I know they work very well for mounting tires, but what I have not heard anyone ever comment on is how easy are they to remove once you flat and need to change the tire? Is there a significant lag time in "de-activating" them? Does the strip stay on the rim or on the tubular when you try to remove them?

what are they?
some kind of double sided tape to put on the rim
to replace the gluing process?
at least, this is what I understand from the post of
adam.

what about rolling resistance for these tubies? I remember reading a cycling mag some months back where they did some rolling resistance tests comparing tubies and clinchers, and these tufos
didn't get the best rating. these were not the S3 lites though and because the test was not well explained,
it was hard to see how valid it was.

Yeah, that's essentially what they are. They are pressure activated however, so they are don't stick until you fully inflate the tire. Which makes them very clean to put on. I just don't know how they work for changing and for spares.

I don't know anything about the rolling resistance of Tufo tires compared to other brands, but I can't imagine there would be any huge difference. Maybe it was the tubular-clinchers that Tufo makes that were tested? Those are the ones that are tubulars, but install on clincher rims via a bead.

That's one of questions as well. The other one being, what is the rollability factor? My experience with tubulars has all been within my days of coaching wheelchair track and roadracing, where if you didn't glue you probably would roll the tiire off. This was due in large part though I believe from the wheels on the racing chairs being canted. Thus, we usually glued, which made for a particularly difficult tire change if you flatted in the middle of a shorter race. I'm not in a chair but have had my guys out of their chairs on the ground for 10 minutes trying to pull the flat and reinstall a new tubo. This taping system sounds ideal for them if it holds well.

Sorry I didn't explain the product more clearly for those who haven't seen it. The Tufo tape is a pressure activated, double-sided tape that is really sticky and mounts tubular tires to rims.

As for changing under race conditions, that remains to be seen. The S3 lights are 195g (light), 700x19 and seem to me like they are going to be really fast.

I remeber the rolling resistance test referred to above, but don't recall the specific tire tested either.

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Adam Duncan
New York, NY

I found the tape to be very sticky. When taking off the tire it actually started ripping the cloth from the Tufo S3 Lite tire I used it with. It is very thick and gummy and almost impossible to get off. My LBS recommended using 5 or 6 pieces of tape around the rim, said that would be enough hold for Tri's. Being new to Tubies, I decided I should practice changing tires and thought I'd try glue instead of the tape to compare. What a mess getting that tape off! My thumbs still hurt nine months later. It is very sticky stuff!

Paul

That's good color, Paul. I was wondering about that myself. I guess the downside to glue is just the mess of reapplication etc. And, with a new rim, the prep process with glue is a bit arduous.

Anyone else have a similar experience to Paul?

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Adam Duncan
New York, NY

All my information about using the tape for racing is second hand but comes from some good sources.

I talked to pro Bobo Anderson of Bobozone.com and he said you might want to use regular glue for racing purposes because it takes awhile for the tape to release after deflating the tire and might take too long in a race situation.

I also emailed Tufo and the sales manager said that the tape is supposed to come off with the tire if applied to a clean rim. However you need to carry extra tape with you to mount your spare on the clean rim. I also thought that, after changing a flat, the prospect of carrying a blown-out tire covered with sticky tape in a race didn't sound too appealing.

I do however like the Tufo S3 Lite's as race tires, and they also come highly recommended by Bobo. I ride 650x19's and they are fast and ride smoothly even at high pressures. I may try the 21mm ones next. The only criticism I have of the 19's is that they don't have much of a footprint when trying to make a sudden stop.

As for mounting with glue, here's a simple procedure that works well:

http://www.vittoria.com/bikeshop.html

Richard

Great link ! I am sticking with glue! HE HE HE IT's the smell thing.
Thanks Dirtball!