Bikejock200M

I purchased a pair of these as well, actually have a second set on order. These are definitely FMB made tubulars. The treads are sourced from Thailand. I got the first pair because I liked the "patina" of the sidewalls. They are going to look great on my 76 Motobecane Champion Team. There is a bit of a blip around the valve stem, but over all these look great. And the coating on the base tape looks like a continuation of the sidewall latex. Glad you like the feel of them, looking forward to trying them myself. Enjoy!



I noticed when I set them up that a) they say "Made in Thailand," so definitely training tubies (cotton casing) and b) the base tapes were stamped "May 2011," so oldish NOS. They looked sorta like they had a coating on the base tape, but there was no indication they'd been mounted before (no dimples from eyelets, for example). They ride nice, as good as my Veloflex Vlaanderen I think.[/QUOTE]

smontanaro 

In Gerd Schraner's book, The Art of Wheelbuilding he writes about having to countersink the valve stem holes on most rims. That might be something to try to improve "hop."

smontanaro 

In case anyone is looking for cheap, old spare tubulars, I just posted some to the for sale subforum.

smontanaro 

More on my tubular adventure... I think two of the tires I wound up with were new, some Continental Competitions.



They have tubular tape on them but it was only partially covered and who knows how long it had been there. As I don't use tape, I decided to remove it. I wasn't sure how to go about that, but decided to try some rubbing alcohol and scraping with the blade of a utility knife. It's slow going, but seems to be working, and the rubbing alcohol doesn't seem to be affecting the adherence of the base tape. (While the tape looks like reinforced packing tape, the reinforcing strands aren't anywhere nearly as strong as the real thing. The adhesive is much stronger than the "reinforcing" strands, even after application of rubbing alcohol. It's slow going, but I'm retired, so I sometimes get to do what I want.

Dylansbob 

Ugh, with nearly 20yrs since my last glue job; I"m allowed to make a mistake.

ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES!!!!

I made a mess of myself, the tire, and the rim.

Slowride79

Hello everyone,

I have searched past threads but most I could find on this subject are more than a few years old.
Can anyone vouch for Velox Jantex 76 Tubular Rim Tape?
I have never glued or taped tubulars but now find myself with several I need to do.
I recently asked a well respected collector here on the forum who has been at this for 50 years and he said without hesitation I should use tape instead of glue. I know there is debate.
My biggest concern with tape is how do you handle if you have a flat on the road? Does it come off easily enough ? Do you install a spare and for this do you need additional tape? What if you want to move tires from one set of rims to another? Some have said you virtually destroy the tire when removing from a taped rim. I have invested in quality tires (Veloflex) and don’t want this. Thanks everyone for your advice.

smontanaro 

I have always used glue, but if I was just getting started with tubulars I would probably use tape. I can't answer most of your specific questions though. I do have some experience removing tape, however. In my experience with used tubulars which had previously been taped, it is a PITA to remove. That post of the Conti Competition I made the other day was just the beginning of that particular adventure. I am still messing with it. I've got about half the tape removed from one tire. While it seems I can remove it pretty well, it is very slow going. That said, there appear to be a few different types of tape, so (as Harvey Sachs says), YMMV.

Slowride79

Thanks Skip. What brand of glue do you use? I have a couple tubes of the Conti....

gkamieneski

I had always used Vittoria Mastic, however my last set was done using the Continental glue in the orange tube for aluminum rims. To be honest, I was not able to discern any difference between the Vittoria and the Continental glues.

Sedgemop 

Been using tubulars consistently on my PX-10 for about a year now and am enjoying the ride, for sure. I've switched tires a couple times on each wheel. The last time, I didn't apply glue to the rim, since there's a pretty good buildup of old glue on the wheel. I only applied glue directly to the tire. Seems to be holding just fine and I don't find any loose spots. Any reason to be concerned about this? Also, has anyone here ever had a tire come off while riding from being under-glued?

