davei1980

Are there road tires 28mm or wider for these?

Talk me into getting them or out of getting them.

I know nothing except what I have read on Sheldon Brown.com

RubeRad

Was this an April Fool's post?

In order to patch a flat, you need to cut them open, and then sew them back up. If that's not enough to talk you out of them, I don't know what is.

rhm

Good sew up tires are expensive, and the wider ones are more so. The people who love them, they really love them. The rest of us, not that I'm qualified to speak for everyone, well, we tend to think those who love them are just crazy.

Check out the "totally tubular" thread in C&V.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...y-tubular.html

General Geoff

As far as I'm concerned, they are strictly for professional racing use. Too much hassle for any casual usage.

ThermionicScott 

Since most roadies went to clinchers in the late 1970s/early 1980s, a lot of perfectly-good tubular wheels went unused and that's probably why you are seeing "good deals" for them.

I imagine it's somewhat like buying an old Porsche -- the purchase price can be surprisingly low, but the costs and work to keep it running are what will get you. For those who like them, it will be worth it.

79pmooney

I commuted on sewups for decades. Expensive, yes. But they had several real advantages. One - roadside flats. You could change a tire in 10 minutes or less in the dark, in the rain, in the snow, inebriated, tired or just having a really bad day. In places you really didn't want to be for very long. You could put the tire on any old which way, get on the bike and ride. It would get you home - every time.

I know lots here will contest what I just wrote. But if you use Tubasti cement exclusively; lots of it, and never clean the rims you end up with a very reliable wheel that holds tires well (until the temps get very hot) and has so much residual and not hard glue after you pull a tire off that the next goes on fast and sticks. (Yes, take the first few corners carefully.)

Other pluses - sewups work on damaged rims. I've dropped into bottomless potholes (hidden in puddles) and dented rims in more than an inch and ridden home on that square wheel with no issues (save the thump!, thump! ride). Well glued sewups never come off, even after massive blowouts. And, as long as you have enough tires, you always can do ridable road flat repairs. (The flats from poor workmanship in the repair or tire remount don't happen.)

All this said, sewups cost a lot. Riding them is a different lifestyle. Nearly all bikeshops will be of no use to you if you have tire issues. Repairs will take roughly an hour per, at home in excellent lighting and with a high level of patience. You are riding tires and wheels that are completely incompatible with everybody else's except: you can mount your sewup dry on a clincher wheel and get home.

A loose analogy might be getting a horse to replace your car, inspired by the fact that someone across town has put her prize horse up for sale to a good owner for $100. Yes, that is a bargain price. Yes, horses can do all sorts of things cars will never be able to do. But you probably should think long and hard before selling your car and buying that horse as a commuter.

Ben

fietsbob

A friend used a sealant on cheap sewups without removable valve cores.. he had a trick but it took time and restitching..

now you can just buy Tufo tubs which are also making a sealant.

used wheels with old hubs and sew up rims are probably offered on eBay..



28 and wider tubular tires are made for cyclocross racing...

Glued on they can be run low pressure without coming off the rim in corners, tubeless burping or pinch flatting your innertube.





....

noglider 

I can tell you a secret. Tubular rims are always cheap, because people are always getting rid of them. You could probably also buy old tires that are about to blow for low prices.

caloso

Nice fat tubulars will feel like you're rolling on a cloud. The ride will be transformative. And they don't pinch flat, so that's an advantage on potholed or broken pavement.

But: they're expensive compared to clinchers; a pain to mount; and you have to carry a can of sealant or an entire spare tire in case you flat.

DiabloScott

If you have to ask, you probably don't want them.
Even people who love sew-ups -generally- don't put them on their commute bikes.
I sometimes ride my vintage bike with sew-ups in to work... but -generally- I want cheap and durable for that function.

davei1980

I think I am gonna pass on the rims when I can buy damn good commuter-grade clinchers for $10 each.


Thanks all - was just wondering if there's a hidden world of sew-up bliss I am missing out on but it sounds like not - that said, I would consider them if I ever get around to building my SS CX bike like I want to do because of their lower-risk of pinch flats! But I am not going to buy weird rims for a bike I don't yet own.

Jim from Boston

BTW @79pmooney, you may recall we have both lived and cycled in Ann Arbor, MI and Boston.

caloso

This is different, and a perfect reason to getting tubulars.

noglider 

There is a world of bliss with tubulars. But it's mixed with a world of pain.

And maybe the bliss is a delusion because so much has already been invested that we convince ourselves that the ride is worth it all.

By the way, I pinch-flatted my tubulars a lot when I toured on them. They couldn't take the load.

DiabloScott

In fact, the term "snake bite" for a pinch flat was INVENTED by tubular tire users. They're maybe less prone to pinch flats than clinchers but they are not immune.

Pinch flats haven't really been a problem for me, but that's mostly because of the decent roads I ride on. If I lived in an area with lots of potholes and thorns and broken glass, I would not be putting a lot of miles on my sew-ups.

caloso

No, you all are right. They're not pinch-flat-proof, but they are much less likely to do so, especially on an unloaded road bike.

HardyWeinberg

Well, you carry a spare tire or two instead of just a tube and/or patchkit. And there is flat-sealer stuff you can spray into the tubes now. Both like slime to have punctures fix as they spin and also cans of stuff to spray in and seal the leak while reinflating.

Not to say that's not a huge logistical issue to deal with.

RubeRad

That's just on the road. Even at home, re-sewing a sewup is more hassle than I ever want to deal with. I remember my dad doing it, and how glad he was to switch to clinchers.

lostarchitect 

Instead, try some high quality newer tires described as "open tubulars". They have almost the ride quality of tubulars, with a lot less hassle.

HardyWeinberg

You can get out of the pinch-flat thing with a tubeless setup, which is another fiddly thing that might be worth it only if your inner engineer gets satisfied in keeping it rolling.

rmfnla

There are numerous advantages to sew-ups but virtually none of them apply to commuting...

RubeRad

That's a weird name. Really they're just 'deluxe clinchers'. The term 'clipless' is an unfortunate historical accident, why do the equivalent on purpose?

DiabloScott

Yeah, I hate that term - partly because it makes clinchers show up in search results for tubulars.

CliffordK

There is another class of tires, called "open tubulars". I can't tell if that is all hype, or if it is something actually different from clinchers.

But, some of the high end tubular tires also have corresponding high end open tubular tires that work on your clincher rims.

Also, don't forget the tubeless + sealants. Lots of options out there.

fietsbob

yea , companies like Vittoria make both..