Ahh, that makes more sense. Looks like a good attempt at reshaping the spoke head. It wasn't enough to use proprietary spokes and nipples, but they had to use outdated French-threaded nipples to boot?! I always thought those Roval wheels were cool and wanted a set BITD. Now, nearly every mention of them seems related to a search for unobtanium replacement parts. Good luck in your efforts to get them back in service!

What's the length of your Roval spokes? I do have some extra Robergel French-threaded (1.8mm) spokes and nipples in my stash. If I have a matching length, and you think you might be able to use/reshape them for your project, I'd be happy to send a couple your way.

obuckler Try a pair of vise grips or clamps to restrict the air flow and move them along methodically to locate the leak.

thanks. Yes I forgot that. I have some wood clamps that will work well!

My first flat since returning to sewups was a slow one, just fast enough to make the tire useless. I could clamp the tire behind the valve in my smooth jawed bench vise and walk the circumference with the wood clamp I've been needing an excuse to buy. (When my project list is down to where I can spare a day or two on the vise.)

Second flat - a roofing nail clear through the tire twice (and I am sure the tube also) and through the rim bed! (Deep rim so it didn't reach the inside TG.) First road ride ever on that wheel. Velodrome wheel picked up cheap of unknown history. From Bike Central owner's stash of velodrome wheels and rims; the shop having been closed for years and the velodrome (Alpenrose) now gone.

In that stash, a gem. Gold pair of Miche double sided track hubs, Gel330s, butted, tie and soldered spokes. Warmup (and showcase) wheels for the Nats for a woman I consider a sister. (We share fights back from injury to racing form. Also the best ally I've ever had for getting odd fix gear parts.) These wheels are literally gems. Absolutely beautiful and perfect. Built by the best. Neatest tie and solder I've ever seen. They have track rubber now but will get Corsa Speeds when it's time. Get re-spaced to 126 with a touch of dish and go on my freshly painted Mooney for very special occasions. My first ride will be the first time those rims have ever seen brakes. And every ride, I'll think of Jen.

You know the water dunk works pretty well too.

yes. I found the leak with a water dunk. But it exhibited out a random area of the sidewall that was not the puncture location. No puncture to be found. Used a glass looking for any sign of one to to avail. Especially for this pesky small wires that cause flats now and then. Will be a bit before I get back to this.

I am really irritated by the tube sticking to the tire carcass because of the excess seam tape glue seeping inside the tire. That meant I couldn’t pull a healthy amount of tube out from the five inch unsewed section.

doesn't that prove it the tire is guilty of witchrcraft or not?

I installed a tubular tire for the 1st time yesterday. It was really messy but you got to start somewhere. I got glue everywhere the brake track on the rim. Is there any way to remove it without damaging the tire or rim. I can't just have the brake pads rub it off as I ride fixed gear with no brakes.

Funny Grant40.

Today, I punctured on a rather significant descent. This is where tubulars excel and I came to a stop at the end of a bend without hitting the curb.

I think acetone (main ingredient of nail polish remover) is the preferred solvent. Test in a small spot to be sure.

The tire is still on and I'm afraid the acetone will dissolve the rubber.

Got some glue left? Spread it on a bit of aluminum (maybe an unused rim), let it dry, then try the acetone. Alternatively, apply to a paper towel and just rub carefully along the brake track. Unless you're just pouring it on the rim you're not going to bother the glue under the tire.

Both Acetone and Mineral Spirit's work. I just mounted a tire this morning.

The ride on Saturday experienced a flat on a Challenge Elite. Not too impressed with these tires but hey, they work. Max pressure is 105 psi. I had them at a lot more. My bad for not reading the label. I am use to pumping the Vittoria G+.
Tiny hole that could only be found in a water dunk and very slow. I didn't notice it until I went to do a t lane U tern. The front tire washed a bit but I was able to recover while watching the tire try to roll off the rim. It didn't.
There was enough pressure to ride it for 2 more miles before the rim started hitting the road surface on bumps.
At that Point I debated about filling it up with a cartridge or changing the tire. I still had about 5 miles to get home.
I decided to swap tires and save maybe one cartridge, thinking I would use two to get home, maybe.
Changing was really fast. A testament to using sew-ups. The spare is a Challenge Roubaix with a higher PSI limit.
These are 25mm tires that barely fit between the caliper shoes when they are released.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4c2a35ab8f.jpg

Now I have two tires to complete the repair. Its been over 40 years since I have done this. The last tire was sent to tire repair in FL.

