I’ve used each method and each has it’s pros and its cons.
Tubular: Comfortable and light but a pain to deal with and very expensive to replace.
Tubeless: Nice that they can self-fix some punctures but when you really flat, what do you do? Squirting more sealant in and inflating rarely works and certainly doesn’t work as good as throwing a tube in.
Clincher: No brainer, easy to repair. What’s the down side? Heavy?
What’s best?
This should only take a couple of posts to sort out, and then we can get down the real question: Campag or Shimano or SRAM.
I rode on clinchers for 25+ years. A lot of that was on Pro3 or Pro4 Race tyres. I had a brief fling with tubulars about 10 years ago, but we never really hit it off. Then last year, I hooked up with tubulars again, and that was that. Within a few months I left clinchers for good. Just dropped them and moved away. Couldn’t be happier now with tubulars. Love 'em to bits. We have a great future ahead of us.
A more dispassionate view:
They each have their pros and cons, but for me, tubulars win. I have tubs on all my bikes now. I commute on them (which is as I have found a really good use for them: they have decent puncture protection but ride really nicely, and you always carry a bag commuting so there is always somewhere for a pre-glued spare tub) as well as train and race on them. Changing a tub roadside is (again, for me) a lot quicker than changing a clincher. A lot quicker.
I thought before switching that the stuff about them riding well was hocus pocus. Turns out not (Veloflex Carbons and Campag Boras). They are sublime. Tubulars allow you to exploit the world of really light deep section wheels to the full. Which makes for a lot of fun when you want to accelerate hard.
Downsides: they’re not cheap, but you can repair (this involves putting them in an envelope and mailing them to a little man somewhere who will repair them). Good tubs have latex tubes so I pump them up every morning - but this means I always ride in on properly inflated tyres. Tubs usually = carbon rims. Wet weather braking on carbon rims can be sketchy, but the AC3 braking surface on the new Boras seems pretty damned good compared to an alu rim, and light years better than Reynolds Assaults I had a few years ago.
I find the gluing thing strangely therapeutic. And I love the smell. So that helps.
Never run tubeless.
Disclaimer: I commuted to work today on tubulars today.
Unless you are riding track or racing in a bunch, don’t ride tubulars. Clinchers are better. More options for better/faster tires.
I have 3 sets of nice tubular wheels that are basically worthless, but it is a lot cheaper to buy (more expensive) tires than new clincher wheels.
For training and triathlon, clinchers clinchers clinchers.
I love tubulars, but if I was starting fresh, there is no way in hell I would go that route.
I was a long time tubular user (totally agree on Veloflex carbons, so nice).
Once I switched to tri’s, it just seemed to make more sense to use clinchers.
I really don’t know which I could change faster on the side of the road. I suspect maybe a bit quicker with a tubular, assuming the tubular wasn’t glued on too hard.
But with clinchers, aside from the obvious price diff. - you can get a top end clincher tire for under 40 US, they just mount perfectly every time, perfectly straight. So easy to change and put a new tire on the night before a race, etc. No worrying about lumpy leftover glue residue, no worry about getting the tire perfectly straight, no issue with the ‘bump’ at the valve, etc etc.
And yeah, resale value of tubular wheels sucks.
Is it telling that none of the other comments have mentioned tubeless? Someday tubeless technology will take over and completely replace tubulars and clinchers, but it’s not there yet (not for the road market anyway). Certainly on the mountain bike, I would never use anything but tubeless, it is that good. I think cyclocross will be the next market to embrace tubeless, with road last.
Someone mentioned how to repair tubeless. You can either use a patch kit that is similar to how car tires are repaired, or you can remove the tubeless valve and put in a regular tube and turn it into a clincher for the ride home.
prefer the ride of nice tubs… (veloflex arenburgs currently) Enve 2.2
clinchers with latex tubes are nice (turbo cotton w/ latex) Enve 4.5
I’ve tried only Schwelbe Pro One on tubeless road… other then mounting and seating the thing it’s ok. If a tire requires a air compressor = forget it. The pro-one did not but I did have to buy one of those new chamber type pumps. (Enve 2.2)
I will likely continue to use all 3… what’s best ? I dont know.
There is this Cult of Tubular and its adherents will tell you that changing a tubular is easier than changing a clincher tire. They could not be more full of shit.
First of all, you have to carry this huge tubular around with you instead of just a tube. With a tube, you can carry one tube or two, or add patch kits if you are really paranoid or have bad luck. And you can borrow a tube from a buddy or a good samaritan. Try that with a tubular.
If you’ve glued on your tubular well, it’s a bitch to get off. Then you have to take your spare folded up tubular, get it on your rim, straighten it out, all while trying not to get glue all over your hands… For me, in my tubular days, it was a minor shitshow in my garage, everything is more of a shitshow on the side of a road.
And I don’t even run clinchers anymore, having gone completely to tubeless. But seriously, clinchers are a LOT easier to deal with than tubulars.
