Heard today at my LBS:
 

"Tubular tires? NObody rides those anymore!"

I had ridden my Raleigh over to see if they could get the stem and seatpost unstuck, and to give it a tune-up while I was there. The kid in the shop (probably 20ish) hadn't ever even seen tubulars.

I responded with "yeah, but nobody rides Reynolds 531, downtube shifters, non-aero brake levers, freewheels or shellac'd cloth bar tape anymore either, yet this bike has it all."

I also asked if they would order in a set of clamp-on downtube shifters for my early-70's Peugeot. Younger kid hadn't heard of Peugeots either...it'd probably blow his mind to show him the textured rims on that thing.

Time to find a new LBS, maybe?

It's the only one in town. The other one I could go to (30 miles away) carries one. single. steel. frame. not even a bike, just the frame of a Pake track bike. I asked them if they had natural colored cork tape, and the guy actually scoffed.

My only other option is one in Indy, but I would have no idea where to start there...

Reminds my how lucky I am. Great local shop 6 blocks away. Vintage bikes vintage rock vintage owner. And the 19 year old kid fixes the stuff I cant.

I bet all they sell are carbon bikes to beginner riders and compact race geometry frames to people looking for a casual roll around the park. I'm beginning to dislike the "new" LBS model and do all my own shopping and fixing when I can.

Try asking for OURY's instead. :lol:

-Kurt

Vintage rock? aren't most rocks vintage? I think they predate the old bikes with iron frames and wooden rimmed wheel, right?
That's gotta count as vintage (although perhaps it falls short of 'classic').:p

Don't ever leave kid-wrenches near your vintage Pug. I can see the kid trying to hammer-out the "lumps" he found on your rims (used to have those myself), and wrap your handlebars from bottom-to-top - with the ubiquitous glob of electrical-tape. And you don't want to know what he'd do with the square-tapered bottom-bracket. :eek: :D :eek:

I know next to nothing about racing, but even I know tubulars are still used by professional racers.

Thing is, if I was that particular 20-something (Since I'm just 20 myself) you all probably wouldn't think twice. Then again I love C&V, am proud to be fred, and treat other peoples bikes like they're my own. *sigh* My generation annoys me...
-Gene-

Where do you guys find these people? I have never had an experience like this, although I also do not own a vintage bike(yet*). But who do these people get jobs if they have such poor customer service skills?

If you're the only LBS in town, you can be a pretty big jerk and still do OK.

Probably thought that Peugeot was some sort of European car or something :roflmao2:

I had never heard of tubular tires until I started posting here. I still don't understand why anyone would use them. I've never seen them in the flesh, as far as I know. To me, they are just so much bike snobbery.

They just seem like a lot of bother for minimal benefit. And for the kind of riding I do, no benefit at all.

I guess my point is that I don't think it's all that unusual to find someone who doesn't know about them, even someone who works in a bike shop.

Don't be too hard on the kid; just ask for the QBP catalog and find what you need.

Unless they own the bike store most mechanics will eventually decide to get a job that pays better. You are going to be more and more hard pressed to find anybody that has any vintage knowledge. There is hope though Performance bike still has Tubulars on the shelf.

Learn to do it all youself. The cost of a tune up will buy you the basic tools you need to get started.

You can't expect a mechanic to treat your vintage bike with respect if he perceives it as old, obsolete junk.

I know how to do it all myself, but I don't have a bottom bracket tool, so I can't pour ammonia down the seatpost to loosen it, and don't have a "third hand" tool to help with brake adjustment. Besides, it's a small, non-cycling town and the shop almost never has anyone in there, so I try to frequent it when I can. $35 to loosen the post and stem and give it a once-over is a deal, in my book.

Besides, I can't exactly say that the entire store is like that. The owner did say that nobody runs tubulars anymore, but then regaled me with stories of him racing on a Raleigh back in the 80's and what a great bike it was. I trust him, and another guy that works there. This *****clown's specialty is BMX and mountain bikes (apparently) so I should probably cut him a little slack.

As far as not being too rough on the kid - I'm 24. Before getting back into riding, I hadn't heard of tubulars either, but this store services and sponsors triathletes and crit riders (you know, people who use tubulars), and I've seen the guy for about a year - you'd think he'd have seen one before that. And not knowing what a Peugeot is? They were what, in the top five bike manufacturers in the 70's? Seriously?

If I still lived in Dallas, I could show you. Then at least you'd know what they are and have some minimal basis for your opinion.

I thought your point was that they are just snobbery. How do you even know on your own how much trouble they are, or aren't? Or what benefit they might offer?

I didn't address the tubular issue...

I just glued my first set of tubulars a couple days ago and was riding (carefully) on them within 20 minutes of starting the swap. This is with both tires. Now, with 120 psi, they're impossible to move on the rim. As far as roadside repairs, pull the old one off, put the new one on, ride away. No messing with tire levers, trying to fiddle with getting only one side off the rim, dinging up the rim with the levers, breaking levers, etc.

Easy and hassle free. Also, as far as flatting, I need to post a picture of my rear tire. completely inflated (100ish psi), there is a section of sidewall near the valve stem where the top layer has pulled away, and the bottom layer is separating. There's about 1/8" of tube showing, and I rode it like that over normal roads and breakdown lanes (gravel strewn, broken glass, etc) for 10 miles to get home from work one afternoon, and it still holds air. Pretty impressive to me.

Riding on them at 120 psi is great - comfortable and fast. It's like you can coast uphill. Completely, 100% different from any clincher road bike I've ridden.

Tubular tires aren't ridden anymore because they are not affordable or good quality. Its a labor of love. A real PIA...Cheap sew ups don't have any merits. Cheap clinchers are straight and easy to mount.

Flatting a tubular is great if you aren't riding down any steep hills or in the rain. The benefits of sew ups are a subjectively better ride. I have thought I noticed a better ride but after wasting tire after tire I gave up. It would be nice if local bike shops would be willing to order bulk sew ups at a reasonable cost for a buyer wanting them.

In my old catalogs I see ads for 15$ silk tires and 8$ cotton tires. Adjusted to inflation these tires still don't cost 100$ of today for a good tire. I'm hoping there will be some sort of invented tire where you can unzip and throw a new tube in, re glue it back up. You'd think there would be someway to do this.

shocking news - its summer and the shops need extra help. Not everyone is a fiend about bikes like you are. Heck, most shop employees I see don't even ride all that often. Do what another person mentioned and just ask for the QBP catalog.

I love quoting myself to prove a point. It's just like having a REAL conversatioN!