We can mimic the pros in many ways; kit, bikes, shaving our legs. Even if we’ll never ride like them, we can try (mostly in vain) to look like them. We’ll buy a piece of equipment because our favourite pro endorses it, or even adopt trends that the peloton have, such as alloy classic bend bars, slamming a 140mm stem, or putting those plastic sticky things across the bridge of our noses (yep, I actually did this in the mid 90’s when Tinker Juarez was rocking them on the mtb World Cup circuit. It didnt help a bit, and I looked like a twat). There are many pro traits that are certainly frowned upon and should never be attempted, like wearing the rainbow bands or maillot jaune. Then there are things we would love to be able to do, like snort cocaine with 18 yo models, but there’s as much chance of that as Cav finishing the Vuelta. And finally, there’s things that we can do, but are probably too cautious or conservative to do.
Like running tubs.
We know that every pro bike has the tyres glued to the rims, but how many of us actually own a set of tubs? How many would like to own a set? How many get the fear of Merckx put up them at the mere thought of getting caught miles from home with a flat? Ok, I hear you say, they’re only for racing, but how many of us are good enough to benefit from the reduced chance of a pinch flat on the cobbles, or the decreased rolling resistance from a 100 gram weight saving? I’m not seeing many hands… anyone, anyone? But still, I want some!
I’ve been on a mission to find a light set of wheels for Il Profetta, and scouring eBay and TradeMe has coughed up quite a few sets of tubs. Some going pretty cheap too. Several times I’ve been poised to push the ‘buy now’ button, but like a kid too scared to jump into the river from the highest bridge in town, I keep pulling back from the edge. It’s like, I might hit the water wrong and break my neck, but probably won’t. At worst, my shorts might fall down while scrabbling back up the bank to dry land, with the other kids pointing and laughing. It’s a risk I’m not willing to take. Clinchers are like having extra-strong elastic in the trunks, plus a drawstring for back up. Tubs on a punter’s bike are like a pair of Speedos on a fat bastard.
Just as I was ready to give up the idea of tubs altogether, we received an impassioned email out of the blue from an enthusiastic sew-up fan going by the moniker of “Tubolari”. He suggested in no uncertain terms that it was less than hardcore to ride clinchers or even to use tyre levers to remove them. The most surprising thing was, he wasn’t a grizzled old Italian mechanic or former Belgian domestique, but has only been riding for a year. Is it merely a case of wet-behind-the-ears zeal, or is he onto something? Should we all be digging out under the house and storing a stash of tubulars in there to age them? Let’s see…
Tubolari’s reasons for riding tubulars:
- You get to say you ride tubulars with a smug grin.
- It is an appropriate procedure to simply ask for tubulars in determining whether or not a bike shop is a REAL bike shop even if you don’t plan on buying tubulars.
- Tubulars are generally relegated to the lightly used sections of a store thus making you more hardcore because you need to blow dust off of the packaging just to read the specs that you’ve already read online.
- Personally, I use tape (Velox Jantex 76 Competition tubular tape) and that pretty much takes the hassle out of it. I think though, it makes me less hardcore than those who use glue.
- I love it when a machine breaks (tubbie flats), it shows that a machine is just as vulnerable as a human. I love to bring my machine back to working order like a doctor. It also gives me a reason to don my Campy cap and sing Italian tunes like in Breaking Away.
- Subjective qualities:
- I take a corner at speed with tubs (Gommitalia Challenge $30 a pop) and feel the bump (I begin to panic) but the tubbies have already deflected around the rock and I’m safe, I grin and press on.
- I take a corner at speed with clinchers (Continental Grand Prix 3000, $75 a pop) and feel the the bump (I begin to panic) and jump about what feels like half a foot sideways (I check my shorts, they are dry), I press on.
- I joined a charity ride as a volunteer (ride guide), I am the official tubular tire repair/changer mechanic and get my own car, walky talky and office. The office I use will be for participants to drop off their tires and wheels for spares so I can SAG them on the ride. Not bad for starting road biking last year right?
- Piling spare tubs in your jersey gives others a conversation piece when on tours with your local club.
- Merckx rode tubulars so it seems only fitting ;).
- Tubulars are like wine, you like some, you don’t like others. Some go well with Steel and some go well with Carbon Fiber.
