The data is a bit old, and the website applet isn’t working for me today, but my understanding is that there isn’t a significant difference in instances of flats on tubulars vs. clinchers.
I’ve been racing on a set of HED Stinger 90 (tubulars) for about 5 years now. Structural carbon rims, carbon braking surface, used for racing only, generally good tubular tires (2x Conti Competition–used until worn, 2x vittoria Crono Evo CS–1x flat, 1x worn due to one tire lockup, 1x vittoria corsa cx–still in use, 1x conti GP 4000 SR–about to be mounted).
If I could go back and purchase a set of wheels again I’d probably go for a set of clinchers with a structural carbon rim and an aluminum brake track. Tubulars are really expensive. Even with my employee discount, a GP 4000SR set me back twice as much as a top-of the line clincher would have, and that’s not including the glue or the installation time/labor at the shop. Switching out brake pads is a minor inconvenience, and in several cases earlier this year I was racing so frequently that I just left my race wheels on my tri bike and rode my road bike during the week so that I didn’t have to remove and re-install all my carbon/carbon-specific stuff twice in one week. The braking with my rims is pretty good–not great when it’s wet, partly because the model year Stingers that I purchased had the clearcoat over the entire rim from leading-edge to trailing-edge, so the clear coat on the braking surface has been wearing away under braking–not aesthetically pleasing, and not great for braking performance either. The ride quality is great–I can’t say that I notice a colossal difference over my training wheels, much less a difference large enough to justify the additional hassle of the brake pad swap and the cost of the tires. I’m not at all concerned about weight–most courses I ride are flat enough. Regarding the flatting, since my flat on the vitt. crono evo tire I now carry a hutchinson fastair or vittoria pitstop in races–I’m crossing my fingers that it will work and be faster than changing out a clincher would. That is my biggest consolation.
It’s worth noting that many of the above issues I’ve noted were forseeable. I didn’t buy my tubular wheelset blindly and discover the implications/consequences later. I got a baller deal on the tubies, and that is what has made this purchase “worth it,” even after all the expensive tires. If my decision were between paying full pop for clincher race wheels or full pop for tubular race wheels the decision would be an easy one…
Generally tubulars are less likely to flat than clinchers since tubulars are not susceptible to pinch flats like clinchers are. I really don’t know if tubulars have any superior puncture resistance than clinchers, but probably not specifically. Tubulars are also all but immune to flats caused by rim tape failures or spoke holes since those concepts don’t even really apply to them.
So yes, in my experience I would say tubulars get less flats than clinchers based almost entirely off the fact that the inner tube is safely sewn up within the tire rather than exposed to the tire bead or rim bed / spoke holes. This is especially true with latex tubes, which you have to be far more careful with on clinchers than a latex-tubed tubular.
All of that said, I still ditched my tubulars last years and went to clinchers. It wasn’t as smooth as a transition as I would have liked, but in the end life is just far easier for me riding / racing on clinchers due to the ease of changing different tires or tubes for different conditions or scenarios, the ability to say fix a stubborn valve extender without having to re-glue a tire and the simple peace of mind of having changing flats be a practicable skill versus a giant gamble on race day.
IMHO yes they absolutely flat less than clinchers, by a large margin, for the reasons already stated.
I also believe (but have absolutely no proof) that they are more puncture resistant just due ot the fact that they are more forgiving/round when rolling over debris…again, just my opinion.
I think most people get way to caught up in the glue thing. There is no reason to have to pay a shop to glue your tires. If you are smart enough to install a clincher yourself, then a tubular is no problem, you just need someone to show you how once.
Tubulars also tend to be safer when they do flat, as they just flatten out, and you can even ride on the flat if you want.
Here’s a N+1 story for you. Had a sprint tri this past Sunday that featured a flat out and back bike leg. Decided to use my race wheels which are American Classics (i.e.404s) tubulars. Debated between them and my training clinchers because it had rained the night before and the roads were wet and that is when I usually pick up a flat. Had a good swim, was doing good on the bike and then front tire flatted at about mile 12. No way to change it. Had to wait about 20 minutes for ride back to T1 but brainstormed an idea. Got back to T1 and my car and changed back to my clinchers. Found and asked the race director for a “restart”. Started dead last (time trial start) the second time around and ended up finishing first in AG. And Strava backed up my perception that I wasn’t any faster on the tubulars (Conti sprinters vs Mich Endurance). So, I’ve got a set of tubular American Classics for sale if anyone wants to PM me.
In my experience, the tubbies don’t pinch flat so I have fewer flats with them, mind you I use the tubbies only for racing and some shorter pre-race rides
As far as changing a punctured tubular there is a “triathlon” glueing technique that allows you to change a tire faster\easier than a clincher
.
Indeed. The paranoia that I experienced while riding them–the notion that they could flat at any moment because they’re so fragile–was probably enough to make me slower even though those are some of the fastest tubulars money can buy. It shakes the confidence in a very subtle way, but riding with a constant nagging fear of flatting is enough to make me take the rolling resistance hit to ride on something more substantial.
