Or other similar products… Help me w/ some options on the fastest/easiest way to fix a tubular flat during a race without having to carry a spare.
Tell me about Vittoria Pitstop
Tastes Delicious!
Or other similar products… Help me w/ some options on the fastest/easiest way to fix a tubular flat during a race without having to carry a spare.
use a clincher
One good way is to avoid the flat before it happens by using a latex sealant like Stan’s. Not a guarantee, obviously, but it improves your odds. Aside from that, Pittstop or one of its competitors (Hutchinson Fast-Air, is another) is your best bet. But I would practice on an old tubular first if possible.
Two race flats for me this year, two failed attempts to use Pitstop, two DNF’s. Probably user error, who knows. I never practiced with it beforehand.
I had a puncture on my clincher training wheels from a piece of glass this summer, the cut was about 4mm, the pitstop partially sealed and gave me enough pressure to ride slowly home
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pitstop is the best stuff in the universe. works so well
How does this stuff work with valve extenders? Any issues?
How much does a can of it weigh?
The cans are light–i’m sure somebody has the actual weight, but I’d say about 4-5 oz (or less). I’ve never actually used it either, but I’m counting on it working the first time since I’d feel guilty burning $15 just to practice on an old tubular…I guess it would be better to eat the $15 than to pay to race and get a flat…
I only ever got one flat in some tubulars–at MIM, and that prompted me to buy the Pitstop. I’ve fortunately not had to use it since…
The weight of the can shouldn’t be an issue though…weight weenieism is an ignorant thing…
You might try doing a search as this has been covered before. The key is not to rush the fix. Clear the tire of debris first if you can (glass/metal/whatever is causing the flat). Then fill the tire with pit stop and put the leak at the bottom so the pit stop gets there. For small holes that’s it you’re done. If the leak is large the tire may initially not hold much air and the pit stop will leak out the hole. If that’s the case you’ll have to wait a few minutes before putting a bit more air in it (if you’re at home you should wait at least an hour but in a race a few minutes is okay). If you have valve extenders that do not relocating the valve to the top of the extender then the pit stop will likely foul the valve.
One more thing. If you’re really concerned about a flat in a race your best option may be to carry a whole spare tire. The Tufo S3 Lite tires are very light (<200g depending on which one you get) and even more importantly fold very small. Pre-stretch and glue the tire, then once the glue is dry fold it in half base-tape to base tape (with the valve at one end inside the fold), then in half again and again until you have a tight little package not much bigger than a regular spare inner tube for a clincher. Tie it together with a piece of string. If you carry a spare tire like this you can change a tubie really fast in the race and then you have a brand new tire installed. It’s not as fast as pit stop but it’s a guaranteed success. (Note that you’ll want to change the tire to a better properly-installed tire when you get home.)
When on a training ride with tubies I actually carry both pit stop and a spare tire. In a race it depends on the length of the race and the road conditions. I often carry nothing (for aero reasons not weight reasons) and just realize that if I flat the race is over, but then I mainly do short (10mi/25mi) road TT’s, where fixing a flat would mean the race was over anyway.
been using pitstop for 3 years now. only once in about 15 flats has it failed because the hole was to big. I ride zipp 404’s for all my training and racing and have tons of miles on tubies. I may suggest the way to use is similar to using stans on mountain bike tires. If you got time take the wheel off,look for torns or glass, inject the pitstop spin the wheel and shake it. On a 650 wheel you can do this twice with one can of pistop if for some reason it goes flat again. Pitstop will put in 80-90 pounds of sealant and air. Another trick is when you get home and near a floor pump inject some more pitstop and blow the tire up to 120psi and spin it and shake it again. I have gotten an extra 1000 miles out of worn tubies using pitstop. I only carry a spare in Ironman races all other i carry one can of pitstop in my jersey pocket or in an empty water bottle on the bike. good luck
If you run a disk or wheel cover you may have better luck with one of the products that has a little hose and attachment that threads right onto your valve. Not sure if pit stop works through a crack pipe or not. I carried a can of zefal for my last few races which has a little flexible hose on it, but so far no flats so I can’t comment on its effectiveness. Earlier this year I flatted a tubie in a race but unfortunately it was a defective tire that failed at the valve stem during a really rough patch of road so the can of hutchinson fast air I blew into the tire didn’t work. Fortunately just a sprint race so it was only a 2 mile walk back to transition! Longer ‘A’ races I carry a spare as well.