I know this new one could be addressed with an injection. I just don't want to deal with the mess later.

Hopefully this is a butyl tube. Holds air for days comparted to the latex.

I've had no luck with acetone or mineral spirits. I have had good luck with Citristrip adhesive remover which is kind of gooey and stays on the rim to soak and soften the Continental or Vittoria glues. Sometimes applying twice.

I picked up an incredible deal on an older Japanese track bike and both the wheels are tubs.

On my other bike, another old Japanese track bike, I run Conti Gatorskin tubs in the rear and they seem really durable. Even with heavy city riding they've lasted for years.

I haven't decided if I want to sell or keep the new bike. The wheels are Suzue Pro Max high flange hubs with Wolber Super Champion Aubisque tubular rims. I love the look of them.

If I keep this bike, it will be lightly ridden. But again, I'm not sure if I'm going to sell it. Regardless, I'm not spending $60 per wheel on tubulars.

2 questions....

-Here is a link to the Wolbers. https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.a...m=107&AbsPos=2
Am I going to have any issues trying to do a 25mm tubular on these rims or should I stick with 23mm? They're just a really small profile rim.

-Is there any current tubulars that are somewhat decent that I can pick up for less than $100 a set? I'm tempted to just throw on Panaracer Trainers or Vittoria Rally that I could get for $75 a set. If I bump my budget up to $100 (for a pair), is there anything significantly better?

Thanks.

You just saw why I am returning to tubulars. High speed flats are so much less exciting.

Continental Sprinters can be had for that at times on sale and they ride much better than Gatorskin Sprinters. I might ride Rally’s again if they were free. I don’t know about the Panaracers.

25s will be fine.

Classtime

Thank you for the response. Looks like I can do a pair of Sprinters for around $100.

BTW, any reason why tubs are so much cheaper in Europe? Like every time I come across a model I'm looking for, it's almost 30%+ cheaper but then I see the "tyres" in the title.

Like it's not even close to US online prices.

The best solution is to find sales. This is one of those "you get what you pay for" scenarios. The more you pay the better the ride
I still have the 3/50 from Yellow Jersey running on my infrequently used Colnago (frame is a bit small). They are just enough to get by. One is in the queue for being sewn up.

I have settled on Vittoria G+ series. They were often on sale and provide a really good ride. With the supply chain issues and inflation, they may be way out of your range, as many might be.

In any case, I would rather run sew-ups than clinchers.

If you're ok with black sidewalls and 30mm width, the Corsa Control G2.0 are on sale for $45 here: https://www.merlincycles.com/en-us/v...0c-177989.html
Shipping might be a bit though, but perhaps you can amortize that across multiple purchases.

Thanks but this frame only has enough room for 25mm

Sprinters are my go to tubular. I'm running Sprinter Gatorskins because of all the fresh chip seal roads around me. They are pretty rough this year. Might have to move to a few more sets of them. I usually buy on sale also for $98 for two. Still running mostly 22 mm tires because those are the ones that are typically on sale. I have one set of 25's of the Sprinters but haven't been able to use them yet.

@Regulatori - tubular tire sewup tire Servizio Corse $19.95 tubular tires at Yellow Jersey; possibly the Best Value Tubular In America for 2022!

Yes, the YJ Servizio Corse tires are a good value, even if the price has gone up (I bought them at 3/$50 some years ago). My only complaints are the somewhat narrow width (21.5mm) and non-removable valve cores, though that apparently has changed.

Disc brake cleaner will wipe it right off. And no it's never removed any paint on my rim.