Tubular advice please...
#1
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Tubular advice please...
Hi All
I've inherited an old HED Jet/Deep tubular wheelset. They already have tyres glued on that are pretty much in as new condition. My question relates to puncture prevention/repair.
The tyres have Zipp valve extenders, and i'm pretty sure the tyre valves won't have removable cores, and I don't want to take them off the rims and have to deal with cleaning and re-glueing to confirm this.
I have bought some Vittoria Pit Stop for puncture repair, but could I also deflate the tyes and pre-fill them with pit stop as a puncture preventative/repair? Also, is there any tyre repair product like Dynaplug that would be suitable. I'm being led to believe that products like this don't work with tubular tyres due to not being able to penetrate the inner tube.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Carlton
I've inherited an old HED Jet/Deep tubular wheelset. They already have tyres glued on that are pretty much in as new condition. My question relates to puncture prevention/repair.
The tyres have Zipp valve extenders, and i'm pretty sure the tyre valves won't have removable cores, and I don't want to take them off the rims and have to deal with cleaning and re-glueing to confirm this.
I have bought some Vittoria Pit Stop for puncture repair, but could I also deflate the tyes and pre-fill them with pit stop as a puncture preventative/repair? Also, is there any tyre repair product like Dynaplug that would be suitable. I'm being led to believe that products like this don't work with tubular tyres due to not being able to penetrate the inner tube.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Carlton
#2
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Preventative sealant would be a waste if you have to reglue the tire. It rarely works that well anyway until tire pressure is pretty low.
And no, you can't plug tubulars.
I'd just ride them as is. Should be fine.
And no, you can't plug tubulars.
I'd just ride them as is. Should be fine.
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I used a puncture preventative on my cross tires once. The darn sticky burrs kept going through my side walls. It worked but turned out to be a pain in the neck. The stuff plugged up the valve stem and made it very hard to pump up the tires. I don't do it anymore.
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If you can't remove the valve core then I don't think sealant is the answer. On my tires I remove the core and screw it into the extender, then carry sealant rather than use it as a prophylactic. I tape the valve core "wrench" to the sealant bottle so it is pretty easy to manage. Remove core, dump in some sealant, replace core and pump.
scott s.
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scott s.
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How long have the tires been glued on? Tubular cement dries out over time. It will seem fine when riding around under most conditions but will roll when there is a lot of lateral force like in a corner. Pump the tires up to full pressure and see if you can pull the tire off with your bare hands. Try that all around the tire. It is good to make sure before you try cornering hard on them.
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There have been guys who have used sealant in their tubulars and claimed it worked fine. I have never tried it. Sealant is cheap, so it wouldn’t hurt to try it.
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That's a pretty significant difference.
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How long have the tires been glued on? Tubular cement dries out over time. It will seem fine when riding around under most conditions but will roll when there is a lot of lateral force like in a corner. Pump the tires up to full pressure and see if you can pull the tire off with your bare hands. Try that all around the tire. It is good to make sure before you try cornering hard on them.
If you're going to check the glue job, you do that deflated. Well glued tires aren't coming off very easily when they're deflated.
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effetto mariposa sealant has worked well for me. My general rule of thumb is, if the tire will hold air long enough to ride even a short distance, I use sealant. If not, I patch. I don’t use sealant until I have a puncture I think the sealant will seal. After that, the sealant seems to work well preventively. I once removed a 1” brad from my rear tire when I got home from a ride. Never even knew I picked it up. I have also patched tubes that had sealant without much trouble. My experience has been almost all punctures will seal, cuts will not.
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Yes, you can the Vittoria as a preventative sealant.
5 of my 6 bikes are tubular. I don't use sealant as a preventative measure. I hear folks in the SW use it as they have nasty little things called goatheads. If I get a flat on the road, I first try sealant as a fix. I use Stan's as all of my valve cores are removable. If that doesn't work, I carry a spare tire to swap. Using the Stan's takes under 5 minutes to see if it works. Swapping tires takes 10 minutes at the most. Flats are easy to fix and somewhat rare (knock on wood) so I don't see the point of prevention.
5 of my 6 bikes are tubular. I don't use sealant as a preventative measure. I hear folks in the SW use it as they have nasty little things called goatheads. If I get a flat on the road, I first try sealant as a fix. I use Stan's as all of my valve cores are removable. If that doesn't work, I carry a spare tire to swap. Using the Stan's takes under 5 minutes to see if it works. Swapping tires takes 10 minutes at the most. Flats are easy to fix and somewhat rare (knock on wood) so I don't see the point of prevention.
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caffelatex has saved a few rides over the years, I used to use as preventative but sometimes it gums up in valve stems, so now just carry the co2 inflator.
I don't even carry a spare tire for shorter rides
when tires get real old and thin I will add the liquid as a preventative again to get more life
caffelatex and conti use natural latex while other brands use artificial, both work but don't mix them
I don't even carry a spare tire for shorter rides
when tires get real old and thin I will add the liquid as a preventative again to get more life
caffelatex and conti use natural latex while other brands use artificial, both work but don't mix them
#14
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Thank you all, lot’s of good advice for me to take on board.
#16
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I used a puncture preventative on my cross tires once. The darn sticky burrs kept going through my sidewalls. It worked but turned out to be a pain in the neck. The stuff plugged up the valve stem and made it very hard to pump up the tires. I don't do it anymore.
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But like at least one person said, glue dries out. If I received wheels with tires glued, I'd probably remove and reglue them for piece of mind. What way you can also take care of the valve extenders.
#18
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Yes, you can the Vittoria as a preventative sealant.
