silent1

I bought some tubulars but am having trouble getting the tires to seat properly. There seems to be a raised portion of basetape around the valve stem that won't let the tires seat properly. I followed the advice from Yellow Jersey, put the stem in the hole and pulled very hard both ways, but it didn't seem to fix the problem. I thought about drilling the rim to let the bump go further in but they said this is a bad idea. Any ideas on how to fix the problem?

Old Fat Guy

Have you tried riding them 'dry' before gluing them? Just carefully up and down the street, enough to see if you feel the bump when you ride?

luker

what kind of tubies did you buy? what kind of rims?

drilling = bad idea...

silent1

I had a set of UKAI rims that I bought as a lot deal from a closing shop. I bought the 3 for $50 tubulars from Yellow Jersey. I put them on the wheel and inflated to about 40psi and left them under the bed for a couple of weeks and just pulled them out yesterday. I haven't tried riding them dry but I could probably do that tonight. When put in the stand there dosen't seem to be a bulge or hop. My main concern is having the tire come loose, I know it's by the valvestem, but I just don't want to go down because of a rolled tire. The mechanic from Yellow Jersey made it seem like this is a common occurence but for some reason I just don't think so.

DiabloScott

I think it is pretty common with new tires, sometimes it gets better with higher pressure. Try pressing up to 120 or so and see.

I really like those Yellow Jersey tires.

silent1

I think they will be fine once I get the tire glued and mounted and put some real pressures on them, maybe take they on a quick straigh line ride up the block after I get them mounted. I was a little excited after I finished the wheels and went ahead and put a base layer on both the tire and rim so it makes solving the problem a little more difficult. I can see a little light reflecting off the rim when I just put pressure in the tire but when I put some weight on the wheel it seems to close the gap and stick. Hopefully the gap closes for good when I glue them properly. Thanks for the advice.

USAZorro

Don't go very far with a "quick" ride on unglued tires. They will creep on the rims, and could put pressure on the point where the valve stem joins the tire. If you intend to travel a couple hundred yards at cruising speed, you should be ok. If you plan to sprint on them though...

Six jours

Inexpensive tubulars often do that, in my experience. The "pair and a spare" that I got from Yellowjersey did, and it's not worth worrying about. Glue 'em and ride 'em.

Dural

Tried a cheap (<$20) Thai Vittoria Rally tire which is ok, but on one of those rare smooth roads I can feel a bump when the valve comes around. I have read that the cheapest Thai tubular tires are known for having that small bump at the valve stem.

Currently enjoying a set of Veloflex Servizio Corse tires. They have a latex tube, which needs air before each ride. The ride quality is great, they go on even, and roll smooth, but they are crazy expensive, 5 times the cost of the YellowJersey budget tires.

I'm thinking of trying the YellowJersey 3-for-$50 deal for my next set of tires.

redtires

I've sure used the old Clements from years ago, and according to the website, they're the same tires. Seeing as these are a relatively good 127tpi casing, I would highly suggest "stretching" the tires before doing a final glue and mount. Simply stretch the tires on a clean and/or dry rim and then inflate them to 120psi or so. If you can, let them sit for a week, preferably a little longer. You'll find that not only will they go on a little easier, but they will sit on the rim better and more true. This is kind of an "old" trick that is not passed around these days, at least not in my experience, as sew-ups are not used as often outside of pro racing.

Henke

I have had a few bumpy rides on cheap new tubulars, and every time the excess material around the valve was to blame.

You could try to smooth the inner edge of the valve-hole on the rim a little, so that it more readily accepts the bulge of material around the valve on the tire. Use a tiny file or something like that. No major alteration, just a little widening of the inner diameter, so that the hole takes on a flared shape. You really want the outer diameter to stay the same.

Couple that with a careful shaving of some of the excess material around the valve on the tire and you should be riding bump free.

