+1

Fixed my first tubular flat
 

So, I hung my bike up after a ride and noticed a thorn lodged in the front tubular. Pulled it out and pfffft .... well, at least I was lucky enough to make it home without flatting on the road.

The tire was already pre-treated with Tufo sealant per waytoomanybikes's advice, and I added another half-tube (the small size tube) of sealant. It seems to have worked!

The puncture was on the side of the front tire - at the edge of the tread, almost on the sidewall - so I hung the bike by its rear wheel from a ceiling hook, added the sealant, inflated, and turned the front wheel at 90 degrees so it could spin parallel to the ground like a record on a turntable. That hopefully helped the sealant settle into the sidewall zone of the inner tube.

Before starting I actually masked the fork and downtube because I was worried about sealant spraying out. Didn't happen at all.

Quick, easy job except for the need to wipe up a few stray drips of sealant. Still waiting for the ultimate proof since I have not ridden on it yet since the fix. But the tire is inflated at full pressure and holding air.

If this holds, I am a Tufo sealant believer.

Do you have a removeable core or did you figure out how to get it in there without removing the core?

I had a tire that spewed sealant stuff all over the bottom of my down tube - it would lose a little air, seal, spew some more, seal again, it was amazing how much came out and the tire was still rideable but the seal never really held. I'd like to try the Tufo stuff if I can get it in there without breaking off the valve closure nut.

Removable core. Without one, wouldn't you risk the sealant drying in the core and clogging the valve?

There are some kinds of sealants that allow injection through the valve - Seal & Flate, Pit Stop, Presta Seal... in my experience, they don't work as well as Slime or <maybe> Tufo sealant.

No experience with those others, only Tufo which was recommended to me and my LBS stocks it ... they could be as good or better than Tufo, no idea.

Two days later, I've ridden the bike about 50 miles including some hill training, and the flat fix seems just fine. I am happy.

i have glued a few tires. even if i get the tires on straight there seems to be a little lump around the valve stem area. i was told this is common and one thing you can do, is make a small recess in the rim at the valve stem hole.
any comments on this?

I'm completely new to tubulars and this morning I naively thought I'd be able to put the tire on! Ha! There's no chance. It really seems like its the wrong size tire, I've triend yanking and stretching but there's no way of getting it onto the rim. I;ve read the advise on this thread and you all say leave to stretch on the rim ——— but how do I get it on there???! Thats the problem!

Any other suggestions on how to stretch the tire??

Thanks

I sat down in the middle of the floor, braced my feet against the inside of the tyre, held onto the tyre with all my arm's strength, and straightened out on the floor.

Mr. East Hill thought I was mad. But I did eventually get the tyre on the rim. I left the tyres alone for about a week before I tried gluing.

East Hill

Well you're a better woman than me, I've tried everything, the things just aren't stretching! It goes about half way arounf the rim only!

I think having to deal with 140 pound containers on a daily basis helps a lot :) .

That's approximately 63.5 kg...

East Hill

Try putting it on somewhere that's uncomfortably warm. The rubber will become more pliable.

Oh, that reminded me: I did this in front of a very hot fire in December. That probably helped :D .

East Hill

OK, here’s my totally tubular tale du jour.

To give away the ending: 1) tubulars good! 2) put sealant inside!

=========================

I went for a 50 mile ride with a couple friends in hilly rural country on Saturday morning.

It wasn’t supposed to rain till evening. So we were surprised when the rain arrived around noon. We took a different route back that looked a little shorter on the map. To our great dismay we hit an unpaved road, and rode about 2 miles on gravel – not rounded rocks but good jagged stuff. It was tricky going. One guy swerved and fell, skinning his elbow and knee.

So there I was, riding my lovingly restored vintage steel lightweight in the rain, trying to stay upright while slogging through gravel and mud on my tubulars. Not what I had in mind!

Somehow we got through the gravel and the rest of the ride without a flat.

The next day, I noticed my rear tire was a little soft. Hmm, must be either a slow leak or a puncture that “healed” from the Tufo sealant I’d put in the tubes. (Thanks to waytoomanybikes for suggesting it here)

I’m thinking it was the sealant, because Monday morning (today) the tire felt the same. I added some air and rode it to work. It seems fine.

Second time this season Tufo sealant has come through for me … I’m sold on it.

Since two main reasons for running tubulars is light weight and liveliness, what effect does putting sealant inside them have?

I haven't ridden skinny road clinchers in 10 years, so I don't have a good feel for the comparative weight and liveliness.

But tubulars and their rims are pretty light. And they don't require much sealant inside (a liquid ounce or two?), so I figure the effect is slight. Certainly less than the effect of changing a tire at the side of the road.

Time for a new pair of tubulars ... does anyone have comparative experience with Bontrager's Race Lite vs. Race X Lite Pro? Which should I get, is the Pro worth twice the price?

Hey guys,
I've decided to dabble into the dark arts (tubulars), so I bought a pair of used Mavic GP 4. Now the question is, should I clean the old glue off the rims?


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2154/...c8d36467_o.jpg

I've got a couple of quick (and possibly horrifying to some forum members) way of getting the job done. Then again, I've always valued results, not subtlety:

1. Bring the wheels to work and use the parts cleaner.
2. Steal a little kerosene from the shop heater, soak a rag and wipe it down.
3. If all else fails, a rotary wire brush (SOFT!) on a power drill will take down anything.

That red glue on the right rim has always been fodder for the rotary wire brush.

Just chisel the bigger lumps off with a screwdriver. I've re-glued ones that had thicker glue on them. Wire brush too often and you won't have any rims left.

if the glue is hard you can scrape it off. if it's soft you can just put a coat of glue over it. maybe pick off the larger clumps of glue.

You realize that you are missing the spoke eyelets in a few places, don't you? Those may be difficult to replace.

I'm thinking those may be the valve holes. And for cleaning, if the glue isn't completely dry, it will just fill your wire brush and make it worthless. Also for "wet" glue, mineral spirits works much better than xylene.

Yes, I think you're right, valve holes, duh!