Hey all,
When gluing tubulars, do you ever leave a section unglued? Since I’ve never had to change out a tubular and I’m about to set up my first pair, I’m unsure of how difficult it will be to remove a tire if I flat during a race. I have pre-stretched my spare, but will I be able to easily get the original tire off once it’s deflated from a flat?
~Jason
anyone, Bueller, Bueller??
Hey Choptank
No do not leave any part of you rim unglued! Glue all of it. And you should put 2 or 3 layers on the rim and 1 or 2 on your tires plus 1 layer on your spare. There has been a lot of talk about tufo tape and I was using it on my cross bike but if you have to take a tire off it’s a mess and you can not do it fast so I would stick with just glue.
And as for changing a flat, well I have never found a fast way to get a well-glued tire off the rim. And if you think about it you would not want it to! You just have to rock the tire back and forth to get the glue to let go; after you get them started they peel right off.
But you should have your spare glue so it will stick, and you can ride the brakes a little after the switch to warm up the glue on the rim. It will help the spare to stick.
If you have a truing stand put the wheel in it so you can spin the wheel around as you apply the glue and I have found that a small brush work really well for applying the glue.
Have fun!?
Dan…
I also believe in being thorough when gluing tires. I have realized that it’s going to be quite difficult to get a flat off during a race, so now I carry a razor blade (covered with tape) with me during races. It weighs nothing and will make it very simple to get the tire off.
I personally do leave a little spot unglued – I go the exact opposite of the valve so I know where it is located.
As stated above – put glue on the rim – let it set for a minute – leave a spot only two to three fingers wide unglued – i.e. not very much. Then put a coat of glue on the tire – the tire – just like you are pre-glueing a spare. Let it set for a minute – then install the tire.
If you are Paulo Salvodelli and dive around mountain passes at a super high rate of speed and corner so hard that your handlebars are 12 inches from the pavement – then glue the whole rim and use three to five coats of glue.
Can you say…“razor blade”? I’ve used it a few times on rides when I flat a tubbie. Just cut across the tubbie…rip the thing off in about 5 secs…stick the new one one…done!! Single edge razor in electrical tape wrapped together with the CO2 cartridges. They also make one exclusively for tubbies. Its about the size of the end of your thumb and has a small lever you push to expose a tiny blade, just long enough to cut across your tubbie. Or any small retractable razor blade will do.
Hi there,
I used to race bikes and in those situations you really had to have a tire glued on well to sustained hard cornering. However, most triathlons are pretty benign when it comes to hard corners. I went to one coat each for rim and tire and have never had a problem. If you are a madman in the corners then by all means, put multiple coats of glue on the wheels, but it won’t come off easy and may be overkill in 95 percent of the races you do. (Unless you are racing the Wilkes-Barre tri in Penn. That is a wicked bike course.)
Chad
Paul, do you have carbon rims? I’m worried I’d end up either slicing my finger or damaging my carbon rims. However, your method definitely sounds like the quickest. Have you had to do this in any races before? If tubulars flat, is it worth it to try and repair them for a future ride if its a small puncture?
~Jason
I have a few wheelsets with carbon rims (Zipp 440’s, Zipp 3000’s and a front HED3C). I’ve never (knock on wood) flatted in a race. but a handfull of times on tubbies in training. When I use the blade on a carbon rim I’m careful not to cut into the carbon. its not a big deal and very easy. Even if you don’t cut all the way through you can still get a great grip on the inside of the tubbie and just rip the whole thing right off. I’ve never worried about repairing a tubbie. I just chock it up to $100 gone and throw it away.
I second what Paulie says, I tape my razor blade to the underside of my seat with electrical tape, I can change a tubie faster than changing a clincher, hands down.