Thanks guys. Useful answers.
Rode on tubbies eons ago when I was young and hardly ever seemed to flat. Just got a sweet deal on a Zipp 808 tubular wheelset. Will only be using them for racing… well, OK, OK, I may not be able to resist a few training rides…
A few more things re: Pit Stop:
Administer the Pit Stop with the valve stem at the top of the wheel per the PS instructions, and then spin the wheel to get the centripetal force to distribute the latex. You’ll likely see some white latex fly out or the puncture site while the wheel is spinning, and I found that it is usually necessary to treat the cut in the tire like a cut on you- apply direct pressure to allow a latex clot to form at the hole and solidify. It pays to take the extra minute (or two) to allow the latex to seal-- the times PS has failed me it’s because I shot it in and rolled right out without waiting, or because I got overzealous with getting my tire back to perfect (high) pressure and blew the clot out. A backup strategy when using PS is to carry a tube of crazy glue as well- it can be used to close the hole from the outside, at least long enough to allow the latex to fill in from the inside. Not an ideal scenario, but really none of these fixes is permanent-- really just a means to get to the finish line to replace the tire after the race.
I’ve found the Pit Stop to only get me somewhere in the neighborhood of 60-80 psi (estimated based on feel as I don’t carry a pressure gauge when training or racing), so I carry some CO2’s with an inflator that allows me to regulate pressure so I can use it to top off the tire (where a full CO2 + PS would blow the tube). One consideration with using the CO2 in conjunction with PS is that compressed CO2 is way colder than the compressed propane in the PS, which can freeze the latex. I haven’t had a problem with this, but be aware that it could, for instance, freeze latex in your valve stem or elsewhere in the tire, preventing it from being more evenly distributed.
Re carrying an extra tubular, I never do. When I change a tubular, it takes me FOREVER to get the damn tire off-- I can’t imagine trying to do that in a race. I’ve tried the razorblade technique to get the tire off faster and found it to be equally problematic-- the tire would come off fast but the base tape would stay glued to the rim, and that’s not coming off without chemicals. Either way, if the PS plus my CO2 and crazy glue fails me, I’m toast.
Re Stan’s, I’ve used that and think it probably helps. It does not last forever, though-- I’ve looked inside tires I’ve used for a season pre-treated with Stan’s, and the “liquid” latex was all dried up. At some point the Stan’s will dry up, so if you’re gonna use that strategy I’d add it close to your race so ensure it’s still liquid when it counts.
If you run a disk or wheel cover you may have better luck with one of the products that has a little hose and attachment that threads right onto your valve. Not sure if pit stop works through a crack pipe or not. I carried a can of zefal for my last few races which has a little flexible hose on it, but so far no flats so I can’t comment on its effectiveness. Earlier this year I flatted a tubie in a race but unfortunately it was a defective tire that failed at the valve stem during a really rough patch of road so the can of hutchinson fast air I blew into the tire didn’t work. Fortunately just a sprint race so it was only a 2 mile walk back to transition! Longer ‘A’ races I carry a spare as well.
rapp caries the hutchinson fast air with the hose and silca crack pipe already threaded(i think this is right). you can also buy a small head co2 from genuine innovations that fits into the cut out of the disc. i’ve used pit stop a couple times on tubulars. just make sure you follow the directions. it’s worth the $15 to try it once and be sure you know how to use it. in general, i feel that if you’re traveling to a race, getting a hotel, etc, just pony up and pay another $15 to make sure you know what to do.