RobbieTunes

You're in Dairyland, there should be some Matrix around, they had a very nice aero tubular in the 80's.

3speed

I might well take you up on that one. Just let me search around locally a little more first. The only thing about it is once I add in the $20 for gas to go pick them up, I might be able to find something in Madison comparable for the $50 or so.

If you don't have any other plans for them, I'll get back to you soon.

sekaijin

3speed, I misread your post and I was focused on tubular tires before. Sounds like you are looking to build up a wheelset. I have a pair of brand new Mavic Reflex tubular rims, 32h, here in Madison. PM me if you're interested ...

3speed

Well, I got a response to my WTB add on CL. A pair of Ukai rims laced to Sunshine high flange hubs for $25. Says they're true. Sounds like a good deal to me, but I just wanted to check with you guys first. What do you think?

Sekaijin, I'm not quite sure what direction I'm going in yet when I do build a set. I should know that soon, though. I'll let you know after I check the rims out and figure out what I want to go for. Thanks either way.

bigbossman 

If those Sunshine hubs are in decent shape, they're worth the $25 all by themselves.

jet sanchEz

My De Rosa came with Matrix ISO tubulars, were these good rims back in the day? I figure they must be okay since the guy had them laced to C-Record hubs and on a De Rosa...

Old Fat Guy

Matrix was the Trek house brand.

Road Fan

I can't say they were light nor had any significant racing palmares, but I have a set of wheels with those, and they just keep going. Sturdy! The brake faces are a little odd - most brakes don't have shoes on spherical mounts, and won't allow the shoes to rotate. One wonders if they were designed for track or TT, but then why did Trek release them?

Still, strong rims.

Road Fan

Do it. You can replace a lot of rims or bearings for the $$ you're saving.

treebound 

The $25 deal sounds like a good deal.

jet sanchEz

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing, the braking surface is really useless. The pads wear in to that shape eventually but it is a PITA. But yes, very strong and I enjoyed the ride they provided.

3speed

Ok, so I got the wheel-set, which are perfectly true and in great condition. The guy was an older gentleman(showed me a bike he said he bought himself for his 60th b-day) and he said he probably only put a few hundred miles on the wheels. I'm somewhat inclined to believe him. They're not scratched up at all, perfectly true, and role nice and smooth.

They also have some basically new, though obviously old, Clement Condor tires on them. Surprisingly the tires aren't cracked, and have been holding the 80psi I put in them seemingly fine. So I was wondering, should I go ahead and get some use out of these? I was thinking I may as well as long as there's no safety hazard involved with riding really old tubulars. The rubber does feel like maybe it's not as soft as it may have once been, but still flexible.

noglider 

I would ride them.

Tom

Bianchigirll 

that is a great question! I have ridden some really old ones this year. sometimes you get alot of use sometimes well not so much. they are worth trying for a few laps around the block.

did you get a spare? that yello jersey susposedly has a good deal on a set of 3

noglider 

Maybe you should stress test them by riding them at 130 psi and hitting some bumps. Tubulars are supposed to be able to take insane amounts of pressure, not that there's any advantage to riding them that way, but you can if you want.

rootboy 

Congrats! Now, if you do get a flat, you've got a spare tire in your back pocket!

Bianchigirll 

OH one really nice thing about tubulars is even when something does go really wrong you can stay upright
this tire must have been atleast 23 yo and I am not sure how many miles it had on it. but after years of sitting unused I got about 40 miles from it. I went about 20 ft after the tire blew and came off

3speed

I do plan to hit up Yellow Jersey for some tires. Like I said, I figure I may as well try these out and get some use out of them if I can, so I'll wait and see how it goes before getting new ones. For now I'm actually not gonna worry about flats. As cold as it is here, I don't plan on going anywhere too far away from town. If I do flat, I'll just carry it or call my girlfriend if I'm too far from home. I don't imagine it's much fun fixing a flat in freezing temps and I'm just doing test rides right now.

3speed

Awesome. That's good to know. Thanks!

I have had a really sketchy moment with a flat front tire that lost all air immediately. Not a lot of fun.

SJX426 

If you have a spare, fixing a flat is simply ripping the flat off and putting the spare on. Faster than fixing a clincher once you get it down. The volumn of air is less too. Check the air preassure requirments. I would be surprised if it was below 100 PSI.

rootboy 

If I do flat, I'll just carry it or call my girlfriend if I'm too far from home.

Another nice thing about tubulars ( I still call them "sew ups" ...the Horror ) is that you don't need to call your girlfriend.
Take a spare along with you. Easy to carry and you'll be back up and running in about 10 to 15 minutes. Enjoy those new wheels!

3speed

I didn't see anything written on the tire except for the name, which is only in one spot on one side. 80 felt pretty good, so that's why I decided on that. If anyone more knowledgeable on old tubulars than me has any advice to air them differently, by all means let me know.

Is "sew up" the older common name and tubular the newer one? That seems like what I'm gathering as I learn about them, but I'm not quite sure.

rootboy 

**** "the older, common name" oh, I'm feeling like a relic here, but I know I'm not alone! "sew ups" is what we old fuggers used to call them because we didn't know any better, but were soon scorned for our ignorance by them who informed us that "tubular" is the proper name for them. Which it is. Tubular, eh? ...as they used to say.

noglider 

In my day (when we walked to school up hill both ways barefoot in the snow), the proper name was tubular and we often referred to them casually as sew ups.

Be sure you stretch a new tubular. Do this by mounting it on a free rim or wheel. Leave it there at least overnight, preferably longer.

And use glue (or that newfangled tape) to put tires on. Let the glue dry overnight. If you change a tire on the road, ride carefully. I've never rolled a tire off, but it does happen.

bianchigirll, what do you mean you stay upright? People fall when they roll a tire off.

Tom

Bianchigirll 

I just somehow was able to stay upright and come to a cotrolled stop. maybe cause the tire seperated from the base tape? I do not know. I did see a kid, well idiot actually, ride half a cyclocross with flat tubulars and a few final laps with no tires