5 of my 6 bikes are tubular. I don't use sealant as a preventative measure. I hear folks in the SW use it as they have nasty little things called goatheads. If I get a flat on the road, I first try sealant as a fix. I use Stan's as all of my valve cores are removable. If that doesn't work, I carry a spare tire to swap. Using the Stan's takes under 5 minutes to see if it works. Swapping tires takes 10 minutes at the most. Flats are easy to fix and somewhat rare (knock on wood) so I don't see the point of prevention.
5 of my 6 bikes are tubular. I don't use sealant as a preventative measure. I hear folks in the SW use it as they have nasty little things called goatheads. If I get a flat on the road, I first try sealant as a fix. I use Stan's as all of my valve cores are removable. If that doesn't work, I carry a spare tire to swap. Using the Stan's takes under 5 minutes to see if it works. Swapping tires takes 10 minutes at the most. Flats are easy to fix and somewhat rare (knock on wood) so I don't see the point of prevention.
#19
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And btw, don't even bother gluing. I did it for years till I found out about Efetto Mariposa Carogna tape. You can mount two tires in less than ten minutes and ride them the very next day. Pulls off clean, too. They use the stuff at CX races so you know this stuff is great.
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And btw, don't even bother gluing. I did it for years till I found out about Efetto Mariposa Carogna tape. You can mount two tires in less than ten minutes and ride them the very next day. Pulls off clean, too. They use the stuff at CX races so you know this stuff is great.
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And btw, don't even bother gluing. I did it for years till I found out about Efetto Mariposa Carogna tape. You can mount two tires in less than ten minutes and ride them the very next day. Pulls off clean, too. They use the stuff at CX races so you know this stuff is great.
#22
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Check this out: https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear...glue-look-bad/
"Make sure to buy the right size. The tape comes in two widths: 25mm (medium) and 16.5mm (small). The 16mm tape works on rims up to 21mm at the rim bed, and the medium is for rims wider than that. (If the tape overhangs the edge of the rim, it can easily be trimmed with scissors or a razor blade.) The tape runs about $14 for a single-wheel roll, and $7 per wheel when you buy the 16-meter shop roll"
I buy the 16 meter roll which I can buy on ebay for less than $90:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Effetto-Mar...sAAOSwBaxdUgo6
"Make sure to buy the right size. The tape comes in two widths: 25mm (medium) and 16.5mm (small). The 16mm tape works on rims up to 21mm at the rim bed, and the medium is for rims wider than that. (If the tape overhangs the edge of the rim, it can easily be trimmed with scissors or a razor blade.) The tape runs about $14 for a single-wheel roll, and $7 per wheel when you buy the 16-meter shop roll"
I buy the 16 meter roll which I can buy on ebay for less than $90:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Effetto-Mar...sAAOSwBaxdUgo6
#23
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Check this out: https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear...glue-look-bad/
"Make sure to buy the right size. The tape comes in two widths: 25mm (medium) and 16.5mm (small). The 16mm tape works on rims up to 21mm at the rim bed, and the medium is for rims wider than that. (If the tape overhangs the edge of the rim, it can easily be trimmed with scissors or a razor blade.) The tape runs about $14 for a single-wheel roll, and $7 per wheel when you buy the 16-meter shop roll"
I buy the 16 meter roll which I can buy on ebay for less than $90:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Effetto-Mar...sAAOSwBaxdUgo6
"Make sure to buy the right size. The tape comes in two widths: 25mm (medium) and 16.5mm (small). The 16mm tape works on rims up to 21mm at the rim bed, and the medium is for rims wider than that. (If the tape overhangs the edge of the rim, it can easily be trimmed with scissors or a razor blade.) The tape runs about $14 for a single-wheel roll, and $7 per wheel when you buy the 16-meter shop roll"
I buy the 16 meter roll which I can buy on ebay for less than $90:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Effetto-Mar...sAAOSwBaxdUgo6
16 meters is about 7 1/3 wheels, so over $12 per wheel. A $20 can of glue will mount ~20 wheels- a better deal in my book.
#24
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Glue is definitely cheaper. Tape is less messy. If I were having to attach a lot tires, definitely glue. If I am only doing a couple wheelsets a year, definitely tape. Example is the person who rides clinchers to train and tubulars when racing.
#25
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The Effetto Mariposa Carogna works tape exceptionally well and is simple to use. I've been using it since it came out. Lennard Zinn now says that's all he uses on his tubulars. There is no way it's going to let the tire off the rim without a fight if you apply it properly (which is simple to do). I can change a tubular as fast as or faster than I can change a tube in my clinchers.
You can run "tubeless tubulars" if you use Tufo tubulars. Nice tires, no inner tube. Put in sealant and it will be a rare thing if you get a flat prior to the tire wearing out. You can plug the tire if it does get a hole that at the sealant won't close just like all the tubeless clinchers out there.
If you need to carry a spare or want a tire inexpensive tire, Yellow Jersey Bike Shop in Madison WI (has online presence too) used to sell three for $50. That's what I carry for a spare if I think I need a spare.
J.
You can run "tubeless tubulars" if you use Tufo tubulars. Nice tires, no inner tube. Put in sealant and it will be a rare thing if you get a flat prior to the tire wearing out. You can plug the tire if it does get a hole that at the sealant won't close just like all the tubeless clinchers out there.
If you need to carry a spare or want a tire inexpensive tire, Yellow Jersey Bike Shop in Madison WI (has online presence too) used to sell three for $50. That's what I carry for a spare if I think I need a spare.
J.
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