RobbieTunes

Removable cores are, like, essential and smart, like. I buy tubes with them now, too.
I have had one flat in my life on tubulars (at the valve), but now I put 2 oz of sealant in them, too.
I rode 60 miles on my tubeless tires on Sunday, shakedown ride.
The anxiety lasted 20 miles, then I was just too busy being cold and climbing and trying to keep up.
They ride nice, once you get over expecting them to blow up and spew sealant all over the place.

Classtime 

I think I got 3 Rally's in size 25 for 68 dollars delivered from some British Isle. AND they have removable valve cores. I did 75mi/7k ft on the Ironman Sunday and they felt pretty good. I did 25/2.5 today on The Turbo with same wheels and thought they were fine.


RVC I took one out to be sure.

Lazyass

I have a set of wheels from BWW and their house brand Pure tubular rim (6700 hubs/DT Comp's). The rims weigh 380g and cost $40. Light enough for me. They sell a 1370g wheelset with their house brand hubs. I mean how light do you really need them. I have zero issues with the rims, they're very nice and not flexy at all.

https://bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/Components/Rims/700c-rims/Pure-Tubular-23x22mm-380g.html

Lazyass

About two years ago I had a Vredestein tubular go down. It wasn't a puncture but I think it was actually a pinch flat because the air was coming from under the base tape and happened after I went over some rough RR tracks. I wasn't paying attention and hit it at a bad angle, I was lucky I didn't crash. I put 1/2 of a 2oz bottle of Stan's in it, aired it up and finished my ride. It worked so well that I could go a week without even having to reinflate the tire.

And for those who don't know, a chain tool will remove the core, I use the one on my Crank Bros multi tool. I believe an 11mm spoke wrench works as well.

.

nomadmax 

If they truly weigh out at 380 grams that's a start. As I said, my rough duty wheels were 330s and my climbing wheels were 280s. The whole "these wheels weigh xxx" doesn't tell the whole story. I'll take a pair of wheels that weigh more overall because the hubs are heavy but have a lighter rim/tire combo over a set of wheels that weigh less but have more rim/tire weight. It makes a difference on climbs and accelerations. Are these 380g rims as light as an aluminum rim come? I guess what I'm saying is, for all of the technology that's been infused into bikes during the last 3 to 4 decades it's kinda tough for me to believe that it can't be done when it was done before. I raced and trained on tubulars decades ago when someone else was paying for and mounting them. I appreciate the link, I'll look into these and find out what they weight weenie out to be. If somebody is making something lighter than this I could be a player.

Lazyass

Well box section rims are going to be lighter. I don't know of anyone making modern box section tubulars. The Pure rims are 23mm deep and IMO 380g is pretty good. I didn't personally weigh the rim, they could be lying I guess but I doubt it. HED makes the Belgium at 24mm deep but those rims are heavy. I don't even know of any others out today.

I know light hubs and spokes help make a light wheel, but I doubt a sub-1400g wheelset is going to have heavy rims.

ThermionicScott 

Mavic Open Pro T are spec’d at 360g, FWIW.

xiaoman1 

It's already said but may bear repeating..Tape!
Ben

Lazyass

I don't think I'll ever use tape because I've read from people who had problems removing the tire and I wouldn't want to deal with that on the road. I use less glue than most people and still have to use a tire lever to pry up the first section. I only use two coats on the rim and one on the basetape which is more than good enough. A Pro Tour team was selling used tires, and you could see by looking at the base tape that the mechanic only put one spot of glue between each spoke, it wasn't even spread over the entire rim or basetape. I enjoy the process of gluing anyway and I don't mind the mess it makes. Disc brake cleaner actually removes the glue right off the rim and side of the tire.

DiabloScott

True; glue allows you to adjust how much you use. It took me a few times to figure out how much glue and what technique gave the perfect bond without being impossible to remove. Maybe that's not important to tape people.

Lazyass

I also learned there is no need to let it all dry for 12-24 hours before mounting the tire as many recommend. I mount them as soon as I'm done gluing. Then I take it for a slow ride down the street to check for lumps. If there is a lump it's easy to stretch it out because the glue isn't dry yet. Then I let it sit overnight and ride the next day.

