nancyh1990

Hi there,

I logged 200 miles/week on my trusted alum wheel & Conti 4000 clincher. Never a flat in a year.
Last week, within 20 miles new carbon wheels & Vittoria g+ tubular, a gash on the tire. LBS mounted with Clement tubular tape.

Questions for you experts:
If I were to use the Stan tire sealant before hand, could I have repaired with super glue and patch to get home?
If yes to above, what is the negative of injecting tire sealant to taped tubular?
With the current damaged tire, can I just remove the tire and install new tire without using new tape?
Local bike shops telling me to use the Tufo tubular tires which are more hardy? Is this true?
If yes to Tufo, advisable to add tire sealant?
Other alternative is to carry a stretched tire. Again, do I just take the old tire off and install the new tire or do I have to take off the old tape and mount the new tape?

My rides are on desolate road with no shoulders. Thus extended repairs are not the safest. Yes, I can go back to the clinchers. But that tubular ride.

FBinNY 

Too many questions, so I'll try only for the most basic.

1- whether you can mount a replacement tire using the old glue or tape depends on the adhesive. I use old fashioned gum mastic glue which stays tacky for about a year or so, and can safely mount and ride a replacement tire, though, I recheck for good adhesion when I get home.

2- wall cut and gashes are partly luck and partly the tire construction. I look for tires with treads that wrap more than halfway around the tire. Many tubulars don't have that much tread wrap, and are susceptible to cuts as the tire slide off or ejects stones to the side.

The above is based on 50 years riding tubulars, and while mostly on the road, I've never been deterred from gravel, dirt, or goat tracks.

This isn't rocket science, and luck has as much to do with it as anything else. Give the tubulars a chance, but if you can't find a groove, don't be afraid to decide they don't work for you and switch back.

Leisesturm

God. Tubulars. I went through a tubular phase... I was maybe.. 19 years old... I'm almost 60 now... they still exist? I cannot imagine that a 23mm clincher from a good brand with some nice wheels couldn't give tubulars a good run for the money for someone not actually in competition. If you put goop in the tire you've killed most of your reasons for going to tubulars in the first place. BITD you used glue from a tube to mount the tire. You HAD to use fresh cement each time you changed the tire. I don't know about tape. You are riding a bike, not a motorcycle, if you flat, surely you can take yourself well off of the road so you can change your tire safely. No? What kind of pump are you going to use to get 120 psi in your tubulars? That's why you use tubulars, because you can pressurize them to 120+ psi. The racers have a support van with an air compressor in it. I sound like I'm giving you a hard time, and I'm only being a little bit hypocritical. I had my tubular fling, why shouldn't you... but... really, it was 1977, if I was 19 in 2016, what with carbon wheels and 23mm clinchers, there's no way I would be messing with tubulars... ... I don't think... :-)

bulldog1935

Don't know how big your gash was, but I had bailing wire go through the side of a Challenge P-R tubie. I repaired it with super glue and Stans on the side of the road and the repair lasted the tire tread.

I wouldn't use the Stans until it's needed.

I've had an Open Pave clincher cut bad enough it was hopeless.

FBinNY 

So negative!!

I rode and toured with tubulars for decades and till do. Pumping to about 105psi which gave a great ride is/was no effort (a daily top off ritual) with my trusty Silca pump and Campy head. I never found a need to go higher with my tires which had about a 1" section. In fact higher pressures made it feel too much like riding on basketballs.

As for reusing glue, as I said it depends on the glue. The brown gum mastics that I still use stay tacky, and in a pinch on tours, I've "refreshed" the glue with gasoline, but that was a rare need.

BITD - we rode tubulars like it was a normal, everyday thing. These days, it seems that it's been elevated to some arcane ritualistic art form, and folks are pretty obsessive. Fortunately, my tires have never been that smart, and have served me very well despite my lack or reverence.

bikepro

Not to belabor the point, but tubulars are not a good choice for how you are riding, especially with the tire you are using. This is a cotton tubular and I'm sure it rides nice -- but at what cost. A sealant would help, but will not help with a gash in the tire. If you go to something like the Tufo, don't expect the same ride because they are not as supple.