Some compelling points for sure, and it’s hard to argue with his passion. Or is it? Keeper Gianni loves an argument, and can refute the strongest of opinions with a sneer, or just by hitting the reply button;
Yeah, yeah, senor Tubolari, talk to me in a year when you have peeled off, opened up, patched, re-sewn, re-glued, and re-glued more a bunch of tubolaris. Sure you may get laid more often riding tubulars, but trying to get a girl’s bra off with all that tubasti glue on your mitts is tough.
I’ve done my time with them and moved on, tubless road clinchers is where I’m heading, the great beyond. Come with me.
Cheers, Gianni
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Yes, Jeff in PetroMetro. There was a time that if you used the term "tubular" people wouldn't know you were refering to a bike tire. They would have though you meant: cool!
My first roll out from the LBS on my soon-to-be-my-first-real-bike-with-sewups was a "Holy S---", life changing experience.
And then you experience everything that comes with tubular/sewups. Like patching tires in the evening just so you can ride in the morning.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Exactly how do you do this in your neck of the piney woods, Tex?
I'm still running clinchers on the road, and probably will for the foreseeable future. But I'm really thinking about tubeless for the mtb. Just waiting to see what's going on sale this fall, and what I'm going to see at Interbike this year (yes, I'm going, and will be submitting an article).
@Gianni
As I predicted, less than 24 hours after a velominatus makes an assertion about tubs, the comments go apeshit with opinions.
Velominati look Pro on the bike, and the Bike looks Pro. Thats what The Rules(tm) require. Now, on closer examination, The Rules(tm) are specifically silent about *exactly who* makes this happen. Yes, there is some knobbage about ones VMH, costs etc etc, but if a Velominatus is going to look Pro, this might really entail having their own wrench, support car and sponsor. That's Pro. Until then, the choice of equipment is going to entail some...engineering optimization. A balanace, if you will, of the time it takes to get That Fucking Bike out on the road, and the resulting decrease in dollars available to buy More Bike Shit.
I think looking Pro means getting my fat ass out on the Bike as much as possible. If that means resorting to clinchers to make that happen faster...well...
Holy shit...where's the tylenol?
Doesn't rule 5 prohibit the use of gloves when gluing tubies?
I would think that growing up riding & gluing tubulars makes one more likely to ride them today than starting with high-quality clinchers & being a bit wary to switch over to a system that requires a lot more time & skill, with possibly negligible benefits.
@sgt
I don't anymore. I was referring to when I raced in Austin, New Mexico, and Colorado.
The fastest I've ever descended in a race was 101 km/h (63mph). So said my Avocet. I assume it was kind of accurate. I got dropped on a climb and scrambled to get back on and up to the front so I could start the next climb and get dropped again.
I trained on clinchers and raced on sew-ups. Sometimes I trained on sew-ups if they were brand new and needed the new-ness worn off.
I ride exclusively on clinchers now (Conti GP 4000S) as I can't afford a set of sew-ups, much less a set of wheels to run them. However, I still have my old race wheels for my newly fixed-up Mercian (my last surviving race bike from the 80's).
@brett
Um.
@frank
Caught that"”and guffawed. Not sure that the nose bandaid and inhaling a wasp at the same time is terribly Pro. Isn't the bandaid designed to help you breathe through your nose?
Oh...the feel of sew-ups. Done right, they are superior by every measure, but done wrong, they are crappier by every measure.
I suppose the first lesson is if you have really sold out on tubulars, go all in. Crappy tubulars have left me out on the road with the only consolation tubulars have, they rarely BLOW, they slow leak, and usually slow enough to get home limping. Good tubulars though have never done this to me, but I also only run them now on race day, no training at all.
And on race day they are faster, they pickup to speed faster, they roll forever and if that isn't enough I must admit I just love the rights of passage; if you will. Like the rights of passage when I started racing, I shaved my legs and KNEW my commitment was deep, and I was identifiably a cyclist without doubts as I walked up to purchase my duds, with fellow cyclists having shaven legs ready for the wounds of battle to follow. When I went through the 3 day process of gluing my tubulars, 1 coat of glue on the rims, followed by 2 coats on each the tyres and the rims, each one 24hrs apart...when I was done, it was the same feeling, accomplished. I had passed. Now, when I pull them out, sink them into place as I switch out all the training ride gear for race gear....I feel the same.
Now I am running the Clement Criteriums, 175psi. Its like rolling on glass, cornering on rales, it just makes me feel like a rabid monkey all over it when the time comes.
@Steampunk
Der Kaiser and I disagree.