Continentals don't impress me. The don't stretch well for mounting, and just never seem as supple as others like Vittoria.

Thanks, [MENTION=22396]Wildwood[/MENTION]. But just because the tire can take 12 bar doesn't mean it's a good pressure for me! :)

Admittedly, my favorites are VeloFlex 25&28mm tires (Roubaix, Arenberg + Vlaanderen) and Spec Turbo 24mm.
My Conti experience is limited to 22mm Sprinters on 2 bikes and 23mm Giros on 1. The Giros were already mounted on a wheelset I purchased.

Totally agree they are less supple, but I haven't purchased Conti's more expensive models.

No experience with Vittoria's upper level tubies, only clincher. And I like the new G+ tire coupled with latex tubes VERY much - but only tested on 1 bike.

edit: The Schwalbe G1 tubie at 30mm is my off pavement roadie (also NOT supple), and their Racing Ralph has been on 2 of my bikes for 33mm knobbie needs.

Understood! :thumb:

Nor I, but the point is maybe the higher pressure would necessitate a stiffer sidewall??, thereby explaining the harsher ride.


For me, on a relatively smooth road 22mm pumped to 120psi makes for a FEELING of quicker accelerations + responsive handling + speed. I would probably not take 22/23s on a ride beyond 40-50mi, I have bikes/wheelsets with fatter for those occasions.

When I'm doing a longer ride those quicker accelerations, responsive handling, and speed are exactly what I want (and I don't believe it is just "feel" since I know what cadences and gears I run).

I haven't been able to ride as much as I'd like this season. However yesterday I met up with three buddies from church and we drove to Burlington, VT to do the "Three Ferries Tour." It is a 40 mile jaunt around the northern end of Lake Champlain. Begins with an hour long ferry ride to Port Essex, NY, includes a ferry ride back to Grand Isle in VT, and the final leg is on a gravel/paved rail trail causeway across the Lake. The causeway includes a five or so minute ride on the Bike Ferry to cover the gap where a swing bridge once stood for the railroad.

Anyway--- they rode their modern 11 speed cassettes and compact cranks on carbon fiber Cannondales and a Trek--- with clinchers :p while I navigated and paced them on my '71 Paramount with classic looking Schwalbe One tubulars. :thumb: I was grinding away with my nearly 50 year old five speed freewheel and Campagnolo Rally/Record transmission while they were SIS clicking or DI switching on their 105, Ultegra, and DuraAce magic marvels.

It was a fun ride and I carried in my classic handlebar bag the jar of dill pickles and juice to consume to ward off cramps. All the pickles and most of the juice was gone at the end of the ride :D

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...128db146dd.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3a4aff2059.jpg

I still are using tubulars

+100 :thumb:

But
Who gets 40+ miles on smooth pavement? At some point for me the 25/28mm cush from nice compliant tubular tires overtakes the need for speed. Not being a mileage man like yourself, that becomes about mile post 40 on my rides.

Life is Goood.
Ride On!

I may need to get a pair of tubular wheels working again. It has been a long time since I've ridden them but they do ride nice.

My first experience with oversized tubulars has been pretty great. These are some Challenge Strada Bianca 700x30c mounted to Major Tom rims. I haven't taken them on a long ride yet, or over any rough stuff, but my commutes have gotten a lot faster. They're very fast and comfortable, even though I used too much glue on the front tire and didn't mount them perfectly the first try. They still aren't 100% aligned, but I can barely tell.


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ro...=w1249-h937-no

You did take the proper precaution to minimize the ill effects of crooked tire mounting - the basket with stuff in it. (Crooked sewups only slow you down if you think about it. So ... they slow you down far less in back, less with fenders on. Hastily mount a spare because you are in a rough part of town and fear for your bike and welfare? That crooked tire won't slow you down at all! Just be careful on corners.)

A little shared wisdom from 70,000 miles of sewups.

Ben

If I wanted to tape a pair of tubulars to a pair of rims that had previously had tires glued to them, presumably I'd need to remove all the old glue first, right? But if I were to simply re-glue them, do I need to remove the old glue?

I've taped but never glued tubulars. Think I'd like to stick with the tape. What say all of you?

