Categories: Accessories and Gear

Tubular Survival Kit

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.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

Sowtondevil says:

Sep 9 2014 at 8:46 am

@Teocalli I still have the Fiamme Sprints on my 1954 Claud Butler. I am a little reluctant to break hard and wear these wonderful wheels out so I ride cautiously as a rule and avoid Rule #9 conditions with this bike.
Teocalli says:

Sep 9 2014 at 9:04 am

@Sowtondevil

@Teocalli I still have the Fiamme Sprints on my 1954 Claud Butler. I am a little reluctant to break hard and wear these wonderful wheels out so I ride cautiously as a rule and avoid Rule #9 conditions with this bike.

Nice! Photos needed here?

Re braking - there is soo little rim on them anyway that stopping is a challenge in itself! The other week I was out with a mate and part way down a hill he braked and took a left turn. All he heard as I went by straight on down the hill was "Oh bollocks".

In fact after I had done a few rides without riding a modern steed, when I finally went out on modern brakes I near went over the handlebars when I applied the brakes.

Yup I hear you re Rule 9. Mine are strictly for the dry too.
Teocalli says:

Sep 9 2014 at 9:22 am

@Sowtondevil Just remembered you did post some way back. No harm in reposting such a vintage beauty though!
teleguy57 says:

Sep 9 2014 at 9:42 am

@Nate

@teleguy57 frank really ought to get himself a Hampsten shouldn't he?

@nate, indeed he should. And @frank, you can write an article about the process and the Hampsten vibe. Oh, and tell Steve I sent you:)
DrC says:

Sep 9 2014 at 3:15 pm

This stuff is just the ticket

Ridden my Veloflex Roubaix with puncture resistant layer.....

Piece of glass gashed rear during a circuit race, unstitched etc and inner patched - now my spare

Then slow flat on front - getting pissed off - couldn't find cause - sprayed this in, spun it a few times, and it held full pressure ever since

Sunday ride, spiked on a thorn and flatted the new rear tyre - sprayed can #2 into the rear - got to the coffee stop - found the hole - added more zefal, spun it, pumped it up and after an ejeculation of white spurt through the hole, boom - held full pressure since

Will be interesting to see if it seals itself now when I next spike it?
TimJ says:

Sep 10 2014 at 1:31 pm

@Sowtondevil My hero!
kenl says:

Sep 12 2014 at 12:46 pm

@antihero

@frank

All that, plus being mindful that some brands of tire just don't fit some rims properly. For example, my wife bought me a pair of Conti GP4000 tubulars last Christmas (she's awesome.) I rapidly discovered that these simply don't fit my Golden Tickets. I can mount a Vittoria Pave on them in about 15 seconds flat. I spent a hour struggling to stretch a Conti onto one of the rims, and then gave up in disgust and retired to tend to my blistered thumbs.

I've no doubt that the GP4000s are splendid tires (the clinchers were always my go-to) but don't try to put them on Ambrosio Nemesis rims. I *suspect* that this is function of rim width, but I haven't done the math.

Oh god, glad I'm not the only one. I have never had more problems getting tires on a rim, and these were unglued, I just wanted to get them on to stretch.

Yeah, about 15 minutes a tire and my hands were toast. Next time I'll try pumping them up before even trying to put them on a rim, maybe crank 'em up to 160 PSI and let them sit for a week.
kenl says:

Sep 12 2014 at 12:55 pm

@MangoDave

This topic is timely, but possibly bad news for my bank account. After riding my entire cycling life with clinchers, I've been recently considered going with a set of tubs. A couple of questions for the more informed (or just more opinionated)...

I have a spare set of wheels - Chorus 10spd silver hubs with Open Pros - that have collected dust for the last 10 years. I always figured they would be my daily set for training rides, but once I put my Neutrons on my #1 they never came off. Should I keep as is and buy a new wheelset, or take the hubs and rebuild with tub rims? I hate to tear down a perfectly good set of wheels, but since I'm not using them it seems a waste. If rebuilding, I'm considering some Golden Tickets. Any others to consider?

If the Open Pro rims are still good, I'd keep the wheels as an emergency spare and just look for a used hubset to build my tubular wheels up with. As far as rims go, I tried Mavic Reflex but had a problem with cracked eyelets and broken spokes (Sapim CX Ray). I went with HED Belgium rims and haven't had any problems at all, still using the CX spokes. I weigh between 170-180 lbs, if you're lighter maybe the Reflex will work for you but they're not aero if that matters to you.
Nate says:

Sep 12 2014 at 1:28 pm

@kenl

@antihero

@frank

All that, plus being mindful that some brands of tire just don't fit some rims properly. For example, my wife bought me a pair of Conti GP4000 tubulars last Christmas (she's awesome.) I rapidly discovered that these simply don't fit my Golden Tickets. I can mount a Vittoria Pave on them in about 15 seconds flat. I spent a hour struggling to stretch a Conti onto one of the rims, and then gave up in disgust and retired to tend to my blistered thumbs.

I've no doubt that the GP4000s are splendid tires (the clinchers were always my go-to) but don't try to put them on Ambrosio Nemesis rims. I *suspect* that this is function of rim width, but I haven't done the math.

Oh god, glad I'm not the only one. I have never had more problems getting tires on a rim, and these were unglued, I just wanted to get them on to stretch.

Yeah, about 15 minutes a tire and my hands were toast. Next time I'll try pumping them up before even trying to put them on a rim, maybe crank 'em up to 160 PSI and let them sit for a week.

I've heard recommendations to wet the base tape on conti tubs before initial stretching. Might also help to stretch after the last coat of glue dries and before mounting. Don't run conti myself so I can't vouch for the method but it may be worth trying.
MangoDave says:

Sep 16 2014 at 2:09 pm

@kenl

@MangoDave

This topic is timely, but possibly bad news for my bank account. After riding my entire cycling life with clinchers, I've been recently considered going with a set of tubs. A couple of questions for the more informed (or just more opinionated)...

I have a spare set of wheels - Chorus 10spd silver hubs with Open Pros - that have collected dust for the last 10 years. I always figured they would be my daily set for training rides, but once I put my Neutrons on my #1 they never came off. Should I keep as is and buy a new wheelset, or take the hubs and rebuild with tub rims? I hate to tear down a perfectly good set of wheels, but since I'm not using them it seems a waste. If rebuilding, I'm considering some Golden Tickets. Any others to consider?

If the Open Pro rims are still good, I'd keep the wheels as an emergency spare and just look for a used hubset to build my tubular wheels up with. As far as rims go, I tried Mavic Reflex but had a problem with cracked eyelets and broken spokes (Sapim CX Ray). I went with HED Belgium rims and haven't had any problems at all, still using the CX spokes. I weigh between 170-180 lbs, if you're lighter maybe the Reflex will work for you but they're not aero if that matters to you.

That's the dilemma, since the Open Pros are in excellent condition. The only thing wrong with them is one of the stickers is starting to peel. For some of the more OCD Velominati, that alone might be enough justification to build up a new set of wheels. I'm slightly more practical (Mrs. Mango might disagree), but in the spirit of being practical I may want to use the hubs rather than let them collect more dust as an emergency spare.

Thanks for telling me your experience with the Reflex rims, makes me want to stay away from them. I'm still leaning toward Golden Tickets, but also considering the Ambrosio Crono if they'll be strong enough.

Frank - this article inspired me to buy the Lezyne Carbon Lite pump in the spirit of rule compliance. It's small and light, and gets me away from an undisclosed carrying method of the old pump.