Tires arrived today! Just shy of $200 for three Corsa Control G 2.0s. Originally that was the cost of two, shipped, but a rep at Maine Cycles (the Ebay retailer I got them from) told me they had 3 left, two had 'discolored sidewalls', and the third was perfect. After all the issues lately in trying to procure just a single pair of good, modern tubulars, I asked if I could get a pic or two, just in case. He obliged. I really couldn't make out any difference in the pics, and said so, but he held to his original offer: because two were discolored, and only one was unmarked, he tossed in the third free of charge.

These tires feel quality, for real. Nice, thick tread, sidewalls supple, and liberally coated with latex or whatever syn stuff they use today. And, best of all, the embossed tire pressure info (on the rubber tread) and the label both state the 25mm version can take pressures all the way up to 175 psi. Whoo-hoo!

A couple pics - not taped yet, just stretching:





DD

Guess I’m surprised you use tape and not old school Mastic, especially with those pressures.

I rode Cycle Oregon on the 28c Corsa G+ tubs. What a ride! And yes, quality tires! Haven't felt that level of confidence downhill on roads I'd never seen before in many years! No 25 yo testosterone levels needed. I found two goatheads at rest stops. First was a pump and ride 3+ miles slow leak. Second I saw before I took off. I had the mechanics put an ounce of their Bontranger sealant in and both tires have been issue free since.

I love that ribbed thread. I rode many ribbed thread training/club race ribbed treads back in my racing days and the decade after. Took that tread completely for granted. Then it disappeared for decades. Vittoria brought it back on the Corsas. First ribbed tread ride back, I had to ride off the pavement edge on a two lane county road to allow a 70 mph passing Camaro to go by. Got handed the choice of riding into a ditch or climbing back onto the pavement in sand. I choose the pavement, The tires just climbed up through the sand, no big deal. Thank you, thank you, thank you! (and "oh yeah,that ribbed tread always was the best for climbing out of cracks, ruts ... They went a long ways to making those skinny tires ride-able on not very good New England roads.)

Even back in the mid-90s, when I first rode tubulars, I went with the tape method. Good enough for Monty Young of Condor Cycles, good enough for me. Plus, I'd have to think the higher pressure would help ensure the bond betwixt tire and rim.

Never had one roll or creep yet. Pretty sure I can keep that record going, since I'll be using the same tried-and-true materials and methods.

DD

This is good news - in particular, the praises sung regarding the ribbed portion of the tread. Hand on heart, I was never a fan of the look, particularly the straight-up Corsas with grooves across the entire width. But this one, with the herringbone tread edges, is a nice mixture of the two. The channels have me wondering if they'll be magnets for little pieces to get stuck in, so at the conclusion of each ride I'll religiously look closely at this feature. Hearing your experience with the tread has me looking forward to the ride, and I'm going to run without sealant until the same happens to me, then give it a go since you've proved that to be an option. Plus, I have a free spare to pop on in any case

But, really, the main takeaway in handling/mounting them was that they are very well-made, and although they don't seem to weigh all that much, they feel substantial. Does that make sense?

DD

OK, vittoria cement is much sloppier than Clement cement.

I made a mess. All over the sidewalls. What I don't want to do is use some chemical that will weaken the structural element and cause them to blow out earlier than normal.

What would you use to clean off too much cement? Thinner? Goo-Gone? Steel Wool? or just live with it?

Thanks
Robert

You're back from your hacienda.

Such a great argument to use tape instead of glue.

I'd worry that anything which can remove the glue can also compromise and the integrity of the sidewall. I believe you will need to live with it.

Drillium Dude , great deal on great looking Vittorias which can withstand your deep-sea pressures. Such a submariner!

I've no comment on the clean-up. I try not to get too messy. I don't recall if you said how you applied glue, but I'll summarize how I do it without any mess.

• It goes without saying that the tires must already be stretched.
• I use effectively disposable acid/welding/paste brushes — available at your local big box home center (or Amazon)
• I load up the brush reasonably well. On the rim (mounted in my truing stand), I tend to attack four or five spaces at once (never in the eyelets! — a pox on people who do that). Dab, dab, dab, dab, then work back over the four spots with the brush to cover edge-to-edge. A bit of light pressure and the brush fans out perfectly.
• I inflate the tire a bit, just enough to hold its shape, stand it on the workbench and lean it against the pegboard. Again, load the brush up, then drag down the center of the base tape and feather out to the edges at an angle (like a chevron). The first coat soaks up a bunch more glue than the second.

I won't comment much on how many coats of glue to use or the spacing between coats. I generally apply two to new tires (that first coat pretty much disappears). Beyond that, I've tried any number of possible glue coats and set times. It's all good as far as I can tell. While you wait for the glue job to dry after mounting the tire, pump it well up (100psi minimum). The base tape must dip all the way down into the depression in the rim to get full contact from edge to edge. I'm never in much of a hurry, so I generally let it sit like that for a day or two before lowering the inflation to riding pressure.

Thank you kindly for the tips.

Start with a stand! beats fumbling like I do. Hell, and old fork set in a bucket of sand would work.

I did watch the YouTube videos and did the 2 day process. but, instead of ruining a quality paint brush, and it was too late to hit dollar tree for sponge brushes, I placed a rubber glove on my hand and basically finger painted.

