Are you sharing?

Cuda, if you kept the wrapper for your Vittoria tires, there's a really good gluing procedure printed on it. Try it, it works.

I don't get too excited about old glue layers, as long as there aren't major lumps.

anyone use Stan's in their tubulars as a preventative measure? If so, does it affect the ride quality and do you find it effective in reducing flats?

I used Stan's in both my front and rear tubies after I got flats from goat heads. It works very well and I am working on a way to carry it with me for the tires that haven't gone flat yet. Don't know about using it in latex tubes, though.

Brenda

I've been riding my Miyata Team, which has tubulars, for the last couple of days (temps in the 70's in the Bay Area) and am really enjoying it. I've put on maybe a hundred miles. The only thing I'm carrying, should I get flats, are two cans of Vittoria Pit Stop.... am I asking for trouble? (and of course a credit card to pay for the ride home!) I'm a tubular "noob"... .

Having ridden tubs since the early 70's, here's how I'm equipped when I'm out: One spare tyre strapped under the saddle. In my back jacket/jersey pocket (in a plastic bag) is: Pressure gauge, CO2 inflator, three bottles, one tube of rim cement (no particular loyalties, currently I'm using Hutchinson, as that's what my nearby favorite lbs carries).

Being a firm believe in Murphy's Law, and gaming it against itself, my religiousness on carrying this kit has kept me to one puncture a year - and that's usually on a tyre that's so worn that I just toss it out rather than repair it.

By the way, when I'm on a bike with clinchers, the tubular is replaced with a wedge pack containing one tube and three tyre irons. Still prefer the tubulars in that situation, because I can be off and back on the road in about five minutes.

So it sounds like I'm good to go... :roflmao2:

What is Stan's, is that like Tufo sealant? I use that and it has helped reduce flats.

I apologize in advance if this has been asked (too many pages), but I want to try Tufo tape for the first time. Do I need to have the old regular glue completely removed from the rims first, or can it be left on?

what tires do you use/prefer?

+1. A GPS case works perfect,though I don't bother with a gauge and carry needles/floss just for piece of mind. Rarely have I needed it (never needed to sew on the road). It's nice knowing I will never get a pinch flat, which is 90% of my flats with clinchers.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...g?t=1231779476

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...g?t=1231779511

I've got my road tool kit split between two ziploc bags: The one is the tyre changing kit, the second is every other tool which theoretically gives me the ability to disassemble and repair the bike along the road except for the bottom bracket and rear cluster. When the two are carried together, they're in a zipper denim bag I sewed up a few years ago. And I'm carrying at least a good handlebar bag, if not the panniers, to bother carrying the full kit.

My long term affair with tubulars is due heavily to the realization that I can swap out a flatted tyre and be back on the road in about a quarter of the time as I can with clinchers - and that's 27x1-1/4's. Don't even ask regarding high pressure 700c clinchers. I tend to snap plastic tyre irons trying to get them off. And end up switching back to the tubular wheels as soon as I get the bike home.

This year, I've decided to give one more try on the clinchers. Well, mountain biking finally worked out after two failures. Ditto, SS/FG's. I dusted off the Bontrager wheels I picked up at Westminster three years ago and put them back on the Fuji Finest (2003), and built the set of clinchers for the Trek 460. Running Hutchinsons on both (mainly because they always seem to be on sale.

I notice, however, that I haven't unglued the tubular wheels for either bike - and probably won't until I get at least six months trouble free service out of the clinchers. Hopefully third time's a charm (once again) but I'm not getting my hopes up too much.

I've been living with Vittoria Rallye 700-23's, and have had excellent luck over the past four years. One puncture per year, and most of the time it's one of the other odd tyres, usually came with a set of wheels, that goes.

What really convinced me on the Rallye was the wreck I had in August 2006 that broke my right wrist. Coming downhill towards my driveway (sharp right turn and steep uphill) at about 20mph, I shifted into low gear while still on the downhill run. The derailleur had a weak lower spring, threw the chain past low gear into the spokes and locked the back wheel. I skidded about fifty feet at which point I was highsided over the bars and landing rather nastily.

