noglider 

I started riding tubulars in about 1977, and people said they were obsolete and insanely inconvenient then. People say the same thing, and people still ride them. I haven't ridden them since about 1983, though.

sciencemonster, you've had too much advice on clincher tire care!

Never use tire levers for putting a tire back on. It's an almost surefire way of pinching your tube.

Find steel tire levers. The rest are crap and cost more.

Develop callouses on your hands. It becomes easy after that.

KtotheF

I can totally relate to the frustration changing clinchers, but I've noticed it varies from tire to tire, some take 20 minutes of fighting, but some I can change literally in 2 minutes flat. I think it's the difference between the wire bead type and so called folding tires, which have a bit more stretch to them.

sekaijin

Yes and no.

Yes, it's true: tubulars are more expensive to run than clinchers. But: if (like me, and the OP's friend) your starting point is a vintage bike with tubular rims, that changes the math. Cost of running tubulars can be reasonable compared with spending to convert to suitable clincher rims.

So, 3 ways I've kept down the cost of running tubulars:

1) the Yellow Jersey 3-for-$50 deal. Maybe the quality is not on a par with more expensive tubulars, but I've found it good enough to make them a great value. And they hold air really well, unlike more expensive tires in my experience.

2) Tufo sealant. Several times I've put this in tubulars with small puncture flats and it has "healed" them. And I always put it in my newly mounted tubulars to prevent flats. Can't prove if it does, but given its proven flat-fix powers, I believe it does. A 50ml bottle for $10.95+shipping is good for about 3-4 uses, either for prevention or repair.

3) Nobody wants tubulars, so there seem to be good deals out there. Darn it all, when I was looking for wheels to do the 700c conversion on my LeTour, I was all set to go with clincher rims. But what did I find on CL but a 1980 wheelset with nice tubular rims (an Araya and a Mavic) on Campy Record hubs, for $20. Now how do you say no to that!?!? Then a friend gave me several NOS (but still good) tubulars he had no use for.

I know #3 sounds random, but my point is: even if you're a cheapskate like me, fate can conspire to keep you on tubulars!

noglider 

By the way, I found that dental floss is an amazingly strong thread, and the waxed kind moves through the holes very well. It's cheap, too. It's all I ever used. I took a three-month tour through Europe back in 1981, and I ended up sewing my gloves back together with dental floss, and it held better than the original thread.

sekaijin, you're right; you can't say no to wheels with Campy hubs for $20. That's a dangerous fact because it could get me back into tubulars. Nooooo!

Road Fan

Use the Force, noglider, come to the tubular light! You are a lifer!

Year back I got a roll of upholstery thread to use in my Speedy Stitcher. About three bucks 25 years ago, and I still have it.

Road Fan

For me too! I don't like looking over my shoulder. With tubulars I KNOW when a repair is reliable.

Road Fan

Texas version: all hat and no cattle.

cudak888 

All cruise and no sprint.

-Kurt

lotek 

Guys, lets not cast aspersions on Batman, this is after all C&V and not the road forum.
Maybe he has a good reason to have not chimed in.

I don't own any clinchers, and have had no problems with tubulars. I get more than
my money's worth out of the tires, whether they're Servio Corse or Gommitalia Espressos.
y'all need to go old school, learn to wipe tires (if you don't have flint catchers) and avoid
the debris field on the side of the road.
I agree that repairing a $25.00 tire doesn't make sense, but for 15 or 16 bucks it does make
sense to send better tires to Tire Alert in Florida for repair, or learn to repair em yourself.

but, I digress. I totally agree Clinchers are WAY better, cheaper and technologically more
advanced ( they have carbon fiber too!). Y'all need to convert your tubular bikes to clinchers
and then put those unsafe tubular rims on ebay and craigslist for $25 each. I'll buy em every time.

Marty

trueno92

hey scott, rallys are decent tires to start, but when you get the itch, step up to the nicer tires out there, you will not be disappointed!

however, if you seldomly ride > 20miles/h then its diminishing returns, but from the experience I had with rallye's they roll really nice from the higher thread count, but at anything with speed, they had a tendency to feel like garden hoses at times..

cudak888 

Yes, he can't back himself up

J/K, of course.

-Kurt

noglider 

I found the tire alert price page. Hmm, maybe I should get into this business, too. I need as many sources of income as I can get.

Road Fan

Marty, please be my partner in my new commercial venture, SSHDUTT, the Society for the Safe and Humane Disposal of Unsafe Tubular Tires.

