rousseau

And boy are my legs tired! (I'm here all week, try the meatloaf)

Picked up a ten-year-old pair of Zipp 404 tubulars last week for no reason other than that I wanted some deep section wheels and the price for these ones was the most reasonable. It was really the deep section thing and not the tubular thing that motivated me initially, but now I'm really glad I got the wheels I did. Maybe it's all psychosomatic, the power of suggestion, but I really think I do feel a tangible improvement in comfort, handling and speed over the aluminum Scirocco clinchers I normally run.

That said, the tires were already fairly worn, and today I cut my ride short because I could feel a "whump-whump" in the rear wheel where I discovered this bulge. I'm assuming something like this is pretty much unfixable, that I need to put on a new tire?

woodcraft

If that's the casing ripping then the tire is shot, but could be the stitching coming loose from a previous repair,
and that could be fixed.

topflightpro

Is that at the valve stem?

Sometimes, it's hard to seat a tubular tightly at the valve stem, causing a little bump like that.

If the tread is fine, and if you cannot easily pull the tire off, you should be good.

burnthesheep

I'll buck the trend. It's a used tire that you don't know the history of. Change it.

IMO, unless it's zero miles situation from a shop or vendor pre-mounted...........I usually change tires/tubes/tubular out when I buy used. Just me. I had an issue once. I'm not convinced it didn't contribute to a horror crash in a race. Maybe a touch of wheels, maybe the tire. But there were bad issues with it when I disassembled the tire/tube/sealant setup later. Nowadays I don't trust it unless I did it myself.

rubiksoval

Eww, yes. Definitely replace. And I'd definitely, definitely check the glue jobs of any used wheels, especially ones that are older/haven't been used recently.

seedsbelize 

I've been riding for 50 years and I'm about to try tubulars on he next couple months
I hope it's worth the wait

rousseau

Yeah, I think I'll change the tires. The bulge is annoying enough to be bothersome when riding.

mcours2006

I've a set of 38 mm deep carbon tubular wheels with 22 mm tires. Though I've only put about 500 km on them, I don't really notice the difference in speed compared to 25 mm clinchers...but yes, definitely change the tire. Not worth the risk.

rousseau

Call me crazy, but I put my aluminum Scirocco clinchers back on the bike for my ride today and the difference in comfort was tangibly visceral. I purposely went over the same route as yesterday, and the bumps and crevices in the asphalt were a lot harsher than with the Zipp carbon tubulars.

Is it all in my head? I don't think so. But even if it is, then call me a believer. Why take the red pill if I'm happier now?

waters60

Could you do us a favor and pick up a set of Enve AR 3.4 AR Disc wheels?! Give us a report on their comfort compared with your other wheels?! I am becoming very curious if I can have my cake and eat it too. I love my Campy Bora One tubular wheels with Veloflex Vlanderen 28’s but....

rousseau

I was gonna say "send'em over to me!", but then I remembered that I don't have disc brakes on my road bike because they are an abomination. I ride rim brakes, as God/Allah/Imhotep intended.

rousseau

The large flat-head screwdriver method of removing a tubular tire as recommended in this video (go to 5:00 mark) totally worked for me. I did it very gingerly and carefully. Is anyone going to tell me to NEVER do this on a pair of carbon Zipp wheels? Because I just did. But should I not have?

Dean V

With a high quality clincher and latex tubes a can't notice any difference in speed or comfort compared to my tubulars.

rubiksoval

Same.

rousseau

What kind of monster can't tell the difference between clinchers and tubulars? Doesn't bear thinking about.

rousseau

I watched all the videos. Bookmarked all the instructional guides. Bought the glue. Removed the old tires. Put the new tires on spare rims and pumped them up to 140 psi to stretch them overnight. Then yesterday I took a heat gun to the glue on my carbon rims, carefully warming up one section to see if I could pick the glue off.

I could not. The glue got gooey, like warm toffee, but all I could do was prod and poke it. Wouldn't come off. Should I have heated it longer? That seemed risky to me, what with the rims being carbon and all. I'm not willing to fiddle around with toxic potions to remove glue from a rim, so if the glue doesn't come off mechanically or by heat, then fug it, I'll let the pros do it.

For a pair of wheels it's $60 (uh, CAD) to remove the glue and $60 to glue new tires on. I think this is an outlay I'm willing to make if it's only once a year or so. I can build up a frame and wheels from scratch, but this is where I reach my limit.

fietsbob

So you will be learning how to hand sew , after patching punctures..

rousseau

I don't have the faintest clue about that. Will it entail another round of Youtube video research?

blakcloud

Only if you want to repair the tires after a flat. I have yet to meet someone who actually does this, they just replace the tire, though I hear some people do. When I owned tubulars I just threw them away after flatting.

woodcraft

What was the cause of the bulge?

Was the glue sticky before heating? I use a carving gouge to remove old glue- a bit of a pain but avoids the toxic mess of solvents, and the powdery mess of a wire wheel. Maybe better to freeze than heat for easier removal.

rousseau

Carving gouge! Had to google that, never heard of such a thing before. Sounds like the perfect tool if you have the patience to chip away at the glue. I may have to try that a year from now.

I'm not sure what caused the bulge, though the tire did seem quite old, and it wasn't glued on as tightly as the other wheel, so it came off rather easily.

bruce19

Good grief. Be done with all this silliness. Go Mavic UST.