Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck

Jan 24, 21 8:25

Post #1 of 25 (1711 views)

The weather was shit so I pulled down the cross bike off the garage peg. Last time I rode it was at least a year ago. Put some air in the tires and off I went. No dead battery , no brakes to bleed , no sealant to top off. Just some air and off I went.

I ride the cross bike a couple of times a year and mechanical shifting , rim brakes and tires with tubes is the perfect set up

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [7401southwick] [ In reply to ]

Jan 24, 21 8:49

Post #2 of 25 (1688 views)

I totally agree! I ditched di2 and went back to mechanical across the board.

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [7401southwick] [ In reply to ]

Jan 24, 21 8:52

Post #3 of 25 (1683 views)

I kind of agree, but in your title do you mean tubed (clinchers with tubes) tires, or tubular (glued-on) tires ?

Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
DarkSpeedWorks.com.....Reviews.....Insta.....Facebook
--

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [DarkSpeedWorks] [ In reply to ]

Jan 24, 21 9:18

Post #4 of 25 (1663 views)

DarkSpeedWorks wrote:

I kind of agree, but in your title do you mean tubed (clinchers with tubes) tires, or tubular (glued-on) tires ?

Cross bike would almost certainly be tubular.

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [trail] [ In reply to ]

Jan 24, 21 9:32

Post #5 of 25 (1653 views)

Yeah, but the last sentence in the OP seems confusing ...

Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
DarkSpeedWorks.com.....Reviews.....Insta.....Facebook
--

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [DarkSpeedWorks] [ In reply to ]

Jan 24, 21 9:34

Post #6 of 25 (1647 views)

DarkSpeedWorks wrote:

Yeah, but the last sentence in the OP seems confusing ...

Ah, good point.

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [DarkSpeedWorks] [ In reply to ]

Jan 24, 21 9:41

Post #7 of 25 (1642 views)

Good old Tubular glued on tires. Yeah I guess you could say I should maintain those but I don’t.

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [7401southwick] [ In reply to ]

Jan 24, 21 10:32

Post #8 of 25 (1582 views)

7401southwick wrote:

The weather was shit so I pulled down the cross bike off the garage peg. Last time I rode it was at least a year ago. Put some air in the tires and off I went. No dead battery , no brakes to bleed , no sealant to top off. Just some air and off I went.

I ride the cross bike a couple of times a year and mechanical shifting , rim brakes and tires with tubes is the perfect set up

That’s what I’ll be road racing with this year. Tubulars, mechanical, and rim brakes. I like stuff that “just works” and is easy to maintain.

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [7401southwick] [ In reply to ]

Jan 25, 21 4:02

Post #9 of 25 (1450 views)

I'd agree for road/TT bikes but for MTB tubeless tires and disc brakes make a huge difference. Never been a fan of electronic shifting on any bike.

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [7401southwick] [ In reply to ]

Jan 25, 21 7:42

Post #10 of 25 (1304 views)

I agree, but I'm scared of tubulars that have old glue. Even though it's a huge pain (even when the glue is a few years old) to rip the tire off, i'd rather take the time once per year to make sure the glue is fresh and safe. I've seen too many crashes from poorly glued tires.

So, i agree that for a race bike tubular and rim brake is excellent, for a "set it and forget it" i'd rather have clinchers.

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [7401southwick] [ In reply to ]

Jan 25, 21 8:17

Post #11 of 25 (1283 views)

I have been on mechanical shifting, clinchers and rim brakes since 1985.

Remember when Stadler biked 4:18 in Kona with this (he was on Vittoria Corsa CX EVO tubulars with the extra flat resistant kevlar belt with high Crr too):

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]

Jan 25, 21 11:28

Post #12 of 25 (1200 views)

How can that be???? I thought from reading ST it was impossible to go fast without disc brakes......because, you know, so you can stop fast.

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [Rideon77] [ In reply to ]

Jan 25, 21 11:30

Post #13 of 25 (1197 views)

Rideon77 wrote:

I thought from reading ST it was impossible to go fast without disc brakes......because, you know, so you can stop fast.

You have it backwards. ST thinks we have to stick with rim brakes forever, and then follow it up with the 10,000th iteration of the the joke about expanding the rotor diameter out to the rim.

Either way, the battle is over. Rim brake lost, for better or worse. Time to move on.

Last edited by: trail: Jan 25, 21 11:31

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [trail] [ In reply to ]

Jan 25, 21 11:37

Post #14 of 25 (1184 views)

trail wrote:

Rideon77 wrote:

I thought from reading ST it was impossible to go fast without disc brakes......because, you know, so you can stop fast.

You have it backwards. ST thinks we have to stick with rim brakes forever, and then follow it up with the 10,000th iteration of the the joke about expanding the rotor diameter out to the rim.

Either way, the battle is over. Rim brake lost, for better or worse. Time to move on.

something something ... MY COLD DEAD HANDS!!!

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [trail] [ In reply to ]

Jan 25, 21 11:53

Post #15 of 25 (1165 views)

trail wrote:

DarkSpeedWorks wrote:

I kind of agree, but in your title do you mean tubed (clinchers with tubes) tires, or tubular (glued-on) tires ?

Cross bike would almost certainly be tubular.

I've been attempting tubeless during Covid with some gravel and some practice laps at the local course. I don't run my psi down to the single digits, so don't necessarily fear rolling a bead off.

I can't stand dealing with gluing stuff up. Tubeless setup on tires that big are child's play versus gluing. Cleaning glue off sucks.

