I race on Tubular Zipp 808. First time I bought it in 2012 it had Vittoria Corsa on it. Raced it at a 70.3, had a solid race, loved the wheel and when the time came to put the bike back on a car rack found out that the tire was flat. Thinking that the tire was punctured I stripped it off and installed a Conti Competition tubular, which has been a champ for 5 years until I blew it out by hopping over a metal rod.
I wanted to go to latex so in 2017 I got a 28mm Zipp Speed SL. Filled it up with Orange Seal. Had a few races on it without problems, then at IM TX 2018 (yes, THAT IMTX) I flatted with about 6 miles to go. Did not see any debris in the tire, filled it up with C02 and it held for the remaining 6 miles (albeit it was half deflated by the time I rolled into transition). I did not see any orange seal coming out so wasn't quite sure where the leak was coming from. Sent the bike back home through TBT, picked it up, pumped up the tire ... and it was good as new. I literally went for a 60 minute ride with it without a problem and it did not have any leaks above and beyond what you'd expect from latex (~10-20 psi/day).
Not wanting to get another flat in a race i bought another 28mm Zipp Speed SL and threw the old one out. Raced a few more races in 2018 without a problem. Fast forward to 2019. Did a 30K TT 3 weeks ago, had a great race - no punctures, put the tire back on a car rack ... flat again. No sign of Orange seal either. It's been laying around for 3 weeks, somewhat flacid (10-20psi) but did not go fully flat. Just pumped it up to 120 and its holding fine.
I check the tires religiously before every race and other than few small shallow cuts on the outside there is no indication of puncture. I also glue them myself and clean the rim before installing (no debris there). Finally my front 24mm Zipp Speed SL has been working with no issues since 2017.
Sooo .... what's up with that? Love the set-up, but flat/non-punctured tires are a bit of a head scratcher. Has anyone else experienced this and what was your solution?
I wanted to go to latex so in 2017 I got a 28mm Zipp Speed SL. Filled it up with Orange Seal. Had a few races on it without problems, then at IM TX 2018 (yes, THAT IMTX) I flatted with about 6 miles to go. Did not see any debris in the tire, filled it up with C02 and it held for the remaining 6 miles (albeit it was half deflated by the time I rolled into transition). I did not see any orange seal coming out so wasn't quite sure where the leak was coming from. Sent the bike back home through TBT, picked it up, pumped up the tire ... and it was good as new. I literally went for a 60 minute ride with it without a problem and it did not have any leaks above and beyond what you'd expect from latex (~10-20 psi/day).
Not wanting to get another flat in a race i bought another 28mm Zipp Speed SL and threw the old one out. Raced a few more races in 2018 without a problem. Fast forward to 2019. Did a 30K TT 3 weeks ago, had a great race - no punctures, put the tire back on a car rack ... flat again. No sign of Orange seal either. It's been laying around for 3 weeks, somewhat flacid (10-20psi) but did not go fully flat. Just pumped it up to 120 and its holding fine.
I check the tires religiously before every race and other than few small shallow cuts on the outside there is no indication of puncture. I also glue them myself and clean the rim before installing (no debris there). Finally my front 24mm Zipp Speed SL has been working with no issues since 2017.
Sooo .... what's up with that? Love the set-up, but flat/non-punctured tires are a bit of a head scratcher. Has anyone else experienced this and what was your solution?