Excess on the rim wasn't an issue, a dab of paint remover took it off. The tire, even though mostly inflated was a different scenario. It got sloppy.

I will take your words to heed and start properly prepared.

Yes! And the best stands are the el-cheapos made of stock steel flatbar and shapes. Those bent flatbar feet? Perfect to stand on. Start the stretch of the tire onto the rim with the valve down, hands on the tire a foot or so away. Now the lift and stretch is easy. In fact so easy I have to be careful not to pull too hard and narrow down the valve area of the tire.

And trick - unless you just pulled this tire off its stretching rim, re-mount it onto a dry rim. NOw you know how tightit is and how hard you should pull.

All done, no muss, no fuss. For posterity, I took some pics:













DD

I hope you left a small untaped section directly across from the valve. I makes removal much easier.

Nope, not this time. But I did order a pair of blue-anodized valve caps, and they'll be joined by a set of blue-anodized chainring bolts, because this bike needed just a smidgen more bling

DD

Nice photos! Did you have trouble with the paper backing strip tearing off as you pulled on it? If so, any tips?

Thanks!

The Jantex tape has a plastic backing film, but it is also somewhat flimsy. Once, while removing when I had the tires up to 100psi or more, it tore. Had to wrestle the tire off in the area of the tear (which wasn't easy, even though I'd only taped it on minutes before) to retrieve the torn end, then slowly pulled, with greatly reduced tire pressure, the remainder out. Was a bit of a challenge getting the tire perfectly straight in that section, but I got close enough.

Now, I only put in about 30psi, to get the tire into shape, and to aid in the seating process. I pull one tab of backing film a couple feet, then do the same with the other, alternating until one meets the other. By the time you remove the film, you will have aligned your tires as best as possible, so when it's all out, pump the tire up to the desired pressure, let sit 24 hours.

That's always worked for me. I'll know around noon tomorrow if I got it right again.

DD

And therein lies the rub, light AND substantial, quality and at the same time up to the task, the magical traits that ruled the markets for decades.

Yes, quality, robustness, etc can always be felt to some degree, especially when you have been around as long as we have.

So many things now days come out of a trusted box or package only to find they have mucked up the mix, your heart sinks and you instantly know another reliable, long trusted and revered product will never be the same.

Nice! That frame color, with the jockey wheels, and the bar end plugs, and the rims...I dig it, Dude!

what is your experience with pull a flat off with tape. First tubulars I did were the inexpensive tufo and use tufo tape..... when I went to pull the tire off a lot of it came off with the tape. so I have being gluing since (vitorria glue)

and for others i know a lot that ther are many that like the effroto (sic) tape... same question

thx

My experience pulling flats off is limited to the two Gommitalia tires I removed a couple weeks ago, after the rear blew out - and I decided to find some modern, new stuff. Both tires came off easily enough once I deflated them most of the way; in my case, the rim tape remained on the rim, so I just had to peel it off once the tires were removed.

DD

In my experience whatever glue protocol you follow as to how many coats and drying time, the key to not having a sloppy mess is to make sure the glue on the tire has cured for good while (think 30-60 mins) before you install on a rim with just applied fresh glue.

i generally use two coats of glue on the rim and one on the tire. When I used to use more, excess glue tended to squirm out and discolor the gum walls.

I use Miyata rim tape. My first experience left the tape on the rim. And it was difficult to remove the tire. Second left some on rim, some on tire. Mounted spare and rode home at a slightly lower pace. I now carry a piece of plastic with new tape wrapped on it and a knife to cut it. I leave a segment of rim directly opposite the valve hole untaped. Makes removal a bit easier.

good day fella's: love the thread on tubulars!! I for one have been loving the recent revival for me of my love of tubulars as everyone is jumping on the tubeless train and forsaking their tubulars and selling them like they are junk, which we all know they are quality tyres. Nonetheless, they are all over and very reasonable prices given the quality, and the argument that tubies are so messy..doesn't wash when your on the roadside fixing a tubeless mess of a flat.

Nonetheless gentleman, my question is i use a 1 inch paint brush when regluing tyres and hate throwing the brush away after use, do any of your reuse your brushes and if so what do you do to preserve them?? soaking in mineral spirits or what?? I am not sure what to do but would love to hear advice

thanks!!

I like using these acid brushes - they're too cheap to bother trying to re-use... $10 for probably a lifetime supply.
The mineral spirits to preserve them probably costs more than they're worth, even if it worked.


Before brushes I used the "baggie on finger" method... didn't try to preserve the baggies either.
I also have a syringe thing that works great for filling in gaps.

I've been using toilet paper cardboard tubes that distort nicely to the rim radius. (Or a little more radius so the glue squeezes toward the edges where I really want it. Clean, no cleanup and reusable. Now, that acid brush approach looks attractive. Better control of amounts and thicknesses.

DiabloScott, can that syringe be used later for additional tires? And if so, how do you store it and keep it working? Any neat tricks?

Yeah, but they're cheap and disposable too; both for touching up new glue jobs, and refreshing old glue jobs - not hard to use at all.

It came with a bunch of different "needles" - they sell these things to crafters who glue rhinestones onto shirts and stuff.