You would be better off switching back to clinchers. A good choice is the Vittoria Corsa -- an Open Tubular version of what you now have. With the 700X25 and latex tubes, the ride will be very close to the tubulars, and probably better than the Tufos's.

Thirty years ago, tubulars were the best choice because clinchers were so poor. Today, a good clincher or perhaps tubeless clinchers, is just as good and in some cases better than tubulars. Without the headaches of tubulars.

When you mount a tubular on the road to fix a flat, and you are using tape, you probably don't need to replace the tape immediately. Just be care full in the turns. The tire should be replaced and retaped when you get home. We did the same with glued tubulars. The spare had a coat of glue -- the old tire was pulled off and the spare mounted. It was reglued properly at home.

Leisesturm

Even with the smiley you couldn't tell I was having fun?

FBinNY 

Yes, you ended on a light note, bit the overall tone before that was negative w/ respect to tubulars. Maybe I have a different outlook because we were much more ignorant BITD and had no idea of the mount of ritual hat was needed to ride tubulars. Growing up with that cavalier attitude has spoiled me for life, so I may be a case of ignorance being bliss. But, so far, what I don't know hasn't hurt me, and I'll continue in my old fashioned ways.

BTW - I also use open tubulars on my "urban" road bike, and don't find the ride much different from my tubulars. I believe that the main advantage of tubulars is that they allow me to use much lighter rims and wheels, and I'll stay with them until my stock of 300gr rims runs out.

I never look at various options as better or worse, just more or less suited to a specific purpose. My choices reflect where and how I ride. If those change, likely my preferences would also.

bulldog1935

sarcasm doesn't work on the internet

trailangel

Flats and tire gashs happen when they happen. No reason.
You must pre mount a tire, take it off and use it as a spare. Also keep a sewing kit with razor blade and patches with your kit.
I always used Tubasti ... it never really hardened. I don't know about tape. I have heard others gluing tires with too much glue IMO. A flat while riding sewups is fast to fix... put on the spare and go.
I am not a racer but have toured on sewups. They were the only way to get lightweight decent tires.
I have never used sealant. I don't want a mess, even if it only happens one time on the road... not gonna happen to me.
99% of bike shops have no experience with sewups. You must do this yourself.
Disregard negative comments about sewups. I love everything about them.

nancyh1990

Going to back to clinchers will be an issue until May. My brother borrowed the 303 for his extended vacation and won't be back until May 4. The 303 are mounted with Corsa G+ with latex tube. BTW, the open tubular version, is far superior to the clincher version. I know it was only 20 miles but it was impressive.
I thought I was going to train on my gravel bike and that was stolen 2 weeks ago.
So now I am stuck with either the tubular or my Wahoo trainer which I detest (so boring).
Simple but puzzling questions:
*Currently the rear tire is gashed and was taped with Clement. Take it off and mount a new tubular without taking off the old tape?
*How do I stretch (2) new tubular to mount and to carry as spare? On youtube, it shows stretching by mounting on a wheel WITHOUT tape. Since my wheel already has recently mount tape, what are the alternatives?
Thank you so much

fietsbob

Tufo, a Czech company makes a different Tubular tire.. they went with their own sealant scheme, (IDK differences)
seems the casing is rubber lined air tight, as described .. not a separate innertube,,

and a design for a double stick tape to mount the tire.

bulldog1935

never re-use old tape. Remove it and use new.

If if carry spares, also carry spare tape.

DiabloScott

1. You do have to pick tape or glue, and then stick (ha!) with that decision for all your tires you use on those wheels.
- With glue, yes you carry a spare tire that has been stretched and pre-glued and just replace the whole thing if you get a flat.
2. There's nothing about tubulars that make them less prone to punctures or gashes than clinchers - there are of course more puncture proof tires of both designs.
3. Yes, sometimes the sealant works before your tire goes flat. No negatives with sealant used in taped tires. The sealant doesn't always work and can be messy.

squirtdad

You might consider a more robust tubular for training, and then swap to something else for your event (sound like you are training for an event) you can get them pretty inexpensively via uk bike sites like ribble

FWIW I am no expert, but did go tubie for my main commuter. I went the whole tufo system, tape, tufo sealant and tufo tires. I got the what are the heaviest duty trainers s33 and so far no problems. This tire gets a lot of comments of being harsh for a tubie, but the ride was great compared to to the kendas I had on previously. And the tire just does not lose air. only issue is that I find I need to replace the valve stems once in a while as they get gunked up from the sealant.

tufo has higher performance options.