Add to that the fact that clinchers (and for this purpose, we include tubeless) tend to have better rolling resistance and aerodynamics and there is very little place for tubulars left in the Rational World. Those places are as follows:
Professional racing with support cars: You can ride a flat tubular while you meet up with the support car. Huge for pro racers. I wouldn’t do this as an amateur who pays for equipment, since there is a decent chance you will damage your rims doing this, but hey for a pro this is not a concern.Track racing: On a smooth surface (e.g. indoor velodrome), you can lower rolling resistance by pumping up your tires to something like 200 psi. Not something you want to do with clinchers.Cyclocross: Some will run tubeless, but if you want to run really low pressure, you want tubulars.
Someone mentioned how to repair tubeless. You can either use a patch kit that is similar to how car tires are repaired, or you can remove the tubeless valve and put in a regular tube and turn it into a clincher for the ride home.
I’ve used tubeless on the road and it was great, but if the sealant won’t seal, it can be a problem to remove and replace the tubeless tire to install a tube on the side of the road. The beads tend to be very tight.
“If you’ve glued on your tubular well, it’s a bitch to get off.”
Not really.
Cut across the tire with a razor blade all the way through to the rim. Stick your finger inside the tire and peel it off like a snake.
Someone mentioned how to repair tubeless. You can either use a patch kit that is similar to how car tires are repaired, or you can remove the tubeless valve and put in a regular tube and turn it into a clincher for the ride home.
I’ve used tubeless on the road and it was great, but if the sealant won’t seal, it can be a problem to remove and replace the tubeless tire to install a tube on the side of the road. The beads tend to be very tight.
I ran into that earlier this year (had a large gash from glass). I am hoping the stuff I linked to below will for the most part solve that if it happens again.
OK, so now we have to pack a knife/razor blade along with our folded up tubular tire and then we have to be really careful cutting the tire, enough pressure to cut through the rubber (including potentially a protective belt), but not so much as to cut or scratch your rim.
Seriously, I’ve cut several tires off my carbon rims and I do it reallllly slowly because I’m not trying to put a big gash in my carbon rim bed, even if it’s just a gash in the clear coat.
That product is designed to patch the tubeless tire from the inside, which doesn’t make things any easier on the side of the road.
I keep a razor blade taped to my frame’s top tube.
You don’t have to worry about cutting into the rim. It is tough.
I keep a razor blade taped to my frame’s top tube.
See how easy riding with tubulars is?! 
That product is designed to patch the tubeless tire from the inside, which doesn’t make things any easier on the side of the road.
Actually no, it is meant to permanently patch from the inside, or to temporarily seal from the outside. Have not tried it yet, since I have not flatted the tubeless since getting the stuff. It is in their instructions even.
If you’ve glued on your tubular well, it’s a bitch to get off. Then you have to take your spare folded up tubular, get it on your rim, straighten it out, all while trying not to get glue all over your hands… For me, in my tubular days, it was a minor shitshow in my garage, everything is more of a shitshow on the side of a road.
I guess everyone has their own story to tell, but I don’t recognize a word of this. Tubs come off really fast. Much faster than leveling off a clincher. As for getting glue all over your hands, well, umm, how to put this. Do you find other people remark on you being a bit clumsy? Seriously: it’s glue, and there’s a brush. Paint it onto the tyre and the rim. Don’t paint it onto you hands and don’t touch the wet glue.
By the roadside you should be using a preglued tub. The only thing you’ve got to worry about is getting in on sufficiently straight to get you hoe]me, and that’s not difficult.
At the moment, my race wheels are tubulars and my training wheels are clinchers (stock ones that came with my bike). I definitely prefer the feel of tubulars and (for me) they seem to be easier to change on the side of the road.
BUT if I were to purchase new wheels today, I would go with clinchers and ride them 100% of the time. I’d simply change the tube/tire to something fast the day before a race…
“By the roadside you should be using a preglued tub.”
I use a brand new tire without any glue.
I ran into that earlier this year (had a large gash from glass). I am hoping the stuff I linked to below will for the most part solve that if it happens again.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OF7XP6/
I like these things. Worked great for me so far. Shows MTB usage mostly, but works great for road too, all way the way up to desired road pressure (e.g. ~100PSI).
There are cheaper ones, but the Dynaplug ones seem to work much better, in my experience.
Clinchers on Commuter, Tubeless on road bike and Tubular on TT.
Far fewer flats on Tubeless, but carry Dynaplug just in case (and because it is very cool looking). I do worry about having a hole so big that the dynaplug doesn’t work and having to mess with putting in a tube in a tire filled with sealant on the side of the road. I am sure it would be a s@#$t show, but hasn’t happened yet.
Carry a lightly preglued small tubular and a razor blade on my TT bike/race wheels. If I were buying new wheels, I would probably go for clincher, but too cheap to replace my existing 808’s. I’ve had to change tires twice during races…probably not any slower than a clincher, but I am just more comfortable changing a tube.