Here’s a N+1 story for you. Had a sprint tri this past Sunday that featured a flat out and back bike leg. Decided to use my race wheels which are American Classics (i.e.404s) tubulars. Debated between them and my training clinchers because it had rained the night before and the roads were wet and that is when I usually pick up a flat. Had a good swim, was doing good on the bike and then front tire flatted at about mile 12. No way to change it. Had to wait about 20 minutes for ride back to T1 but brainstormed an idea. Got back to T1 and my car and changed back to my clinchers. Found and asked the race director for a “restart”. Started dead last (time trial start) the second time around and ended up finishing first in AG. And Strava backed up my perception that I wasn’t any faster on the tubulars (Conti sprinters vs Mich Endurance). So, I’ve got a set of tubular American Classics for sale if anyone wants to PM me.
Huh? So, your flat was not involved in the race results?
Good question, but IMO does it even matter? Carbon clinchers with alu brake track, fast tires such as Conti 4000S, latex tubes. That’s where it’s at.
Tubulars do not make sense anymore. They may flat less often, statistically speaking, simply due to rimtape failure and pinchflats when using clinchers. Both those can be controlled by the rider. Read: avoided if you know what you are doing. The actual road debris puncture resistance vary greatly by tire brand and model. That isn’t a clincher vs tubular thing, as such.
When I do flat I’d rather have clinchers. Repairing tubulars by the side of the road without any outside assistance is a crapshoot.
Generally tubulars are less likely to flat than clinchers since tubulars are not susceptible to pinch flats like clinchers are.
IF this is true (and that’s a BIG “if”), this is most likely due to the fact that most high end tubulars have latex tubes inside of them instead of butyl.
In other words, pinch flat resistance is more a function of inner tube material than tire attachment method…despite the “common wisdom” on this subject.
I had tubulars and eventually sold them (because I had a 650 bike and went to 700). I’m also not sure why people make such a big deal about glueing. It’s not hard…but it is much more time consuming. Tires are way more expensive.
At any rate, I went through a rash of flats one year in races on clinchers…but I was using conti supersonics (which have ZERO flat protection). But, since I switched to conti gp4000s with latex tubes, I have only had 2 flats over the course of several thousand miles with them (both flats were in training due to puncture’s).
The bottom line is…puncture’s will happen with either. As for pinch flats…well…you could go with a 20mm tire and pump it up to 140-150 psi. NFW will you pinch flat then.
That doesn’t make sense. How could you ever have a pinchflat in a tubular?! There is no such thing.
pinchflat has two common meanings:
tube is stuck between tire and rim, flatting at some point in the near future after inflated. can only happen on clinchers
you hit something in the road really hard, squishes the tire all the way down to the rim, causing the tire to tear and you flat. This happens more easily on clinchers but can happen on tubies too.
That doesn’t make sense. How could you ever have a pinchflat in a tubular?! There is no such thing.
There most certainly is, and the main reason it happens less with tubulars (as Tom mentions above) is because most use latex inside instead of butyl.
From Jobst Brandt:
Because latex rubber of tubes commonly used in better tubular tires is several times more stretchable than common butyl rubber, such tubulars are less susceptible to snakebites. When sheet rubber is compressed, it stretches laterally like a drum skin, and the farther it can stretch the less likely it is to tear. In contrast, when ridden over such obstacles, tubular rims are often dented without the tire going flat. However, because thin latex tubes hold air so poorly that they must be inflated daily, snakebites from under-inflation were more common in the days when most riders rode tubulars. (http://sheldonbrown.com/brandt/snakebites.html)
Think about this a minute: clincher rims don’t “cut through” a tube when bottomed out, the tire itself is between the rim and tube. Pinch flats are small tears in the tube, and a latex tube does not tear easily at all. During 'cross season my clinchers bottom out nearly once a lap, but my latex tubes rarely flat. In a road race I once dented a clincher rim on the edge of a pothole without flatting the latex tube inside.
Gotcha. Honestly I’ve heard the whole tubie pinch flat thing a thousand times and never had a pinch flat in the years I owned tubulars (always were latex tubes) I had no reason to believe it wasn’t true.
But thinking about it logically you could still get deformation-induced flats on tubulars so I definitely concede to your guys far superior experience on this topic. I had one set of tubies for like 3 years so I’m far from an expert.
I have 2 sets of tubies (808s and 50mm neuvations) and a few regular clincher wheels. I only race my 808s and the 50mm I ride regularly and I can tell you that since 2007 I have had 1 flat on tubies and a bunch with clinchers.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a pinch flat with clinchers!
People who inflate their tires and don’t hit rail road ties tend not to.
The kind of stuff that does it has good odds of making something else go wrong too! Like…crashing
Gotcha. Honestly I’ve heard the whole tubie pinch flat thing a thousand times and never had a pinch flat in the years I owned tubulars (always were latex tubes) I had no reason to believe it wasn’t true.
But thinking about it logically you could still get deformation-induced flats on tubulars so I definitely concede to your guys far superior experience on this topic. I had one set of tubies for like 3 years so I’m far from an expert.