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [burnthesheep] [ In reply to ]

Jan 25, 21 11:58

Post #16 of 25 (1157 views)

burnthesheep wrote:

I can't stand dealing with gluing stuff up. Tubeless setup on tires that big are child's play versus gluing. Cleaning glue off sucks.

I hear you.

Though I've learned to love the craft of tubular gluing (for track). Though it's a love akin to learning to love making homemade chainmail for a Renaissance faire. Takes a lot of time and patience.

But, yeah, for those who'd prefer not to spend hours cleaning and applying glue - it sucks.

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [7401southwick] [ In reply to ]

Jan 25, 21 12:07

Post #17 of 25 (1148 views)

7401southwick wrote:

The weather was shit so I pulled down the cross bike off the garage peg. Last time I rode it was at least a year ago. Put some air in the tires and off I went. No dead battery , no brakes to bleed , no sealant to top off. Just some air and off I went.

I ride the cross bike a couple of times a year and mechanical shifting , rim brakes and tires with tubes is the perfect set up

Perhaps, but I guess I shoot a bit higher than the “don’t suck” standard. I can assure you that Etap and latex with clinchers (maybe even disc brakes) suck far less.

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [trail] [ In reply to ]

Jan 25, 21 16:52

Post #18 of 25 (1061 views)

trail wrote:

Rideon77 wrote:

I thought from reading ST it was impossible to go fast without disc brakes......because, you know, so you can stop fast.

You have it backwards. ST thinks we have to stick with rim brakes forever, and then follow it up with the 10,000th iteration of the the joke about expanding the rotor diameter out to the rim.

Either way, the battle is over. Rim brake lost, for better or worse. Time to move on.

Who need brakes, they are heavy as shit, and only slow you down!

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [trail] [ In reply to ]

Jan 25, 21 17:40

Post #19 of 25 (1032 views)

trail wrote:

Rideon77 wrote:

I thought from reading ST it was impossible to go fast without disc brakes......because, you know, so you can stop fast.

You have it backwards. ST thinks we have to stick with rim brakes forever, and then follow it up with the 10,000th iteration of the the joke about expanding the rotor diameter out to the rim.

Either way, the battle is over. Rim brake lost, for better or worse. Time to move on.

No brakes baby....just a giant rotor and you can go fast

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [burnthesheep] [ In reply to ]

Jan 25, 21 18:02

Post #20 of 25 (1009 views)

burnthesheep wrote:

.

I can't stand dealing with gluing stuff up. Tubeless setup on tires that big are child's play versus gluing. Cleaning glue off sucks.

It’s a skill. Those who can’t glue, can’t set up a tire without spraying sealant all over the room.

Glueing is less messy than an exploding tubeless tire.

Too each their own....

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]

Jan 25, 21 18:08

Post #21 of 25 (1005 views)

That thing is like a reverse penny farthing!

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [trail] [ In reply to ]

Jan 26, 21 9:43

Post #22 of 25 (895 views)

trail wrote:

Rideon77 wrote:

I thought from reading ST it was impossible to go fast without disc brakes......because, you know, so you can stop fast.

You have it backwards. ST thinks we have to stick with rim brakes forever, and then follow it up with the 10,000th iteration of the the joke about expanding the rotor diameter out to the rim.

Either way, the battle is over. Rim brake lost, for better or worse. Time to move on.

I will when you can't even find a replacement parts for rim brakes. Besides by then "Big Bike" may have sorted out all the insanity of wheel standards, hooked, vs hookless, vs the tire, vs etc. Wheels are going the way of the bottom bracket standards disaster.

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [Rideon77] [ In reply to ]

Jan 26, 21 9:46

Post #23 of 25 (891 views)

Rideon77 wrote:

trail wrote:

Rideon77 wrote:

I thought from reading ST it was impossible to go fast without disc brakes......because, you know, so you can stop fast.

You have it backwards. ST thinks we have to stick with rim brakes forever, and then follow it up with the 10,000th iteration of the the joke about expanding the rotor diameter out to the rim.

Either way, the battle is over. Rim brake lost, for better or worse. Time to move on.

I will when you can't even find a replacement parts for rim brakes. Besides by then "Big Bike" may have sorted out all the insanity of wheel standards, hooked, vs hookless, vs the tire, vs etc. Wheels are going the way of the bottom bracket standards disaster.

I'll probably switch when I need to get a new bike, i.e. I break my current frame. Even then, I might not.

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]

Jan 26, 21 9:53

Post #24 of 25 (881 views)

JasoninHalifax wrote:

I'll probably switch when I need to get a new bike, i.e. I break my current frame. Even then, I might not.

I just broke my rim brake S5, and was sure I'd have one more round of rim brake bike, mostly just not to deprecate my 3 road wheelsets.

Nope, couldn't pull it off, hard as I tried. Have a disc brake road bike. To be fair, it's been just great so far, though not deep enough in to have had to deal with maintenance or travel yet.

Re: Mech shifting, rim brakes, tubular tires don’t suck [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]

Jan 26, 21 11:03

Post #25 of 25 (867 views)

That is if you don't count the Giro, the Tour and the Vuelta. Which of course were all won on rim brake bikes.

Our Partners

transition-DOT-area-AT-slowtwitch-DOT-com

Advertise with us

©1999-2024 Slowtwitch, Inc., and Slowtwitch.com
Reproduction of material from any Slowtwitch.com page
without written permission is strictly prohibited.