I know that tubulars vs. clinchers are a touchy subject here at ST, but I’ve been thinking of trying them on my road bike because of their weight advantage and reported better ride quality. I’m particularly interested in a set of Zipp 404 tubulars. My questions are these:
Has anyone here gone from clinchers to tubulars and regretted it?
What should I know about tubulars before buying a set?
Thanks for your thoughts.
I’ve gone, clinchers, tubulars, clinchers, tubulars and on and on many times.
I currently ride clinchers on my road bike (since I bought a set of clinchers with a PT) and tubbies on the tri bike for both racing and training. The tubbies are a better ride and once you learn to glue them up, it not a big deal at all.
There’s not a whole bunch of difference in speed as long as you get a quality tire in both cases. Just be sure to get a good quality tubbie and glue it properly. lots of people use way too much glue, fearing it will roll off in a turn or slow them down if it isn’t glued to the hilt.
Have used both off & on for years, more clincher than tubular since road racing days are way behind me, don’t be scared off by tubulars, anyone who says they are a mess or hard to glue is doing it wrong (or just as likely, has never even done it). Few places can you save so much weight for so little $ as going tubular. I have had good luck fixing flats with Caffelatex. Learn how to properly set up valve extenders, the Vittoria type that remove the original core are the way to go.
Oh yeah, and the new Conti carbon rim glue STINKS to HIGH HEAVEN. No word yet on adhesion though…just thought I’d share that useless info. We had all the fans going in the studio today while wheels were being glued with it.
Enjoy.
Thanks for the responses, guys. I’ve read that some people use tape vice glue, what are your thoughts on that? Is the mounting “difficulty” a main reason why people prefer clinchers? Thanks again.
no tape ever for me.
Sorry, don’t know anything about tape. What’s the disadvantage? Thanks for the help.
You only use tape if you want to have your tire roll off the rim at high speed and get lots of road rash… Get a good quality mastik (tubular cement). I bead it on the rim, and then smooth it with a tongue depressor (save the finger tip skin). Go to a garage sale buy a beater dork rocket for like $20 and pitch it just save the rims so that you can stretch your spare tubs over them. I never had any problems with my tubulars, I only ever flatted them once, and that was after a TT I flatted riding home. The only thing I’d say with Tubs, is get comfortable using CO2 because that’s the only way if you flat during a race you’ll get them up to pressure. But ultimately, they’re actually quicker to change in the event of a flat, because you roll the old one off, and roll the new one on (typically my spare is a used tub, with some residual glue on it) and inflate, the heat from riding will soften the residual cement on the rim and tire and form a bond. I’d do a proper glue job later on, but that will get you to the finish anyways.
Thanks for the reply. So tubulars run at higher pressures than clinchers?
High presure over 120 psi slow
vittoria tyres fast tufo slow but last ,good for training. Just learn how to use glue.Cheep tyres at yellow jersey 3 for 50 bucks. Not a race tyre . Just a good training / learn how to glue / spare tyre
good luck thom
How are the Vittoria Corsa CX tubulars? Which ones do you like?
How are the Vittoria Corsa CX tubulars? Which ones do you like?
Those.
I just glued one up yesterday and have used them for the last 5 years. Get them.
Got my first pair of tubulars this past year for my new Specialized. What a revelation. I’ll never race on clinchers again. Yes, there is a huge difference.
Just got some tubies (404s) a month or two ago. Look fast, are faster, seem to spin up faster, and tubies deff feel better on the road (“rough roads are suddenly smoother” type of feeling).
Use Vittoria Mastik One. I wish I bookmarked the journal article when I read it, but Mastik cures to 80% holding power within the 1st hour and holds the tire on the “strongest”.
People look at you differently w/deep carbon wheels. You just need to make sure you rep the gear properly 
DON’T USE TAPE. I know some people like it (easier to set the tire/etc) but I’ve seen two people roll their tube within the last month while using tape.*
*Both were in crits, and for all I know both used the tape wrong…just an observation.
Also, 404s and the like can be had on ebay for $800 or so (w/tires/cassette/etc if lucky). Don’t spend full price if you don’t have to!
I used tubulars for a couple of seasons and then decided that clinchers were a lot more convenient for the following reasons. 1) Good clincher tires and latex tubes were easier and cheaper to buy. 2) Using the race wheels on occasion doesn’t risk flattening your $80 tubular tire. You flat on clincher races wheels, you just patch it and go on your way. 3) I really hated gluing tires. 4) The extra weight of the clincher is unnoticeable and doesn’t make a bit of difference (or you could say the lighter tubulars don’t provide any benefit).
A lesser issue is that if you flat a properly glued tubular during a race, the you are not going to be able to pull it off the rim without divine intervention. Glue it so that it can be changed easily and your rolling resistence goes up making it slower than clinchers. I say lesser issue because it never made sense to me to choose a tire or type of tire based off the odd chance you do flat.
Chad
A lesser issue is that if you flat a properly glued tubular during a race, the you are not going to be able to pull it off the rim without divine intervention.
I would always recommend to glue them properly!
There is no need for divine intervention if you carry the proper tools:
I’ll agree with all three of your listed options, but if No. 1 fails then you will be much quicker changing a clincher and you won’t have to worry about it for the rest of the race when you are done. It’s an old arguement by now, but I wanted to throw a few cons into the discussion so the OP had enough info to make a good decision.
Which would be to stick with clinchers. 
Chad
Just switched to tubular about a month ago. I was tired of getting flats with clinchers(almost on a weekly basis)- some were obviously my fault(pinch flats) while others was just pure bad luck. Add on price of tubes plus new tires cause of the cuts, cost wise it’s the same with tubulars(actually cheaper if you add on CO2 cartridges). However, after my 3rd ride, I got a flat(well it was actually a slow leak). I made it home without noticing and added some sealant by removing the valve core and it sealed up nicely. Yesterday I went out for another ride(prolly 6th ride on them) and got another flat on the rear. I carry a Vittoria Pit Stop but since there was already sealant in there from the previous patch, I know that the Pit Stop won’t help. I had to get a ride home.
Am I regretting the switch? Not yet. The flat was from a cut, which would have totalled a clincher tire anyways so cost wise it’s no different. Of course I could have slipped a dollar bill on a cut clincher tire and replaced the tube to get home but it wasn’t that big a deal. I definitely prefer tubulars.
Wow. You flat more than me, and that’s saying something!
I race tubies and train on clinchers. Depending on how hard you race (and also, what type of bike racing), tubies can be a huge benefit. Because of their shape, they corner a little better in extremely hard conditions. But this is MotoGP-style, lean the bike over till your knees touch the pavement cornering - which hopefully you’re not doing in tri.
One thing that most people don’t account for is the Tubular Advantage. It’s similar to the Disc Advantage (whump-whump-whump-whump), but is much more subtle. Deep dish carbon wheels with tubies hum a little bit. I’ve noticed that lots more people move over for me in tris (because I pass a lot of people, being a crappy swimmer) when I’m on the tubies.
Ultimately, I wouldn’t train on them (because they’re $60 a pop, and repairing them is relatively sketchy), but I would race on them, because I also bike race.