I'm thinking of designating one bike a tubular bike, so will perhaps be getting back into tubulars on a small scale. Want to do it right.

DD

FWIW brass brush on a drill gets rid of glue quickly

I am still really a newbie but what I have learned is

Gluing is not really that big of a deal Taping is easy but not order of magnitudes easier than gluing

the ride is worth it....even tires that have a rep for being not as smooth as other tubuies are still smoother than the equal clincher

At risk of jinxing my self, i have been lucky and not had flats....but my mileage is low

all in all going tubie seems about 1000% less hassle than going tubeless

I used the wire-brush attachment on my angle grinder. Just held it in place with one hand and rotated the wheel in the truing stand in the other. Took the old glue of in maybe 4mins

I am the son of a welder and I have learned the acetelene torch and angle grinder are two tools who are undefeated!

See my quote above - I have used my angle grinder with a wire brush wheel - works great although I would see why some would caution against using such a tool on nice rims. I am pretty steady with it but would be easy to possibly do some damage. Bonus - if you use the angle grinder/wire brush attachment you can probably skip the sanding stage prior to gluing! +1 to Squirtdad's tape vs. glue question. I have never glued before this pair and it can get messy but not rocket science. Watch some videos. You'll be fine. Hardest part is centering, although I have heard if they're not perfectly centered that's fine, I just have no corroborating evidence for this.

Since I have a lot of Dremel experience (!) I will try a wire brush attachment on it and go from there. Thanks for the suggestion!

The tape job I did recently for another Forum member was easy-peasy. Made it super-simple to locate the tire exactly where we wanted it, then you just pull the protective tape off and you're all set. Bob Freeman says tape holds much better, too - tho that can be a bit of a hassle when getting a tub off, I suppose.

DD

Thanks, I'll give that a shot with the Dremel.

DD

I like it! maybe I'll try tape next time!

brass brush....not steel very important

Thanks for noting that - and yeah, that makes total sense. Just like brass wool instead of steel wool won't scratch up chrome, I'm assuming the brass brush will go easier on the alloy/anodizing.

DD

There is a trick to that. Leave the area between the spokes directly opposite the valve stem free of tape.

For balancing the wheel, correct?

DD

Can't answer about removing the tape opposite valve stem, can't hurt. But it has to be negligible in a rolling environment with bearings under load of rider + bike, and with vibration induced from pavement. Still, no harm in seeking perfection.

What tires on your radar?
I'll guess Vittoria.
Checked the sale prices at www.probikekit.com and www.merlincycles.com and the prices are typical, but not hot deals. www.biketiresdirect.com is high, but faster delivery by a mile.

I need to buy a few tires, too. Only 2 if the new Vittoria Rallys 25mm are acceptable spares. Probably 4, as having a matching (and therefore permanent) replacement is more efficient.

Flatted an older Conti Giro, that came with a purchased wheelset. Got a good many useful miles out of it. But what to do now, given no replacement tanwall 23mm?

I thank you for the compliment. I have to mention that this "mileage man" has found fewer opportunities this summer to do serious mileage. Even so, most of it has been on tubulars.

I first read that as "If you think about it, crooked sewups only slow you down", which says almost the same thing but is completely different. I try not to think about it so they don't slow me down much at all.

You are welcome to stick with tape. That's what tape does, sticks to things. Better that the tire sticks to it than that you do however. (I use glue.)

To give you a starting point when you need to remove the tubular. I always skipped the same section when I used glue, for that reason.

Exactly. I once spent a good deal of time at the side of the road trying to remove one of my tubulars before learning that tidbit. Arthritis in my thumbs can make it difficult. What was funny was the several people stopping to ask if I needed help. All I had to say was "tubular tire" and they got a blank look on their faces.

I never would have thought of that in a million years. In a box, I am.

DD

I have occasionally resorted to carrying plastic tire irons to use as levers to remove stuck sewups. Never had to though, at least not yet.

None, actually - the tires that came on the Bianchi are in super shape, but the front is mounted opposite the rear and you know me and my OCD. Besides, I always overhaul a bike that's new to me and I don't know if I can trust the old glue.

DD