As Keepers Tour crossed from dream to reality and routes over the cobblestones of Northern Europe were sketched out, with it came the familiar tingling in my fingertips and uneasy sensation at the base of my spine as my mind starts its irrevocable journey towards categorizing as mandatory an unnecessary indulgence. I was going to need a wheelset and tubular tires that were up to the job.
The folklore goes a long way towards that justification; Paris-Roubaix is the race where every trick of the trade is exploited to deliver riders safely to the finish. Equipment which usually carries riders for a season or more finds itself in the trash heap after a single day on in Hell – maybe good enough for training but certainly not be trusted for another race. Special wheels are built, and only the strongest tubulars are glued to the rims. Aldo Gios, De Vlaeminck’s mechanic, is said to have aged his tires in his wine cellar to allow the rubber to harden, making them more resistent to punctures.
Ignoring the possibility that there may be some difference in strength, speed, or skill with which the Pros ride over the Cobbles, it didn’t take me long to determine that it wasn’t so much a matter of wanting a set of tubulars for Keepers Tour, but that it was indeed my obligation. I have a responsibility, after all, to the attendees of trip that I not fall off my machine and bash my head open on a cobblestone. Messy, certainly, but it may also frame the event in a somewhat negative light, and I think we’d all like the opportunity to do this again some time. The only way to assure I don’t suffer some catastrophic equipment failure and jeopardize the trip was to build a set of wheels based on the same components the Pros select for the purpose, and line them in the same rubber they choose. Logical, really.
The seduction of symbols was the first phase, followed quickly by the art of building wheels. The final step was to procure the right tires for the job. FMB is perhaps the most revered name in hand-made tubular tires; inspection of photos of Roubaix will reveal the pale yellow or green sidewalls of the FMB Paris-Roubaix tire on many of the wheels bouncing over the cobbles – often rebadged on order to satisfy sponsorship obligations.
I needed a set, naturally.
The tires were ordered in December, as from January onward Francois (of Francois-Marie Boyaux from which FMB takes its name) becomes overburdened with orders from the teams riding Roubaix and indicated he wouldn’t have time to squeeze in an order from a nobody such as myself. They arrived in February, at which point they displaced a few bottles of wine to age in the darkest corner of our basement which doubles as our wine cellar. Having mounted another set of tubs on the wheels in order to bash the bejezus out of the wheels so as to make myself a little less certain that I buggered the wheel building process, they had to wait until this past week to be mounted.
They have not yet been ridden, but they certainly look the business.
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Gluing on a tubular tire is a glorious study in patience and settles beautifully in the intersection between art, science, and ritual. And the glue smells distressingly fantastic.
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Ive been singing that out on training rides lately. We're gonna have to do a round for sure.@Rigid
@Dan_R
Nice rig. I am also fond of the Ambrosios with 36 holes in your previous pic. But soldered spokes, while old-school, doesn't add to strength of the wheel. Just my hubmle little opinion, but I wheelbuild and I am just not convinced.
I suspect you are right. Pete didn't think it was necessary and it hasn't stopped them getting buckled. Probably purely psychological like carrying 2 spare tubs.
@Anjin-san
Yes. At the risk of reigniting the great saddle bag debate, I think a discrete man satchel is no less Pro than a sagging pocket full of gear. Pockets are for food, phone, keys and discarded arm warmers/other items of clothing. These days I'd take it off to photograph the bike, but this was taken some 3 or so years ago when I was less aware of bike photo conventions.
frahnk, I'm so jealous. I haven't been able to tear mine up as I've got issues with my bones. the quacks, as always, give conflicting advice. I s'pose imitation is a form of flattery, if you know what I mean...
@Tubular Swells
I agree with @Dan_R that is isn't necessary, in fact I'd add that tied and soldered spokes make the wheel more rigid, hence less forgiving of the cobbles. Tying and soldering is traditionally predominantly used to stiffen a wheel, not strengthen it. And a stiff wheel is less able to flex and give, putting it more at risk of potential problems - not really what is ideal...
I'm sure your rear wheel will be fine though, I'm not trying to be the voice of doom here!
@Oli
OK, so it was the wrong thing to do. Whatever. The rear was put out of true last time anyhow. (I like to think it was my massive power over the stones along the Kerkgate into Mater. Needless to say, it wasn't.) I promise not to let it happen again. I am not advocating having one's wheels tied and soldered. It was my idea and I am sorry that I have set a poor example for my children and any other impressionable V'nati who may have been watching. I have let you all down. I would ask for your forgiveness.
@Tubular Swells
Haha, don't take it so hard! Sorry if it sounded like I was chiding you, that wasn't the intention - I was just talking wheel dynamics, a subject near and dear to my heart after more than 30 years of building them...I am sure your wheel will be fine, your children will make it to adulthood safely and without mental scars, and the cobbled adventure will be truly amazing.
@Tubular Swells
I hear tell that Boonen, who is a relatively heavy bloke, rides at 5 bar or some such crazy low pressure. Pinch flats not being a concern on tubbies, I guess you want to get as low as you can.
I suspect they ride a much higher pressure for RVV and the like, however, as that low pressures definitely are noticeably less efficient on the climbs.
Which brings up another topic of controversy: I decided to listen to everyone who has gotten on board with the low pressure trend and took a few bar out on the tubbies.
Maybe I'm too heavy (or too powerful?) but my goodness my christmas guiness did that suck balls majorly. The bike was all squishy and climbing felt like the brakes were on. Definitely was going slower as well.
I think the theory makes loads of sense - don't go do hard that you're bouncing vertically, but I suspect that perhaps 8 bar for a rider of my weight (80kg) is likely about the same as a lighter rider rolling along at 7.
@Tubular Swells
We're not talking about Pro or un-Pro, we're talking about Looking Fantastic. And a saddle bag looks just as shit as a sagging pocket. That's why you wear kit that fits properly, and don't carry a whole fuckload of shit with you that you'll end up not using anyway.
http://www.velominati.com/tradition/la-vie-velominatus-toolkit/
@frank
(Garth voice) "I like to carry a nice bonus bidon of water in m'pocket -- 'r sumthin..."
@Tubular Swells
Pocket #1: Single tube (French valve), lever (single best lever), CO2 w/ valve (any extra comes from another rider or not) -- all tucked together w/ Conti wallet (probikekit). Spoke wrench (maybe) to outside strap of Conti wallet (probikekit). Pocket #2: No smart phones -- a small phone -- or no phone. GU sleeve w/ FRS chew (maybe). Pocket #3: a nice bonus bidon of water (maybe) for whoever suffers the most -- or one extra pocket w/ no nice bonus bidon of water. Period #1! Period #2! Period #3!