I did this on cheapo tubulars, it worked and I have had no problems with them. I was very careful when doing it.

luker

I surely wouldn't notice the bump on any of the roads around here, although maybe you have smoother tarmac. If you ride 'em dry don't turn sharply, and remember that if you ride 'em very far they will "pack up" under any braking. Then you will have a pronounced bump in the tire.

I'm certain that if you glue them right (there was a long thread about that here a while ago), they won't be unsafe (unless, of course, ridden while intoxicated.)

cadillacmike68

I agree just glue them on and ride them. I'm riding the Yellow Jersey servizio corse (supposedly made by clement but in thailand ???), and they are fine so far. And you can't beat the price! If I ever get another set of wheels, I'm going to get another 3-pack of the tires. Here in NE Tampa, FL, the roads vary from decent to rough, but eve on smooth portions, I don't notice any bump.

Here's a pointer for the future. put them on WOTHOUT glue, if they don't fit right, YJ will take them back. They were VERY nice about some other item i bought recently. But, if there's glue on them, they can't / won't take them back.

Road Fan

I agree with riding them dry to evaluate and hopefully alleviate your concerns. I also think that with full pressure and non-severe cornering, rolling a tire is a rare occurrence! Before I had heard better and before I had any good idea how to correctly glue tires on, I rode dry all the time, and didn't always stop at the local gas station to get a high pressure fill-up! I.E, as a silly high school kid! NEVER rolled a tire.

Now that I know better and know how, I always glue tires carefully. Why not if you do know how? But I do remember that the worst case never happenned to me biking in the flat Chicago area, not racing, just having fun.

Don't be afraid, if you don't corner real fast it is NOT LIKELY that you will roll a tire, nor is it likely that the little bulge near the valve will be noticable. 120 psi is a LOT of pressure, and that little shape irregularity will probably disappear after some riding. I've used at least half a dozen Conti Giros, Vittoria Rallys, all the dreaded cheap Thai tire, with no problems or complaints. I do like my Tufos and Vittoria CGs better, but the others are not bad.

my 2 cents based on experience,

Road Fan

silent1

Don't want to keep bringing this up but I ended up fixing the tires. The base tape was overlapped right next to the valve so I peeled it back to see what was going on. There was no cutout for the valve in the tire casing, which is what was causing the bump. I did a little trimming around the valve to the tire casing used some latex to put the basetape on and now the bump has disappeared. I took me about half and hour to do three tires so I think it's well worth it. I do a lot of fairly fast group rides and have a crit race coming up that I will be using these wheels for so I really didn't want to take any chances if I don't have to.

Old Fat Guy

Good luck in the race, you did the right thing. Never alter your rims, if you can avoid it.

yellowjeep

could you post a picture of what you did to the valve?

silent1

I don't have a digital camera or camera phone or I would. I don't know how much a picture would show because I already glued the base tape back down but I will explain. I found where the base tape overlapped, these had about an inch of overlap, pulled back the top portion where I could get to the bottom layer. Pulled back about 5 inches of base tape to get to the valve. Pulled up about 3 inches of tape on the other side so I could lift the basetape over the valve without ripping. At this point you will be able to see that the tire casing is what is causing the problem. Instead of a cutout for the valve they just sewed the casing around the valve, leaving a nasty bump, which won't let the tire get close to the rim around the valve hole. Next, I used a razor blade and careully cut the excess tire casing around the valve. Buy some latex emulsion or liquid latex which can be bought at a hobby shop or costume shop , I bought Tire Life from Yellow Jersey, and attach the base tape back onto the tire.
I just want to add that I am not trying to complain about the tires or YJ in general, they have been totally awesome every time I have dealt with them. I am pleased with the tires and would gladly, and probably will, buy more of the same tires from them. If they need a little extra work it's really no big deal to do this.

Road Fan

Good luck in the race, and I'm curious about the durability of your modification. Please let us know how it survives a few races, ok?

Road Fan