Lazyass

I've always preferred tubular tires and currently have them on three of my road bikes. Thinking about ordering a custom set from PWB for the Wabi. Paul hubs, DT Comp spokes and Kinlin TB 20 tubulars for less than $700. I think black hubs/rims and silver spokes would look nice.

My rain bike is my Swobo Accomplice and it still has the cheap stock wheelset. The Sub-15's I have on my Wabi would be perfect for it.

I'm also probably going to order a set for my Diamondback Podium disc road bike. I've been bummed because I had never been able to find some narrow aluminum tubular disc rims (I like 23mm tires), they're all wide for CX bikes. But I was on their website and Kinlin has the TB 20 disc version with a 18.5mm width and they have WI hubs on sale. I can have those built for less than $700 as well.

Anyone else running tubulars? And I'm curious what the turnaround time is with PWB if anyone knows.

drlogik 

I used to run tubulars back in the day but not now. Where I lived we called them "Sew-ups". I loved the ride but the fiddly nature of Sew-ups was a royal pain...especially fixing flats.

I now run Challenge "open tubular" tires with latex tubes. The ride qualities almost mirror those of sew-ups but with the utility of clinchers. I love these Challenge brand tires. The Strada Bianca's (the higher 260 TPI model) are what I run.

I think Veloflex offers the same type of tires but I have not used those.


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Lazyass

Flats are easy. I carry a small 2oz bottle of Stan's sealant. Pop the valve stem off with my chain breaker, squeeze in half the bottle, pump it up and go. And I can swap on a spare tire in the same time or less as I can swap a tube.

Rolla

If I was riding the track I'd use nothing but tubulars (preferably Veloflex Records), but for the real world of the road and trail, clinchers seem more practical and economical. Nothing compares to the ride quality of tubulars, though...

Lazyass

I like how supple they are and how they handle since there's no sidewall, and I enjoy the process of gluing and mounting them. And it's nice knowing that in a major emergency I can limp home on a flat. But I've never had to do that in over 30 years of running them. My first road bike had tubulars and that's all I ran for the first four years of cycling so it's not a big deal to me.

Rolla

Same here -- tubulars were all I ever knew back in the 70s. But over the years clinchers have become so ubiquitous that I couldn't see intentionally going back. I still fondly recall using a leather toe strap to cinch a spare tubular under my saddle -- although I wouldn't go back to toe clips, either!

79pmooney

I haven't ridden tubulars since the late 90s but I am going to go back to them. Peace of mind. I've had a clincher blowout and the tire coming off the rim. Never want want to see that crash again. Ever. And that happened going less than 25 mph. There are a bunch of 50 mph hills here around Portland. On Cycle Oregon, hills that fast that go on for miles.

By contrast, I've blown tubulars at 40+ and it was such a non-deal I don't even remember if it was a front or rear tire. Just rolled to a stop (using gentle braking on the blown wheel). Change and ride on. I also like the idea that I can hit anything with that rim and as long as it fits through the bike frame, I can still ride it. (Often the tire doesn't even flat. I've hit bottomless potholes and bumped home with inch deep dents.)

I used to like the other safety aspect of tubulars when I commuted through neighborhoods where I didn't feel entirely safe. If I flatted, I knew I could have the tire changed and be going again in 10 minutes. Even if I was having a really bad day. If need be, I could simply not stop. That would probably kill that rim, but in exchange for my hide? I'd take it.

geeteeiii

My soviet track bike came with a tubular wheelset, i figured id run them till the first flat, then get the rims replaced, but they have grown on me. They had Tufo tubulars on them when i got the bike and i still run those same tires, they seem pretty durable. They(tufos) dont roll that well unless at high pressure, but the rest of the wheelset makes up for it in terms of lightness and for me cool factor. Plus those vintage Campy/Gipiemme hubs run so smooth.

TejanoTrackie 

Tubulars are all I’ve ever used for racing road, track, and xcross. However, for touring or just general recreational riding it’s 100% clinchers for me now. I do have an old vintage road bike with tubulars and toeclips and straps that I ride with old leather cleated cycling shoes whenever I get in a nostalgic mood, but I don’t miss the hassle of glueing on tubulars or repairing them.

JohnDThompson 

I have two sets of wheels for my fixed gear bike: clincher and tubular. For a long time, I saved the tubulars for special occasions, but last summer I rode them for pretty much the entire season. No flats until late October. Switched back to the clinchers for the rest of autumn; still using them this spring. Once the winter debris gets cleared off the roads, I'll go back to the tubulars.

