Tubulars for JRA
 

Seems like a lot of folks here selling their tubular wheels.
Based on what I've read here, not sure its something I wanna try.
Tires are also kinda expensive.
I have two road bikes running 25s, but lately I've riding my other bike with 32s.
I ride a mix of pavement, sidewalk and MUP with some park grass mixed in.
Tubulars, yay or nay?

Yay

You could, but honestly I think more pain in the butt than they are worth.

Nay.

p.s. there is a REASON why novices sell/unload their barely used tubular wheels. Think about it. The answer should become quite obvious.

Definitely not.

What does JRA mean? Just riding around?

Yes. It's a bit of a cliche in some circles.

Not worth the hassle and expense for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis either.

Not worth the hassle and expense.

They still have their place in cyclocross, where certain course conditions may require ultra-low psi, and high-level road or track racing.

I do have a nice set of ENVE tubulars that I purchased 6 or so years back when full-carbon clincher technology was new and not really safe due to brake track failures. Now, I'd trade them in a second for some carbon clinchers.

I gave up on Vittoria tubulars due to puncture frequency and switched to Continentals, which have butyl inners and are BRUTAL to install cleanly.

Anybody who wants to run tubulars recreationally should definitely take advantage of pre-owned deals and not waste money on brand new wheels.

I ride 25mm tubulars about 70% of the time, including commutes, which are pretty much jra.

Not a problem, but I'm comfortable with gluing.

I use the bike with clinchers in bad weather or dark rides.

Nay. Road clinchers are just too damned good and easy.

Flats get really expensive. And can stop a ride.

Yay.

My JRA rig has 30mm tubulars on Mavic SL wheels.

Wheelset- $100. Tires $35 each? Don't remember exactly. Flats?- none. Ride quality?- excellent.

Dirt, curbs, potholes, etc.? no problem. Bike riding weight- 18.5 lbs.

I feel like a broken record, There is one place tubulars rule. Your JRA may never encounter that condition, but depending on where you live and ride, it might. Fast downhills. Tubulars are the tires you want to be on if you ever lose pressure suddenly going really fast. A well glued tubular doesn't come off - at any speed. Even in a full, catastrophic blowout. In my racing days I blew tubulars at least once at 40+. Just rolled to a stop and changed the tire. By contrast, I blew a clincher several years ago. First, I was riding "on ice", aluminum rim on pavement, then go tossed hard at 20+ when the tire jammed in tte chainstays, hitting my helmet hard, breaking collarbone, cracking rib(s) - skipped the X-rays, and an acre of road rash.

There's that, and - good tubulars are magic carpets, a ride you will not see anywhere else. (And like magic carpets, only those who have actually ridden them know. Also like magic carpets, they all have defects since they are handmade, the tires in Asia, the carpets in Persia.)

Ben

If you have to ask, then you don't really want to ride tubs.

JRA naw, but riding fast with smooth rubber, sure

tubular tires are marginally more expensive (but you don't pay for a separate tube, it's built in), wheels are lighter, tires may be lighter, and are typically a nicer cushier ride at same pressure.
Also you can run tubular tires at very high PSI for very smooth roads, or really low PSI for rough roads, without pinch flats or blow off.

With latex sealant you can avoid most flats, or repair without removing tire.
The effeto mariposa two sided tape is much easier and faster than gluing

Like anything - buy the right ones. Then yes. I buy ones for racing (kid) and ones for riding - me. I'm 40+ years of using them. I think they are worth the hassle.
If you live in a bad flat area - no. If you might flat every 1,000 miles or so, you may flat less using the correct tubular.

That is all I ride on the tandem (I have clinchers too) - I'll let you know when I get a flat. That is all my kid road a whole season in CO - no spares, no worries, no flats.

If you like a ready to ride (glued with skewers) 900g tire that will take 360# it can be a great choice.
Goat head season I then to ride clinchers, as I have no hope of avoiding a flat. But stans will typically seal a goat head puncture good for 130PSI.

If you want to race, the selection is different.

