kudude

just to be contrary

caloso

CDR has an excellent blog post about gluing tubulars. I'll see if I can find it, if he doesn't pop in here first. Here's the takeaway: stretch 'em good, use plenty of glue, and be patient.

lukasz

I've read CDR's post, and also found this very helpful when gluing some CX tubulars: https://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum...che-10244.html

It isn't hard at all. I mean, it is just glue. Read up and do it.

I bought some Vittoria pave tires a few weeks ago that have somehow not reached me yet. Very much looking forward to riding them.

logdrum

If you are overheating your rims on a road bike , you need to work on your descending skills. You are braking too much.

kudude

you're not wrong, but as was mentioned earlier, that's a whole different discussion

fly:yes/land:no

+1. incidentally, i have read second hand that indurain used clincher fronts on tdf descents in order to keep from overheating the glue. if anyone has a primary source indicating the same, please post.

veganeric

For those who haven't seen it.

milliron

Holy **** that was amazing in slow motion. What a recovery.

caloso

Is there any glue at all on that tire? It looks to me like it was just thrown on and pumped up. I thought only triathletes did silly stuff like that.

obiwan kenobi

Just spent nearly the same for Vittorias, glue and labor as I paid for tires for my vehicle. Tubulars are not for the faint of heart or poor racers....

ciocc_cat

Sounds like you got suckered. Gluing on a sew-up (tubular) tire takes practice and a bit of patience, but it certainly isn't worth $50. I've been gluing mine on since the mid-1970s. My first attempts were messy but now I can do them with just one beer and they look "catalog-photo perfect". HINT: make sure you mount and inflate a sew-up on a rim without glue and allow it to stretch for at least a few days before attempting to glue it on. It will go on a LOT easier that way.

Patching a sew-up is another matter - we're talking three beers. I only use patched sew-ups as spares.

Psimet2001 

Funny....I was about to update my twitter and facebook statuses to acknowledge that I am starting to miss that familiar Mastik One buzz. Thanks to some banter earlier this cross season I euphemistically refer to it as "pink elephant time".

Tubulars can be glued - very easily - as long as you pay attention to WTF you are doing.

If you aren't a patient person, if you're the kind of person that doesn't really have attention to detail or patience then skip them. If you aren't willing to glue your own tubulars then DON'T ride them. Not saying you can't have others glue them for you just that you should be able to glue your own. If you are unable to do that then don't ride them unless you are OK with the idea of hitting the ground and never holding any else responsible. In other words man up or go clincher.

Tubulars are nice. Supple. Different.

Clinchers today - there's little to no difference unless you are a discerning rider. Everyone is different and people will have their favorites.

My $0.02 - when it comes to carbon - tubular setups are just much lighter and less complicated. As a result I tend to feel like they are better made.

So....where was this going?

between tires I would throw out that Vittoria Corsa EVO CX II 320 tpi and Veloflex are the 2 in play. Everything else is a training tire or just not there.

Psimet2001 

Oh - tips on gluing....best one ever is one I picked up from reading something that Lenard Zinn put out there this fall. Everyone knows to stretch tubulars before you glue.

......but.....he advocated actually going back and restretching the tubular after glue had dried on the base tape. Just momentarily and right before slapping it on the glued up rim.

Of course this requires that you have an additional tubular rim around. Luckily I always do. I can tell you that this simple step just seems to string it out enough to allow for GREAT positioning (remember I mostly glue cross tires) and easy final mounting. The results have been GREAT. Best tip I have never read about...

MajorMantra

Could you use a clincher rim for final stretching? I'm sure I remember reading something about doing that somewhere. I'll be doing my first gluing in the not too distant future. I've drunk the Corsa Evo CX koolaid btw FWIW - I really like the open tubular version so I want to try the real thing.

Psimet2001 

I race on Vittorias.

I wouldn't use a clincher for final stretching. Just slap it on without a final stretching. The final stretching helps but not "required".

briscoelab

Some carbon clinchers are very susceptible to warping under hard braking. Even Edge had this problem with some of their clinchers, but the tubulars hold up perfectly. It's because the walls of the rim are often so thin at the braking surface. Tubulars don't have that issue.

As for melting the glue, that is possible... but you'd have the produce VERY high temps all the way across the tire seating surface (which is relativly far away from the brake surface. Sure it can happen under extreme circumstances, but is high unlikely.


For tires, don't go too cheap... you'll lose the whole benefit of going to tubulars in the first place if you get $hitty tires. Vittoria Corsa CX, 23mm are a solid choice that is fairly durable. Get some FMB's if you want something really nice

Oh yea.... please, please, please, don't use Tufo tape. Learn to glue yourself or pay a shop to do it properly.

fly:yes/land:no

maybe for you, it isn't worth $50. but, gluing a tub requires the glue, expertise, and manual labor, three things that a lot of people here are short on. plus, throw in the peace of mind (if you have chosen the right shop) that you aren't going to roll your tire. not to sound like an elitist, but $50 is a drop in the bucket compared to what many people here spend on bike stuff.

p.s. how did you keep your beer cold for that long?

MDcatV

you're doing recreational riding. i would sell the tubular wheels you just bought and use clinchers. the inconvenience of tubulars outweighs any benefit for recreational riding.

KendallF

Just a sorta-related FWIW...the Gigantex sourced carbon clinchers that Psimet sells have a special brake track that is lower on the rim sidewall, and is slightly raised, presumably because they're putting extra heat conductive material in there. I have ridden them down some killer descents, including Hors Category mountains in Spain and France, without issue.

lust4bikes

Thank=you! This is the answer I was hoping for!

iab

I love those Criteriums. Nearly the finest tire I have used. I only get about 2K miles from the rear tire and you need a bit of luck to get them under $75. I'm trying the Challenge Strada right now. I only have a few miles, but they seem to be another good choice. I'm thinking about the Veloflex Roubaix at 25mm. Maybe I am getting old but it seems the fatter the tire the better. I briefly rode some Dugast PRs at 27mm. Those were like butter.

ciocc_cat

I can still glue two sew-ups on in under 20 minutes. I apply Panracer cement evenly to both rims, allow to dry about 10 minutes (consuming beer in process), then roll my (pre-stretched) tires on. Then again, I used to work in a bike shop and I've only been doing this since the mid-1970s. I guess experience counts for something, huh?

veganeric

fify

thirdgenbird

ive been thinking about this for my firs set of tubulars (gluing practice) before moving to veloflex tires. do they roll pretty smooth? they are going on my lugged steel bike so i really want tan sidewall tires.

the other option is Schwalbe Milanos. any input? i have a NOS continental triathlon but cant find a match...

xg43x

Vittoria Rubino Pro's or Conti Sprinters, very nice...