tom25

Like the title says. My first repair went great. I sat in my recliner and took my time. I have to say you get a real sense of satisfaction from the job. It kind of gives you a connection to the old days, when men were tougher than us now. The tyre was a Yellow Jersey Servizio course.

Kactus

What did you use for repairs? Thread, glue, etc.

JJScaliger

Back in the days of Roger De Vlaeminck, when I was just a wee lad, and real men repaired their sew ups instead of throwing them away...

Seriously, congrats!

SteveSGP

Details of the repair? I have a couple of flat Servizio Course's in the garage now.

gaucho777 

Congrats! Its rewarding to get a tubular back in operation. Glad your repair was a success. It's important to check the inside of the casing for any debris that may still be stuck in the threads. Nothing worse than patching a tubular only to find the patch wasn't put on properly or get another flat from the same piece of debris and then have to start over. (Don't ask me how I know.) I've soured on the YJ tubulars, but they are certainly good for learning how to do tubular repairs. I have a pile of tubulars in the garage in need of repair. What did you use to glue the base tape back onto the casing? I've been using Barge cement lately, FWIW.

tom25

As for the details I pulled the tape back to expose the stiching, opened it up with my wife's seam ripper, located the hole, The tube was a vittoria tube, I patched it like you would any tube, It seemed clean inside, so I stiched it up with some pink nylon thread. The base tape was Cemented with some contact cement from Ace. We will see if it holds up to some wear down the road. for now it's a spare.

rootboy 

Way to go. yes, It does give one a real sense of accomplishment, doesn't it? I haven't had to repair one since the old days.
But I still remember doing that first one.

By the way, my eyes widened when I read "pink nylon thread". Certainly hope you used something up to the task.

SJX426 

Congrats! Been a few decades since I have repaired one. The memories are good and I probably will be doing some too. What was the cause of your flat? Puncture through the tread?

tom25

If its not up to the task, it will blow out, and I will have attained a bit of wisdom. All at the expense of a half worn YJ tubular. It's the story of my life's education.

tom25

Broken glass was the guilty party. Hood rats must get a lot of pleasure from breaking bottles on the bike path. I get less flats riding the poorly maintained roads.

Road Fan

Congrats!

I like to re-sew the casing using all the old holes. This helps the repaired tire to run without wobbles.

rootboy 

You might think of trying a set of tire savers on your bike if you don't already use them. I find them helpful.

I haven't had to repair one in decades too. Mostly because I ride my bike with tubulars very little these days.
I fondly remember sitting around the camp fire on a tour years ago, fixing our Clements from the day's ride.
Those were great times. Despite fixing punctures.

photogravity

Great point rootboy. Do you know of a good source for tire savers?

SJX426 

Great lead in Dallas!
@tom25 Buy a pair from Rootboy! He makes and sells them! He has a post in the FS sub forum. In case you haven't seen them they look like this, though these are 40 years old. Note, some let them rest slightly on the tire, which you can hear when you ride, others position them just above the tread so the tire save lasts longer and noise from the rubbing can't be heard.

Ex Pres 

I've only played around with this a little, but my biggest problem is getting the thread tension I would like just right. If it's not uniform, then the tire ends up being just a wee bit smaller in diameter, or that little bit bigger. I'm definitely no seamstress. But on YJs? Mine started out lumpy in the first place, so it probably wouldn't be noticeable on those. But OK for a spare.

The other thing that didn't work was the latex mess I using to reattach the base tape. Maybe the right stuff was available in the old days as carpet seam sealer, but the stuff I got a the big box stores (perhaps that's my real issue) doesn't cut it.

rootboy 

I've never tried latex to re-seat the base tape, Ex Pres, and not sure it ever got recommended. It's not very strong. I used to use the cement that came in the kit, while touring. But I would use contact cement now. A small bottle of either Weldwood or Pliobond, available at the hardware store.

Getting the thread tension right can be very tricky. It's been a while since I've done it, admittedly, so maybe those with more experience can chime in. Using the multi-strand cord that comes in the old kits helps, I think.

As for the tire savers, yeah, thanks fellas. I didn't want to seem too self serving when recommending them.
But they sure seem to help, I think.

1987

When on the subject. Will a tubular tire be useless if the base tape breaks?

SJX426 

Not if it is glued down. My guess is that the base tape provides a cover for the stitching and a better surface to glue the tire to the rim. The key is the adhesion should be better between the base tape and the casing vs the rim.

RobbieTunes

Saves money on tires, and is good quiet-time therapy. It's been years since I even tried, but I simply patched it with one of those little patches and sewed it with the finest fishing line I could find, tied it off and melted the knot. It wasn't the same tension (less) and while I couldn't feel it, I could see it while riding, which made it real. The kevlar thread for body armor is made here, I'm wondering if that would be a good thread.