Lazyass

Yeah I still have the leather straps. My first road bike I got in '87 was an '84 Peugeot PX10 with the stock tubulars. My uncle was into cycling and he gave me that bike and taught me how to glue and repair tubs. I remember back then the "serious" guys looked down on clinchers. It had clips and straps but I actually bought some Look pedals the week I got the bike.

TejanoTrackie 

^^^ That Univega is truly gorgeous, and you’ve kept it in immaculate condition. Bravo !

TMonk

Tubular on my track FG
Clincher on my road FG
Tubeless MTB
Clincher on my road bikes

They say now that with current technology, latex tubes and clinchers are actually faster than modern tubulars. That's what I ride on my TT bike and (racing) road wheels. If I was in the market for a new track wheelset, I would consider clincher for this reason.

But latex tubes are a hassle so I run butyl on my road FG and road bikes. Tubeless all the way on MTB, it offers a much larger advantage since thorns/spikes/light punctures are more common and I actually want to run significantly lower pressure vs road.

I agree there is something "old school" and kinda cool about tubulars. I don't mind gluing them since my track bike is low mileage and I don't even have to do it every season. Does it have better ride quality? Sure, IDK. I tend to be be pretty insensitive to all but the most major of equipment changes. In TT or MTB maybe but otherwise I don't really notice that stuff.

ofajen

I haven’t been in recent years. I still have the tubular wheel set I built decades ago. I don’t really ride roads any more to the extent I can avoid it. However, I could run cyclocross tubulars on the road frame bike and that should work great on my trail rides. Might have to put drop bars back on if I’m gonna run tubulars. 😊

Otto

Senrab62 

I have exactly one bike with tubs, and it will remain the only bike with tubs. Don't have experience with them, but the fact that for a majority of the riding I do, they don't have any inherent advantages, and have to be glued, I think clinchers are best for me.

I have been told, that the riding experience is night and day, is it that much better?

Chubby715

I've only run tubulars on my road bikes. Started riding in the early 80s with Ambrosio Synthesis Durex rims and Vittoria Super Corsas. Very easy to repair on the road as I carried a folded up spare under my saddle with an old toe strap. In the early aughts I started riding again and switched to Conti Sprinters. Very durable tire and affordable. And I'm currently running Conti tubes on Zipp 303s.

Lazyass

Finally sent in an order. Wanted stiff bulletproof wheels but still fairly light so I didn't want low spoke count. I broke a nipple on my rear 24H Sub-15 wheel last week and if I didn't have a spoke wrench or knew how to true a wheel I would have been stranded. The tire rubbed the paint off the inside of my chainstay before I could find a place to pull over. Not bashing those wheels, they're great and going on my Swobo rain bike, any wheel can have a nipple snap.

Kinlin TB25 tubular (black) 28/32 3X
Paul high flange hubs high polished silver
Sapim Laser 14/17/14 spokes silver
Sapim alu nips blue
1,590.72 grams

It will take up to 6 weeks before he gets the hubs because of the shortages but will be worth the wait.

TejanoTrackie 

Only wheels with aluminum nipples will have problems. The weight savings over brass nipples is insignificant, and although I've bought prebuilt wheels with aluminum nipples, all the ones I've built myself have used brass nipples.

tommymc

I've got a pair of NOS Mavic GP4' rims in the attic. And with various hubs in the garage I could put together a wheelset for nothing more than cost of spokes. These would go onto my Wabi on which I haven't run clincher tires smaller than 28c's. For mixed paved surfaces what tubular tires are available in the 25-28c range?

TejanoTrackie 

Something like the Challenge Paris-Roubaix tubular tire might suit your needs, but they are pricey !

https://www.probikekit.com/bicycle-t...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

Lazyass

Over the decades I've had more wheels with aluminum nipples than I'll ever remember and I've had very few problems. The one I broke last week was the first in years.

TejanoTrackie 

Have you ever had a brass nipple fail ?

JohnDThompson 

The more spokes you have in yoyr wheel, the less problem a single broken nipple (or spoke) presents.

Only once: there putty knife lying in the road, the rider in front of me hit it just right to bounce it into the air, it landed in my front wheel, jammed against the fork crown, and tore a spoke clear out of the nipple. I'm glad it failed, actually. The alternative would have been a face-plant.

roadfix

My first serious road bike I bought in 1973 came with sew ups. I had no idea what they were at the time, they came on a Raleigh Competition.

TejanoTrackie 

Same with me. Mine was a 1973 Fuji Finest. It took me a while to figure out how Presta valves worked.