I have a custom guru trilite and i use zipp 404 tubular wheels for racing … keep in mind that my bike is super small. At my last race I discovered (the night before the race of course) that i cant use conti sprinters because they rub the seat stay?? (the part that hovers over the wheel by the brakes). I brought my bike to the dealer and asked him what the issue was … he said my wheel was messed up and it was …they fixed it but i just glued on a new tubular and guess what - it still doesnt fit. Conti sprinters are 22mm so I obviously need 19mm … there arent too many choices - they only ones i could find are vittoria corsa cx, conti competition, and tufos(which i dont want to use). Does anyone know of any other options … also do you think they could fix my bike if i sent it back … is it possible that it is too small to make this work? A bike shop at the race where i discovered this issue told me i should send it back and have them try to figure out how to fix it. I wouldnt care but im kind of nervous riding 19mm tires especially if it rains.
I’d be nervous about any bike that has THAT little clearance.
Two thoughts:
1 - Check to see if the wheel is dished properly. Is it rubbing only on one chainstay, or both? If only on one side, your wheel could be dished wrong. That would be a simple fix.
2 - I had a similar issue with 23s on the training clinchers on my Trek TT frame. Ended up running 20s. The race wheels have 21s, and there are no issues.
You might be able to go with 21s or 20s. Vittoria makes both depending on tire model. 21 is standard for most of their tubulars. Their TT specific tire is available in a 20.
Your situation could be a combination of both issues. Maybe you can barely get away with the 22, but a slight dishing problem just makes it much worse. You still might end up going one size smaller as well.
Just had my wheel fixed for that very reason so thats not it … it really rubs a lot … and right smack in the middle. Im looking for 19mm because i dont want to go through the trouble of gluing on two new tubulars and not having them fit. I love my bike but this makes me want to chuck it in the garbage … i have had lots of bad luck with it - especially at the races. I bet 20mm or 21mm would fit but I only have a 8 days until my race so I rather be safe
tire width is in mm, not inches.
sorry … i will fix it … i knew that anyway just a sleepy mistake
are you ok with my post now … is everything happy in slowtwitch land ??
i would call this unacceptable. a 23mm tire is a standard width, one that is arguably the most usable in the widest conditions. i would not accept a frame that would not accept tires wider than 19. that is too narrow for anything but track racing. id say get with your dealer and find a solution with guru.