Actually, 220 tubulars are probably not in the same category as popular road clinchers like GP4000S IIs. The comparable tires IMO are a wash. 270 g tubulars like Vittoria Corsa CXs vs. 205 g clinchers plus a light butyl tube at 72 g = 277 g. Hardly any difference. 220 g tubulars correspond to a lighter category of clincher that very few people ride day-to-day.

As for the wheel weight savings, I think it is less than 200 g for the pair. At comparable rim width and depth the tubular rims don't weigh 100 g less each than the clincher rims...unless you compare carbon fiber tubulars to aluminum clinchers, and that isn't very fair.

Nope, this all gets back to "what's the point", and the point is it is what I want to do. On one wheelset on one bike. Carry on.

add, 6)flat on a sewup isn't going to kill you
7) you can ride on a flat sewup, in a worst case scenario.

& yes, they do ride that much nicer. & the weight difference is noteworthy.

I look for vintage rims or NOS. If I were to build up a modern set I'd go with something like ENVE carbon rims. They have a great reputation & warranty.

And price. Don't forget what a great price they have. I mean bigger is better, right?

I built a 998 g pair of low profile (20 mm deep) CF wheels with Chinese tubular rims from ebay for about $500. You can't even buy one Enve rim for that. Too rich for my blood.

I built a chinese rim also. It has a bumb in the braking surface which pusles every time I brake hard. My pockets aren't deep but, I'll go with quality over quantity where I can.

This times 1000.

Sorry to hear about your rims. Mine are perfect. The true definition of quality is getting what you expect in a product or service. On that basis my rims are the highest quality I could buy.

ENVE SES 4.5 is right at 200 grams difference (198 actually) for the pair on their website when you switch out the tubular rim for an all carbon clincher.

The difference between Zipp 404 firestrike tubulars and clinchers is 225 grams. So approximately 200 grams is a fair estimate for comparable tubulars and clinchers.



The open sidewall, and hook bead is always going to be heavier. (although lower pressure MTB tires are starting to go hookless which allows some weight savings and a stronger design.)

I rode tens of thousands of miles that way. You can even buy a special seat bag. No different than carry tubes and tire irons. The seat bags that I used carried two prelude tubulars.

Seriously, it isn't. I ride with a guy that still uses tubulars and has a very nice looking tire bag. I'll bet most people don't realize he's carrying a tire under the seat.

Ridden the last few miles home on sew ups a few times. The longest was over 6 miles.

JANND Tire bag II is smaller and less obtrusive than a lot of seat bags people use for spare tubes.

http://www.thetallcyclist.com/wp-con...d_tyre_bag.jpg

Used to have one but left in behind somewhere on a trip.

Old toeclip strap works fine as well.

I've finished the last kilometers of races on a flat tubular. When its too late in the race to get a wheel, it beats losing minutes you'd have to wait for support and change a clincher.

or a velcro strap. all are good options. Often, i'll fold the tire & put in my center pocket with the pump.

Back in the 80s, Cannondale made a nice one. That's back when Cannondale was a cycling bags and rack manufacturer. :)

Hey man, I was just using your numbers. You said 200-300g. It was later posted in this thread that clincher + tube of the same tire (GP4000SII) is about a wash. Most wheels of the exact same model are under 200g lighter, for a pair. That's less than half a pound. They just sound like a pain in the ass to me.

Don't tubulars also reduce or eliminate the possibility of a pinch flat? I don't know other people's experience, but I would guess a third of my flats are pinch flats. My former group was very bad about calling out obstacles, and I have ridden blind into more potholes than I care to count.

1) Ok
2) Ok
3) It isn't 200 each, it's 200 TOTAL
4) whatever you say
5) Not trolling

Awesomely ol' skool is what it is. That was a common site back in the day. For years I rode with an older gentleman who rode tubulars on his Richard Sachs and carried a spare under the saddle. Nothing inconvenient about it. The interesting thing was that in maybe 7 years of riding with this guy he only got one flat.

Some people definitely like to argue.

You carry Pit Stop and a spare tubular. Also, with a clincher, what do you do when the cut is so large it can't be booted? Answer: Call a ride.

Not to split hairs, but according to Fairwheel's site, the difference in the Enve rim weights is 100 g for the front and 54 g for the rear. But my first inclination was to say 200 for the pair as well. I suppose that is a reasonable approximation in general.

Dumb question for people who ride tubular- I see recommendations for carrying a spare pre-glued tire. As someone that has never dealt with these before, how can a tire with dried glue stick to the rim when you're replacing the flatted tire? Do you also carry a small tube of fresh glue? How long does it take to set while on the road?

You don't get great adhesion. Go slowly in sharp corners until you get home and can glue/tape on a new tire.
If it's a small hole, sealant may work instead of swapping tires.

So if you do have to swap tires and you're on a ride with lots of fast descents, would you just take everything at half speed in case the tire gets rolled off due to weak adhesion to the rim? That seems like a pretty big compromise compared to a new tube and CO2 cartridge worth of air in a clincher. Not saying tubbies don't serve their purpose, just genuinely curious how people deal with flats.

"Back when" we trained on tubulars a spare (or two) was carried under the saddle, always a worn or repaired tub relegated to "spare" status.
It was faster to replace a tubular on the side of the road and inflate w/ a Silca or Zefal frame pump than it does today to change a tube and mess around w/ mini pump & CO2.
For a training ride there was enough gutta adhesion on the rim bed and on a pre-instaled spare to have no worries keeping in mind to not play full-on Crit racer.
It was what it was and we dealt with it as part of operational SOP.
Race wheels were/are safer as tubulars since a flat can be safely ridden out of the field and onto the verge to wait for support and a wheel change.

It's refreshing to see a question posed about hardware use that one is un-familiar with rather than a strongly worded "opinion" on hardware one has no experience using. :thumb:

PS: "10 Speed" meant 2X5, gears didn't index, low was 42X21 and we trained on tubulars. Somehow we got along just fine..............

-Bandera