Steve Whitlatch 

One of these days I may get around to trying tape. Glue is pretty easy, not sure why so many have such hatred for it?

RobbieTunes

'Cause my khakis are $54/pair
And Tubasti just don't seem to care.

I could get me an apron,
and try, a bit, to save on...
the mess but it's already there!

63rickert

NOS box section rims are all over ebay. Ambrosio may still be in production, if you look around you can find fairly recent (last 5 years) NOS Ambrosio F20 and Nemesis. And just keep looking, there are lots more tubular rims sitting in storage than will ever be used. My personal stash has been cut back and not giving more away, still have more than will likely ever be built up.

RobbieTunes

+1
I picked up a set of DA7800 hubs laced to NOS boxed Ambrosio Montreal's that are silky light, right here on BF. They took some work but are nice nice.
I'm picking up an NOS set of Ultegra 6600 hubs laced to NOS Mavic Reflex hard-anodized box tubulars. NOS and cheap, two words I can deal with.
I have a set of AVA 36-hole box rims I've been saving, they look new, weigh nothing, and will make a great climbing set one of these days.
I laced a set of NOS Performance M21 polished tubular box 36-hole rims to NOS GPX hubs, but am seriously considering swapping them over to some Record 8sp hubs.

Now that 63rickert mentioned it, I seem to have a lot of very light tubular box section rims, in very good shape, sitting around.
I've about had it with the limited life of Velocity Aeroheads, and moving "up" to a lighter, older NOS box-section tubular rim on those sets sounds satisfactory.

ThermionicScott 

Y'know, every year I wonder if I'll be tempted into tubulars by a pair of inexpensive NOS rims at the Brazen Dropouts swap meet...

RobbieTunes

Getting there this year is not too bad, but getting home, not good. I'm going to let the highway crews deal with my carcass another time.

I can vouch for the feeling when you first heft your newly laced, very light, older box section tubulars, laced to the best hubs you can find for them. Magic. You can't wait to carefully TAPE on a set of tires and go climbing.

Lazyass

Last winter on ebay I scored a wheelset with GP4 rims and Suzue sealed bearing hubs for $120. The owner built them up in the 80's for a spare and never used them, they were NOS. I got lucky because he had them listed in the wrong section so no one else looking for wheels probably saw them.

RobbieTunes

Yep, that's the situation I like.

crank_addict

This thread on sew-up's should be a sticky.

DiabloScott

My first sew-ups were GP4 on Super Record hubs. I really wanted wheels with the oil hole cover like all the criterium racers had.. The shop had a pair of hubs there but it was 28 hole front and 32 hole back and I thought that wasn't enough spokes. An actual racer guy came in and he said he'd be fine with that configuration so the shop owner built them up for me.

That's where I learned my gluing technique, went through a half-dozen tires or so, but I cracked that criterium bike and my next bike had a freehub so I never used them after that.
After a long time of not having sew-ups I bought a set off eBay that fit my 130mm dropout and had a Shimano freehub and I learned to love them all over again. Tubular wheels are on my vintage steel bike all the time now and get used a lot. Makes for a good conversation starter too.

squirtdad

bit OT but just saw a guy on clearly high end carbon bike with his spare tubie proudly strapped under his seat...... to bad he did not do a proper DiabloScott tubie fold, but points any way

SJX426 

I fouid a couple of sets of GL330 a few years ago and paid lvery little for them. They were intended to be back ups for the Colnago. Now they will be utilized for the Pinarello.

DiabloScott

By the way, this one is outstanding.
I usually go for longer and thinner, but this is a nice example of the compact look, perfectly executed.

Lazyass

It has Newbaums cotton tape and the Fizik saddle is the same shape as my favorite Turbo. I've ridden that bike in many charity rides and it's funny how many people come up to check it out just amazed that I have tubulars on it. I've even had other cyclists ask me what that thing strapped to my saddle is

I just bought a Wabi Special single speed bike with a Reynolds 725 lugged frame and I want to build a set of tubulars for it with Phil Wood hubs.