radripperaj

Hi, I am mounting my own tubs for the first time. I bought the Belgian kit from cxworld. When I was looking up videos how to glue, some swore by the Belgian way and others swore by just glue. I basically want to get everyone's experiences and opinions on what works best. It seems like whoever picks one way then the other way is horrible and you will die.

Thanks in advance for all the info.

msu2001la

Glue only.
I'm pretty sure if you use tape, you'll die.

In all seriousness, I've never done this job myself. There's a local shop here that glues up tons of CX tires (including mine). They use glue only and I've never had a problem.

radripperaj

Well I just glued it using only glue. We will see if I die or not. However, no matter how great it works I can promise this was the first and last time. It was super messy and a pain in the butt to finally mount the tubulars with all the glue and then line the tire up straight on the wheel. Also, it is not that much cheaper than paying the shop to do it. I just really wanted to be able to say I could do it on my own and now I can lol.

radripperaj

I took my newly glued tires out to a grass field, ran them at low race pressure and tried my best to roll them off with tight turns and off chambers. Everything held on great. no problems at all. Im really happy with my front glue job as it is on really straight with no wobbles or humps. My back glue job while without wobbles or humps is leaned slightly to the left around the whole length of the tire. Im guessing if I would have used a truing stand to spin and check instead of my hands I would have noticed when mounting it up. Overall it doesnt seem so major it should cause any real problems, especially when I am running at low race pressures and the tire is flexing around anyway. Honestly, now that I have seen the final product and im happy and confident with my glue job I think i might actually do it again... with a truing stand. Hopefully this helped anyone decide one way or the other if they were on the fence about doing tubulars their self.

msu2001la

Well done, and just think about how much faster you'll be when ripping through left handed turns now.

radripperaj

Thanks! and i like your thinking lol

Yotsko

Carbon or alloy rims? Just glue works pretty well with alloy...cx tape and glue for carbon.

radripperaj

Alloy rims. I have taken the wheels out three times now putting some pretty good laps on them at low pressures. Just glue seems to have worked great for me.

Doge

I'm not a cx guy, just getting into it as a dad who's kid wants too.
If tape is somehow superior, I want to know how/why. Otherwise, having glued singles, track and tandems 40 some years, I don't know why tape would be considered.
Someone can tell me.

79pmooney

The real wisdom of tubular tires right here. If the tire is glued on well, the only place asymmetry or wobbles matter is in your head. Rear tire - you cannot see it so it hurts none at all. Obviously, you CAN get the tire too crooked, but I have ridden home on some very poorly mounted ones and once I knew the glue was well stuck, not an issue at all. I loved that I could do quick tire changes for flats in the rain, tired or inebriated and could roll home with no further issues. Clinchers are so much more demanding! (Now I used Tubasti for all my non pure racing wheels. That stuff never set up rock hard and had real stick months or longer later. Great for commuting and life without a car.)

Good glue jobs are about using enough glue, being patient with the drying time and ensuring the rim material is clean for its first application. My practice was to never remove the glue. Sometimes I used tools to smooth down built up highs or filled in lows with glue. But beyond that I considered a solid old glue base far more trustworthy than any new rim. And removing the old glue to get back to a like new surface? My reaction? Why? That's a whole lot of work to feel less safe.

I may go back to tubulars and gluing tires again - for safety. One of my recurring thoughts, almost nightmares, is blowing a tire on a 45+ mph hill. I ride where I can find those hills anytime I want. Hit 49 one day on my only bike with a speedo, my so-so trainer bike. In recent years I blew out and rolled a clincher at 25 mph on the flat. Memorable crash after the tire came off and jammed in the seatstays. In my racing days, I did the same blowout with tubulars going far faster. Huge scare, then just a long gradual slowdown to a stop and tire change. Well glues tires do not come off.

It's hard to justify the cost of tubulars - until I think what just one 45 mph crash for this 64 you body would cost out of pocket and in terms of life quality. Then they star looking cheap.

Ben

radripperaj

From what i have read/been told, the tape can help in low pressure situations where the tire might not be as firmly pressed against the rim when it has high pressure. However, I have now done two races with lots of off camber turns and have had zero problems with my attempt at glue only. I run my front as low as 24 and my back as low as 27 and i weigh 155-160 lbs.

Doge

OK, I can see that for a marginal glue job. A Mastic One glue job can hold as well as the base tape and for most applications, that would be too much IMO, but here I could see the need.
They only thing, and maybe that is the point is tapes are more gummy, so and break/crack in glue would re-bond well. I think the answer might just be use a gummier glue. But Mastic One seems to be that anyway. I expect I'll be gluing some up in the next few months.

Doge

What is the better brand glue for low PSI cx?
I would like to see some glue / durometer / tacky chart.
Old Vittoria red had more give than Mastic One. We used to use red as a base and then Tubasti on top. That glued too well and base tape would always come off.
Soyo is too stiff.

I've always done tubulars (since 1980 - saw my first one in 76), and for a decade or so, only tubulars. My son grew up on them and it was only at college he started using a clincher. My tandem in the day had rim brakes, and a few times the rims got too hot and melted the glue. Didn't go down, but that was sketchy.

radripperaj

I used Mastic One and I have had zero problems with my glue job so far after a few practices and races. Keep in mind this is my first time and I may have just been lucky. However, after talking with a few others I have a feeling that the people I have talked to that rolled tubulars may have not followed directions. In fact one guy that rolled a tubular next to me in a race, bragged right before the start of that race how he only ever needed to put on one layer of glue on the rim before putting on his tires.

JeffOYB

I've had no probs w glue only for years. ...But when I slack and don't reglue to start a new CX season I have rolled them 2 yrs in a row at the first race. Doh! I test the darn things and train on them and they SEEM good. Well, pretty good. So I skimp then BAM. Joke's on me. I reglued this year...

I use Mastik One from big can.

I'm often re-using secondhand tires and wheels that already have glue on them. So I've been doing one coat on each, let get tacky, then install. Pre-stretch. Try to not get sticky.

On new stuff I would for sure do a pre-layer on each that I let dry for a day then 2nd.

I sometimes have issues with base tape coming off and I don't yet have a great solution for that. I read that Barge Cement is the ticket. I've just used rim-glue for it. My results tend to be quite messy/ugly.

I only occasionally get the awesome "rim edges glued down snug" job. I've read this can relate to how rim shape fits w tire shape.

(I look forward to installing some 30mm Dugasts on 23 rim. Hopefully it reduces tire foldover from my 180lbs.)

79pmooney

I don't have the answer for low psi CX. (I knew many years ago that CX required skills and coordination I didn't have. I never watched my teammate race CX but I knew from our radically different both body types and ability levels that if he thrived there, I didn't belong. (Paul Curley, 1977. He's won how many age-group national titles in CX since?)

I used Tubasti with diamond tread CK tires for Boston and midwest winter commuter tires. In the cold, the Tabasti grip was pretty solid but warm weather and low psi could be really bad. I probably never went below 50 psi. (Actually I might have gone lower for the really icy days. I was riding rims I knew would be completely square by March so a real dent and a pull out when I got home was no big deal. Still, I certainly never tested traction and roll-off limits when the conditions were that iffy.)

I melted my glue riding down Mt Washington back when you could just pay the auto toll and ride up. Didn't realize it until I got a flat - too much pressure - and near burned myself taking the wheel off.

Sorry I couldn't help more.

Ben