Practical to do a century on tubulars?
 

Alright all you old timers :) I know this will be more opinion than hard fact but what do you think of doing a century on tubulars? I know pro racers go 100+ miles but they have a car following them with spare wheels. If I flat I'll either be sitting on the side of the road glueing on a new tire or riding the sag wagon, neither of which sounds all that exciting. What are your experiences?

-Derrick

Used to do it all the time. Toured the coast of California for 2 weeks with one flat. Carry 2 spares.

Is it safe to ride a freshly glued spare? I don't want to tip-toeing gingerly for 50-miles hoping my tire doesn't roll.

Carry a preglued spare or a spare with Tufo tape. There should be no issue. I commute on tubulars through the city (more garbage on the roads) and do over a hundred miles per week and have been commuting for about 6 weeks now.

I rode a century on them in 2005. No problem.

I've been doing shorter 20-30 mile rides on tubulars and have yet to flat, but I do carry a pre-stretched and pre-glued tire with me. Changing a tubular is no more hassle than fixing a flat clincher, but you probably will get more snide comments while you're on the side of the road. :)

Probably not - because you'll be able to change it faster than you would a clincher, and fewer people will have the chance to even notice. :D

+1 on the Tufo tape.

So you have a pre-sowed, pre-glued stretched out tubular with you?


I never thought of that...


I may have to build a tubular wheelset sometime..

Vittoria Pit Stop

http://store.airbomb.com/ItemDesc.asp?IC=LU3400

I have done most of my century rides on tubulars carrying only 1 spare. No problems. Have a pre-stretched, pre-glued spare. If you flat you just mount the spare, No need to glue. In fact you don't want to use any fresh glue as this may cause your tire to roll.
Read the "Totally tubular" thread on the C&V sub-forum.
Try it and you will like it.
Gerry

Wow, This is great! I did find it cheaper on a quick Google search, under $10.

From a press release:
Furthermore, Vittoria's Pit Stop aerosol fix-a-flat is claimed to be the only solution of its kind for a high-pressure tubular. Adding only 18 grams of expandable latex to the tire, the Pit Stop instantly inflates a narrow tire to 90 psi while filling leaks (other than cuts). You can continue to ride the tire, so this is not just a temporary fix; in fact, CSC's mechanics filled all of the team's tires with Pit Stops prior to Paris-Roubaix this year (and won the race). One note, though: the gas in the cylinder is propane, and being highly volatile, will all bleed out overnight, so you'll need to pump the tire up with air the next day. With a Pit Stop, a rider need not peel off or throw out a flat tubular; he or she can be back on the road immediately and can still wear the tire out before replacing it. And a triathlete in a race using either tubulars or clinchers need not carry a spare or spend the time to change a flat tire.

Has anyone tried this Vittoria Pit Stop? I did my first shake down run on my PKN with tubulars tonight and it rode great, but I need to prepare a spare if I plan to ride it anywhere other than the park near my house. I was planning to get some more of the tufo glue and an extra tubular tire, but this Vittoria Pit Stop sounds like it would be easier to carry...does it work?

I wouldn't. Nothing ruins a nice century more than trying to properly glue on a spare tuby while green head flys are buzzin' all around on a hot day. You're gonna flat sure as Hell.

The CSC Team has tried it, with apparent success.

Sweet! I'll try the Vittoria Pit Stop.

Stretching is overrated, IMNSOH.

If it's pre-glued, how do you keep the glued surfaces from adherring to each other while the tire is in your saddle bag, or wherever?

Road Fan

So fine, this Pit Stop should work for nail, thorn, or tack sticks, but isn't the main issue in tubular flats glass cuts? If Vittoria Pit Stop doesn't work for glass cuts, how can it really help us? Marbe the right question is, how big a hole will it fill? Sounds like a great idea, though!


Road Fan

Stretching overrated? Maybe, but I'll inflate my new tires on an old rim prior to mounting anyway.

As far as the glue goes, it is totally dry so you just fold 'em up. Wierd, huh?

Road Fan: You obviously have little to no experience with tubulars so why are you posting about them?

What do you do when you get a glass cut in a clincher?

I've found that I can usually rub off road debris with my gloved hand while riding. I've done this countless times without injury to myself. Glass usually cuts after it get embedded, not immediately. At least that has been my experience in riding mainly tubulars for over 20 years.

"Stretching is overrated, IMNSOH."

Hmm, sure as heck makes it easier to get the tire on the rim.

"If it's pre-glued, how do you keep the glued surfaces from adherring to each other while the tire is in your saddle bag, or wherever?"

After the glue dries you fold the tire in half and half again until you need it. The glue dries pretty rigid.

Best tubular folding technique: http://picasaweb.google.com/DiabloSc...ngATubularTire

http://lh5.google.com/image/DiabloSc...ding%20006.jpg

I get more flats on sew-ups than clinchers... I don't know why but I do. Most of my flats on all tire types are cuts and thorns, very few pinch flats. Haven't tried Pit Stop but I've used Seal & Flate, and Presta Seal which do pretty much the same thing and do work. Once you get the stuff in there it keeps on working so you don't need another can. I do use a pump instead of CO2 for tubulars though because most of my tubular flats are slow leaks and I can just keep topping them off.


Never done a century on tubulars but I wouldn't say no.