DiabloScott

Here's my test: take the air out of the tire and see how hard it is to get off... like you had a flat on the road and need to put on your spare. It should be damn hard, but not damn near impossible. I've never had one come off and every time I have to replace a tire I think it was a little too close to impossible and I can back off some on the glue next time.

Everybody has heard stories about people that rolled a tire though, and that's why most people over-do it... including me.

jimmuller 

You couldn't feel the difference in the color of the tube? It's obvious! Orange is close to red, and red bikes are the fastest. Everyone knows that.

What DiabloScott said.

Sedgemop 

Thanks, guys. Good advice.

smontanaro 

I use Vittoria Mastik One. I have enough bikes with tubulars that I simply buy it by the can (on my second or third). I think cans + brushes are going to be less messy than tubes + brushes or fingers, but that's just my opinion.

genejockey 

I snagged a set of tubular wheels - 80s Shimano 600 hubs with Monthlery Pro rims - on Facebook Marketplace for $50. Didn't realize they were tubulars till I got them in hand. So I decided to take the plunge. I bought a pair of Conti Giros, and eventually settled on Jantex tape. As far as I can tell, they're on reasonably straight, with very little wandering tread and a slight hop are the valve.

So far, so good. I've done about 50 miles on them in two separate rides. I get a kick out of riding them, but honestly, they feel like....tires. Perhaps I'm just insensitive!

I actually got THREE Giros, so now the third is folded up under my saddle, with a spare toe strap.


Now, from what I've seen and read on the Internet (So you KNOW it must be true!!!), even without glue, the spare will get me home without rolling, assuming it's pumped up properly and that I don't push it too hard. What do y'all think? I COULD get a tube of glue and get it properly glued up, in case I need it. BUT my primary plan in case of a flat involves sealant and a valve core tool, with the hope that I can avoid using the spare unless the tire is badly cut.

Advice? Observations?

jimmuller 

To my backside and legs sewups are smoother and easier rolling, but what do I know?

You have the spare concept down pat.

+1 on tire sealant. The first time I had a puncture with one it sold me. The thing about sewup spares is you generally carry only one. With a clincher tube you can patch it many times if you just carry enough patches. With a sewup you swap out the punctured tire but now you have no more backup. Except that tire sealant lets you keep riding! When I got my first sewup flat while commuting in to work I worried for the rest of the day until I got within walking distance of home.

Dylansbob 

Well, that sucks.

I messily installed one of the dirt-cheap Maxxis tubulars onto the front wheel. Looks fairly straight and round. I glued the rear this morning, tube was holding air, now that I've glued it on it's no longer holding air. I'm hoping it's something with the valve stem extender and that I didn't somehow rip the tube.

Lazyass

You need to properly fold that tire up tight haha

SJX426 

@genejockey - You probably have not read all the posts in this thread! Somewhere deep in the content is this link
https://picasaweb.google.com/DiabloSc...gATubularTire#
This is the way I fold a tubular tire. I also put two applications of glue on the base tape of a new tubular.

This is a bit sloppy but it works. You will find that the lower priced tubulars and those with heavy tread and/or lower thread count, are harder to fold.
Sewup Clamp on Flickr

bertinjim 

SJX426 -
The link to the picassaweb instructions did not work.

DiabloScott

Diablo Scott's Spare Tubular Folding Photo Tutorial

genejockey 

(That is how I folded mine)

gkamieneski

Agree on putting a few layers of glue on the base tape of the spare tubular before installing under the saddle. Doesn’t do a lot of good as a usable spare otherwise.

Lazyass

This is how I fold it. The first fold is the length of your finger. Mine are real tight but I run 23's.

https://iamgerardthomas.com/fold-that-tub/

hazetguy 

Today's after work project. Mounted some Veloflex Vlaanderen on some oe spec Shimano 600/Mavic GP4 wheels that will eventually end up on my Ross Triad when it gets here. For now, gonna run them on my Colnago.
Gotta say that these were super easy to mount and wow, do they spin true. They are really, really nice tires. Can't wait to try them out.