Picking myself up and looking at my hand cocked at a very unnatural angle, I then looked over the bike. To my amazement, despite the skid, the rubber had worn through to the kevlar belt, the belt had held, and the tyre still held full pressure. Were it not for the broken wrist, I could have ridden the bike the last .2 mile home without any problem.

I can't ask much more from a tyre. Have stuck with them since, and will usually pick up a spare whenever the local Performance puts them on sale.

You can leave it on as long as it's not too lumpy.

I haven't had any such severe crashes, but I think Rallye's feel decent, especially in the 23 mm.

Glue
 

I usually remove it if I'm using tape, but I have the World's Fastest glue removal system: brass wire wheel on a bench grinder:

http://os2.dhs.org/~john/rim-cleaner.jpg

Here's the "before" picture:

http://os2.dhs.org/~john/rim-before.jpg

And after less less than a minute on the wheel:

http://os2.dhs.org/~john/rim-after.jpg

Best of all, not noxious solvents and no tiresome scrubbing!

i tried the tape for a while, and found it too much of a pain to remove the residue later when changing tires, especially after a flat, but also just with routine changes. it also didn't glue close enough to the edges of the rim, and you really need to get close to the edges to stop the tire from rolling off. plus it's a pain to carry a new tape as well as the spare tire.... my kit for rides over 50 miles is a spare tire under the seat, a plastic tire iron, a half tube of glue, and a minipump. less than 50 mile trips i just ride home on a flat, or catch a cab.

if you do decide to use it, you should at least remove the rough lumps of old glue but it doesn't need to be 100% clean.

for tire sealant/flat prevention the Vittoria pit stop is pretty good and holds at pressure higher
than 70PSI (tufo sealant begins to squirt out the hole above 70PSI).
I recommend learning how to wipe tires, saved me more than a few flats.

If you're going to use Tufo tape please don't use the 'regular' stuff. Oh it works well enough
it just melts at high temps, oozes out from under the tire and attracts all sorts of road debris,
it's also a PITA to remove. Use the extreme tape, you'll be happier for it.

I use either Continental glue as that's what the LBS has, or Pana (nice clear glue).

Marty

I've never bothered trying to remove all the glue from my rims, but that's a good idea. Don't have a bench grinder, but I have a dremel tool with wire wheels. Think I'll try it.

You will go through a zillion Dermel wire brushes and waste a good deal of your life in the process.

Try a drill motor with a BRASS wire brush.

Here's a tip:
Use Tubular tire glue to keep your suction cup accessories sticking on your shower tile. It has been working good for me in the bathroom so far but for some reason it doesn;t work too well for sticking my GPS unit in to the car window.

I agree with Ultraman. You have a collectible, excellent, and potentially expensive to replace tire there. I would at least pull the rim tape in the affected area and inspect the sewing. Look at the sewing in a non-affected area as well to see what it's supposed to look like. If the seam is not butted back together, see if all the thread holes are intact. If they are, just carefully snip out the repair thread, order one fo those Velox tubular repair sets, and use the Velox needle and thread to sew it back up tight. You will need to lock the seam so it doesn't pull loose. You should have decent results using Jevelot to glue the rim tape back on. If the casing is failing, I'd expect to see a lump in one side or other of the tire, not a general swelling like your tire is showing.

For the dryness on the sidewalls, use the Jevelot. In a well-ventilated area, the stuff stinks, IMO.

Road Fan

How much cement/glue do I need to order for 2 new tires plus a spare?

I can order the Continental 25g tube for $3.30 or the Vittoria .25 liter tin for $11.19 or the Continental 350g tin for $16.77.

Two of the 25g tubes would cover three tires - with a bit to spare. I still use 3M FasTack. I don't ride hard enough to roll a tire though. :o

I admit I am not great at the metric system.

How does 25g compare to .25 liters? Isn't one a weight measurement and the other a volume measurement?