There was never any question in my mind that tubulars are more romantic than clinchers, and as a Velominatus I was always convinced that the additional time and care that goes into gluing on a set of tires would make you feel just that much more connected to your bike and the history of the sport itself. I was skeptical, however, that tubs would ride noticeably better – and even if they did – whether they would prove to be too much of a hassle to make riding them worthwhile.
Two and a half years after building my first set of tubular wheels and gluing on a set of handmade tires, I have eliminated clinchers from all my bikes. The ride is better, the gluing is a quick and easy process (once you learn a few tricks), and a tubular can be changed more quickly than a clincher. Plus the glue gives you a little buzz; what’s not to like?
The switch from clinchers to tubulars did require a change to my tool kit, however. This fact wasn’t immediately apparent to me and I went on several rides happily armed with tire levers and a spare inner tube. Gearing up for riding tubulars is a more subtle process than it is with clinchers, a fact which gives me no small amount of pleasure. First comes the approach to folding and carrying the spare tire, should you choose to carry one. Also, with the removal of tire levers, spare tube(s), and patch kits comes the introduction of repair sealant; in the event of a flat, the first tactic is to inject the tire with some goop and see if it seals itself, eliminating the need to replace the tire in the first place. This works splendidly in many cases, and appears to be a long-term solution as well; I have one particularly beloved tire which has been holding fast with sealant since a puncture over a year ago.
After a few iterations, my tubular-friendly survival kit has evolved into a beautifully compact system which takes up less bulk in my jersey than does the clincher version. It consists of a Lezyne Carbon Drive Lite rubber-banded to a tube of Vittoria Pit Stop and a Lezyne V5 mini tool. Nothing to it. On longer rides or rides with others, I will strap my tiny tub to my saddle as extra protection in the event the Pit Stop doesn’t work.
Tubulars ride better, corner better, are easy to mount, quick to change, give you a small buzz, and require a smaller survival kit than do clinchers. You heard it here first: friends don’t let friends ride clinchers.*
*Thanks to @Nate for coining this phrase.
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I ride sewups and have done so for going on 30 years. Pitstop works sometimes, but more times than not it just makes a big mess. Swapping the tie is fast and easy and I am back on my way. The road debris in my area is awful, and I go through several hundred dollars in tires a year, but they are worth it me, but too costly for many of my riding buddies. I think I have went through 7 Vittoria Corsa's this year (7700 miles), at around 80.00 each, that starts to add up quickly.
@Teocalli I have been riding Eurus 2-way fit rims with cheap training tires (Vittoria Rubino/Zaffiro pro) now for a while.
After i fit the tyre i pump it to 1bar, then i roll the wheel by hand while pushing it down against the floor. Then i deflate again. Pump to 1 bar again and roll. Then i inflate to 9bar. When pressure is around 8 bar the bands will pop into place with a loud sound. If they dont pop, i suggest you deflate roll and try to inflate again.
@Nate
saw a new riding mate pull off a neat trick sans gloves today, bidon held lightly against the tyre on both angles to rub the road debris off.
@Mikael Liddy that works but it makes a mess of the bidon after a while.
A man after my own heart. Got a tubular wheelset about four years ago with the goal of just gutting it for the hubs. Since the rims weren't completely trashed I couldn't justify just tossing them so I figured what they hey and got a couple of tubular tires.
Been riding tubulars pretty much exclusively ever since.
The only problem with flats I've run into is that last winter I rode a lot and got a gazillion flats. If I do any riding outside this winter I'll just slap on the clincher wheelset and suffer with it (which is the point of riding during the winter anyway, isn't it?).
Since summer started and the roads dried up I haven't had any flats over about 1000 miles. The rear tire is showing threads so I certainly got a full life out of it.
I still carry one tire lever in my road kit. This is because of and experience I had on a winter ride with a buddy. It's dark and raining and I get a flat. Apparently I did an outstanding glue job because it took the both of us 20 minutes just to get the tire off (well, this was after about 90 miles so we were a bit tuckered out too). I had a cheap plastic lever that didn't do the job so I switched to the King titanium ones. Oh, and make sure to leave an unglued gap opposite the stem. Yep, learned that lesson the hard way.
I use the small bottles of Stan's Sealant, just throw one in my ride tool pouch and then in the jersey pocket it goes.
@Nate
It's a good point but I've found I just can't stand wearing gloves in the summer. Plus, if I wear gloves I'll look less like Boonen.
@frank I have been going gloveless lately this summer too. I just stick an old glove in a jersey pocket for wiping purposes.
@EBruner get yourself some Veloflex. Age them 6-12 months before mounting. You will have a tire with all the souplesse of a Vittoria but with much better puncture resistance.
@Nate Just wondering why you need gloves for wiping at all? first I do wear gloves all the time because it is about the crash and wanting to go to work without road rash on my hands. As an aside I always try to find the thinest gloves with no padding because as they said in the movie "we don need no stinkin padding".
Back to wipping glass an stuff off the tires... if you do it with gloves they will look like shit and get worn. If you do it with a finger, the finger gets a little dirty but thats it, no hurt, no pain and as a bonus you sometimes feel the glass as it gets flicked off so you know that you just avoided a flat. A wipe on the black part of the shorts and the finger is as good as new.
I do not know why this is not common knowledge...I tell others and they are, like, cool it works.
Also if you kept something in your jersey to wipe you'd already have a flat. My wipe happens as I go through the glass sometimes.
Lastly and obviously but I have to say to those that don't know, slide that finger carefully down the the rear triangle not the seat tube until contact with the rear tire is made. Never do this without thinking first or when your tired - loosing a finger or skin would be no fun!
@Rob I've got cut before wiping with bare hands. You are right that the delay I suffer could be an issue.
I have in the past espoused gloves to prevent hand road rash. I guess I have gotten lazy on that point because I don't have a pair of gloves I like right now.