@rubiksoval is a racer. What he races on, or sees raced on is not what you should ride on. You can buy a 28mm tubular (and bigger) that will take more than any tubeless, or clincher will. They ARE somewhat of a hassle to change and glue. When I want to avoid hassles, I drive the car, maybe ride the scooter.
The performance and feel is far above a clincher of similar spec and esp when getting to the 27mm-30mm range. Knock ~1# off your bike vs similar in clinchers. Because the rims are lighter, there are lighter rim choices, tread is finer and tubes are lighter.

These are racing tubulars. Don't use these. They get old. I replace them. Some may have had leaks. I save them for no particular reason.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...40fa58302f.png


These are a mix of racing and very robust (lighter than clinchers) tubulars. Suitable for JRA - cobbles. They will take a hit that will shatter your rim and not flat (ask how I know).
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...28be864740.png


The heavy load bike (of some 20 or so) are on tubulars. The beaters are not.
Tandem - tubulars.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c304bba562.png

Well, I was thinking about doing it just so I could expand my bicycle IQ.

I guess its something I don't really need to learn.

Like how to adjust the dwell on my points.

Exactly the reason I started around 7 months ago. I love them. Regret that I let myself be intimidated by them for so long.

It's fine. Gluing them is not as tedious as many people say. There are also a few tutorials online for how to address flats on a ride. And you can find decent tubulars are a reasonable price. Conti Sprinters, for example, can easily be bought for $35.

There are different ways to glue them depending on what you want. That is fun too.

A "Belgium glue job" is heavy in the center. It should have a tacky glue that re-bonds. Idea is that the seal will break, then re-bond. A cobble thing. This is also the typical (lazy/busy) Euro-pro mechanic glue job.

A road/track needs a tight bond at the edges. Some tires seat better on some rims than others. American designed rims tend to contact on the outer edges. I glue mostly this way as kid and I don't do USA cobbles. But have done both and in-between.
It is not that big a deal, but another fun thing to mess around with, and you can certainly tell between extremes.

IMO most over glue, and don't glue the edges. But that take more time.

Weight Weenie (I am one) notes (If you are a disc brake person - never-mind, these things do not matter to you.):
-Glue on weighs about 2X what dried glue does.
-You save a bit of mass in air (yea, I typed that) over clinchers as all the air is above the rim and use-able vs between the tracks. Air at the rim is extra mass at the rim.
We are putting 5-8bar in the tires. Air does contribute a few grams to the rotating mass.

But not overgluing leads to worse rolling resistance. And if that's the case, it's probably better to just stick with a fast clincher or tubeless setup.

Me thinks you need me to glue you up some race wheels - or borrow juniors. Center glue does nothing but adds weight and makes a mess if the sides are glued well.

Side are not often over glued.


I have seen some super smooth roads where I can see that advantage is a well seated tubeless or clincher. Just that I don't see many.


Junior can race on an <800g set, under 1,400g tires, cassette and skewers that have the air and resilience of any 25mm tubeless.

A 50mm profile with FMB silks 25mm are ~300g more and they stick like nothing else.

My tandem front is over 28mm wide, DT 240 hub, 970g glued, with skewer. It has air under it like a 32mm clincher.



You often point out the talent card junior has that I don't play, there is an equipment advantage too. He's riding wheels that are 30% lighter than what anyone else has and ride better.


I have both/many. The 25mm clincher is less supple than a 23 tubular and much heavier. That 23 ax @550g will take a hit few 25-30mm clinchers will.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...12363b2664.jpg




https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c913f56099.jpg



https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c40fdc88f5.jpg



Clincher

Super hard to do this within 500g more in any clincher or tubeless and if you want the pothole worthy-ness more likely 2# more.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...aa42ca4461.jpg

Hmm... I have this 45mm deep carbon tubular front I scored from the co-op... It's pretty sweet, 475g. Been gathering dust though cause I'm a tad leery of how the old-school profile will fare in crosswinds - the point of the foil has just over a 3mm radius, and that brake track is the widest point at 19mm.

Am I right to worry, or might it be worth a shot?