Also check out C&V.....lots of tubie threads there

noglider 

Francis, you're fine with tubulars since you've been riding them for so long. I rode them for a few years, and if something led me to use them again, I would manage. In fact, I raced at Kissena in summer 2014, and the bike I built for that purpose has tubulars.

But I don't see any point for someone to begin using tubulars nowadays. The expense and learning curve seem to me to be bigger than the advantages of the tires. Do you repair your tires? I did that back in the day, because I couldn't afford to replace punctured tires. I still wouldn't want to, as it seems so wasteful.

woodcraft

Not up on tape, but IMO,
- Stan's added beforehand works but the tire should stay inflated so the tube doesn't stick to itself.
Another approach is to carry a (unopened) 2oz bottle of Stans to be added if there is a puncture.
Sealant works well w/ Tufo tires as there is no tube, but Tufo brand sealant is inferior to Stans.
Sealant use and installation (tape/glue) method are not related. Sealant not that messy- confusion with
tubeless?

- A spare should be carried, normally a used tire that has glue on it, but a new tire pre-glued is fine. Pre
stretching is not essential. I carry a very light Tufo tire for a spare- only about 50% bigger than an inner tube.

- Sidewall cuts happen, & unlikely that super glue or sealant would do much. I think that part of the reason that
folks report fewer flats with tubulars is riding more carefully, & staying out of debris shoulders. I had a tire
ruined while riding just left of the fog line when when others in the group, blithely plowing through the crap,
flipped a big shard of glass into my path.

- Having a shop mount tires seems expensive & time consuming compared to buying spares on sale & pre-gluing
for use when needed.

- Give a little time to get the system going, & enjoy.

FBinNY 

I don't try to talk anyone into or out of anything, including tubulars. But the OP didn't ask whether he should buy tubulars, he asked advice about caring for those he already had.

However, tubulars seem to have assumed some sort of cult status, and I'm impressed with how complicated the current users seem to make them. BITD, we just used decent glue or tape, changed them on the road without sweat or worry and pumped and rode them. As long as there's a tacky base, they stay put because the air pressure constricts them down into the rim.

BTW - back then people rarely exceeded 7atm or so and left higher pressures for the track.

noglider 

I could do that all in stride, too. I can change a tubular on the road faster than a clincher tube, and that's pretty fast. But it took time to build that skill, and there is still a need to spend time working on tires at home. Now that you have the skills, you may be discounting the time it took to acquire them 50 years ago.

Then again, changing a clincher tube is hard for some people.

The OP is @nancyh1990, which looks like a woman's name, but I really don't know.

Leebo

Ya'all forgetting about the new tech. Tubeless. Can't imaging messing with tubulars. Hutchinson, Stans and Specialized all make some. Food for thought.

fietsbob

Maybe roadies with 100+psi Tires ..

Cyclocross It seems the tubeless clincher at advantageous lower pressures ,(that the Glued on race tires do so well at) ,

Have been Known to Burp all the air out and pick up a bit of Grass in the digging into the corner.

markwesti

I love tubulars , for a repair on the trail I just carry a spare and some tape .

Number400

As stated above, just try a more robust tubular. I use Continental Gatorskin black chili mumbo whatever and they are lasting a long time. I put 1k PA winter (cinders, salt, stones) miles on them and then gave the wheels to my Wife, who still rides on them and makes no attempt to avoid gravel and pot holes and curbs and they are holding up well. She is about to do some Zwift miles on the rear. I wince a little at that thought but who cares, they don't owe me anything at this point. I am going to steal the wheels back if I sign up for a TT. They feel great at 90-100psi.

AlexCyclistRoch

Answers:

1) If it was a GASH, probably not
2) None, I guess
3) No, tape can not be re-used, unless you want to experience rolling a tubular off the rim while riding
4) Most Tufos are hardier, but some are really hard and rough-riding.
5) Add sealant only when you have a flat.
6) Replace the tape.

gl98115

Vittoria's corsa open tubular is the clincher version of their corsa tubular.