Road Fan

Apologies to Batman! Didn't mean to become personal. We would still like to hear your thoughts.

Road Fan

you must have seen me ride ....

cudak888 

You? How about me? I'm feeling the pain after 10 minutes on the trainer in the 42/19.

-Kurt

Chombi

I heard that the worst, most unsafe tubular wheels are made with anodized gray, 32H Wolber Aspins with butted SS DT spokes and Maillard/Spidel 700 Professionel sealed bearing hubs. Send those to me pronto, if you guys ever spot them and I will personally kill them under my PSV!!!
Get me all the NOS you can find of them before they can multiply and kill more bikers.

Chombi
84 Peugeot PSV

sciencemonster

You know, now you guys got me started. I think I'll start saving my flats and repairing them for something to do while I watch movies. It will beat darning socks.

Just one question - how do you find the leak? Isn't it like finding a roof leak by looking at the ceiling? It could be anywhere...you don't cut the whole thing out, right?

noglider 

When I was on my European tour, I had a month of getting one flat every day. I am serious. I was staying in youth hostels, so my evening ritual involved sitting in the common room with other young folks, drinking insane amounts of tea, and repairing my tire. They thought I was odd and quirky, which I was (and am) but yes, it can be somewhat relaxing, especially when you've got it down to nearly a science.

Finding the leak CAN be difficult. Occasionally, the leak is in one place in the tube but the air escapes from another part of the tire, but it's not common.

Oh, and when I started riding tubulars in 1977, it was already common by then to scorn people for taking on the expense and agita of tubulars. The exception was that if you raced, there was no choice. Now there is a choice for racers.

Chombi

"Hisssss''....or underwater bubble test in sink?

Chombi
84 Peugeot PSV

devinfan

I ride rally's all the time because they're cheap and they come in red. However, I have had the same "issue" with every single one of the rally's I've bought, and it's been quite a few over the years. They do settle down, but ONLY if you A) make sure you glue that area Particularly well & B) Pump them up super hard right away and roll the tires mounted on the bike with your full weight pressing down on the tire. This is in my limited experience anyway. Anyway they're pretty nice riding tires, for the price. The bigger issue is their irritating tendency to have the base tape start to peel away from the tire after a month of riding - again - ALWAYS.

KtotheF

ride them with your full weight right after gluing the tire? isn't that a no-no?

SoreFeet

Cheap tubular tires suck...They are lumpy, difficult to mount and not worth it. Expensive sew ups are easy to mount and ride good.

I don't think it is appropriate to say that a 20$ sew up is going to ride better than a 20$ clincher. The cheap clincher tires are almost always straighter than cheap sew ups.

The Yellow Jersey 3 for 50$ is a not a good deal. Tread life is poor. Punctures occur frequently with the cheap Yellow jersey tires.

A good tubular tire is going to cost you 80-100$. I don't see any practical value in riding tubulars. You can get a comparable ride with an "Open tubular" design. The main advantage of tubular tires is the rim design. The lack of having a hook bead for the tire to latch on to makes the rim less likely to develop hops or flat spots.

A tubular rim can take a few nicks and dents and still spin true but a clincher will likely develop a hop or two. Sew ups are a nostalgia thing for the most part.

Those who like tubular tires are okay with timely puncture repairs. Some like tubulars because they can afford higher end tires. The greatest flaw in tubular tires is lack of good tire sizing. No tire over 23MM can be had for under 50$.

I also noticed that the basetape would start to peel easily. Stretching a tubular on a rim can be very difficult and damn near impossible. I had difficulty getting inexpensive sew up tires to mount without damaging the basetape. Side to side motions against the tape while trying to mount it can cause basetape separations.

I feel it is appropriate for restoration bikes or race bikes to ride sew ups. I see no practical merit in riding a tubular for daily use. Some argue that riding a sew up tire is more easy to repair on the road than a clincher.

I glue the hell out of my tires and it is never easy to remove the tire without breaking some glue with a tire iron. There should be no reason to glue a tire leaving some spots flat for easy removal. This is an invitation to disaster.

I'm no tubular expert but I can't feel the benefits of riding a sew up. I found that there is a better feel to the road with sew ups but it is probably subjective.

delicious

noglider: if you wanted to do the forums and myself a huge favor, i'd love to see a write-up with pictures on tubular repair. i've had very little luck with it myself.

noglider 

There are no pictures on the web?

I just read Jobst Brandt's article on how to do it. It's on Sheldon's site. But there are no pictures there.

I haven't done it in years, but I'm sure I'll remember how just fine. Someone want to send me a tire to repair?