few hours that air had left the tire. Messed with the valve stem a bit and put more air in. Wondering how finicky the tire valve stems are, differences in stem sizes, and where air may be leaking from.

How do you like those tires ?
I am in the market for good mid-priced tubulars.

no a lot of miles on the them yet, but they really ride and handle well. they seem to come in and out of stock

a lot of people like the Vittoria pave which though discontinued seem to be around still at $41 or so https://www.merlincycles.com/en-us/v...yre-92388.html

Thanks !

Looks like my Presta stem is the type that doesn't have a removable core. So, that leaves me wondering about the rim's valve hole. I wonder whether I would have luck using rim cement or tire sealant where the stem pops out of the rim.

If it's leaking air, the tire would need to be repaired, the casing opened and tube patched or replaced.

When a valve stem leans one way, then the tire needs to be moved in the same direction along the rim.
It's the same as when truing the tire, lift it off the rim a bit and work it in the desired direction, then move along the rim evening out the slack in the tire casing, going nearly all the way around the rim so that the tire's tension is equal all of the way around.
Do all this before putting a lot of pressure in the tire.
I don't know if I've ever seen a tubular with non-removable core.

I believe the Panaracers are old-style tubulars with an innertube inside the casing just like a regular clincher except that the casing is sewn to itself instead of being wrapped around beads. You treat the innertube just like any other innertube. Gently. If you have damaged the tube-valve stem joint, just like any other inner tube, it is ruined and needs to be replaced. (Which can be done - you just cut all the stitching, remove the tube, place a new one in the casing and re-sew. Glue the rim strip down and the tire is ready to go. But I wouldn't advise trying this unless you are either a monk who needs to practice patience or a prison inmate with a lot of time to kill.)

So, lesson - be careful with those valve stems. you have far more to lose than with regular clinchers. (Oh, that sealant idea? The air has already left your tube. It will find it's way through the tire casing and the tire's rim strip. You are not going to stop it, no matter how big a mess you create. Now, if I am wrong and those Panaracers are tubeless. forget everything I just said.)

Edit: if the leak in the tube is not at the valve-stem, you are in luck. A regular patch will repair it just fine. The challenge will be finding where the hole is. The valve hole is the easiest escape for the air. The hole can be anywhere. Pump the tire up hard and place it under water. Hopefully you can see the air bubbling through the sidewall in one area. If it won't hold air, fill the tire continuously and run it by your ear and listen for the air.

Replaceable valve stems - BITD, valve stems weren't replaceable. We learned to be careful.

Ben

Soapy water is your friend. Apply some and find out if air is escaping through the valve or through a hole or rip at the base of the valve. Air will on some rare occasions escape through the valve, usually if you didn't pump it up all the way and did not screw the valve closed.

If you want to get crude you can dip the whole wheel with the tire on it into a tub of water, but you risk getting water inside the rim. Doesn't matter if you will pull the tire off anyway.

It's also fairly easy to rip the tube at the base of the valve when you are stretching a tire on. It's important to keep an eye on the valve when you put the tire one and make sure it isn't bending one way or another. Keep it straight. If you ripped the tube at the valve base, you're basically screwed. It's not really repairable, practically speaking, except by replacing the whole tube. This is worth the effort for expensive latex tubed racing tires, but not for cheap or mid level tires.

So let's hope your leak is somewhere else.

I was doing all this sew-up stuff at 14-15 years old in 1974-75. Why are folks having a hard time? Re laced my own rims and used to patch the tubes by redoing the stitches and everything. Heck, I still got the tire scrapers on my 73 World Voyageur.