Thanks to some fellow slowtwitchers (is that a word?) I am making the jump to Tubulars. I am not looking for the tubular/clincher debate because I have already bought the wheels so no turning back now. Here are a few of my questions but any other tubular advice is appreciated.
How do you clean off the old glue off of a carbon rim?
What brands of tires do you recommend?
Do you have to use carbon pads on Carbon rims? If you do not, does it hurt the brake pads, the wheel or both? Or does it cause other problems?
Tufo sealant: Does it work? Do you use it right after a flat or prior and never get a flat?
Do you pump up tires to 160 psi or does that just increase risk of flat and make the ride harsh?
Cleaning glue: They tell you to avoid the harsher chemicals and mainly use acetone, but I find mineral spirits and even some others work much better and don’t harm the rim at all. Be a little bit careful and use common sense…if you are cutting into the wheel obviously you need to use something different. Grab a rag and scrub.
Tires: Depends on what you are going for. Continentals are good all-around, but I prefer Veloflex Records for less rolling resistance…but they do flat more easily. Many articles in ST about this.
Yes, use pads for carbon rims, for all those reasons and more.
Tufo Sealant: You use it before you get the flat. It works with Tufo tires, not so good with others. I don’t like it because it gums up the valves and makes it harder to inflate the tire…and I don’t like Tufo’s to begin with.
160psi might be good for the track, but I’d stay below 140 for any road riding.
My #1 tip for beginners: Glue your tires and rims separately. Put on a couple of coats over a 2 day period. Let it dry completely. Then mount the tire on the rim. It is much less messy and just as strong as mounting “wet”. In fact, depending on the glue (Mastic 1 is my fav) it may be too strong to remove the tire in a race. Take your time and get the tire on as straight as possible. Avoid Tufo tape.
Also,a good hint before applying the glue /tape is to leave about 1/4" diagonal gap at the opposite side of the wheel from the valve.It will help makes things easier when you puncture.
I use Tufo S3 Lite 195s, the extreame tape, and put the sealant in when i mount the tires…to prevent, instead of repair a flat. I usually inflate to about 165psi. Also, i use special break pads on the carbon race wheels. I have heard a lot of debate about Tufo good/bad, but personally i have never had a problem with them. Getting the glue/tape residue off is a whole different story. I am kind of a clean freak and its not easy to get off!! I used Goof Off to help, but still a pain.
First off I am not trying to hijack…well maybe I am but you guys seem to know stuff.
I have never heard of a sealant you can put in before you flat, sounds ok. What is the name of it …Tufo …? ?
Also if you flat during a race let me know if I am correct, I would have preglued the spare tire (doesn’t it stick to its self?) and place it under my seat or another place, I have never pulled a tubular off before and my LBS glued my current schwalbe’s on, how tough is it to pull off? I would try it but I don;t want to screw up a perfectly tire at a $100 a pop. And the spare would just work with my rim even though I had ripped the tire off?
I know that tai had a post befoer about changing them but I see to have lost it.
The tufo sealant is great. I put it in after getting double flats in a road race and it fixed the dozen or so punctures right up. Even doing the same offroad excursion, I still have not flatted on those tires with the sealant in there. I recommend it to everyone I can.
You do need to be careful when first putting it in though. If you put it in and do not put some air in your tire, or let your tire sit with the valvestem facing down, you will gum up your valve stem. Easy to clean though with the removable cores.
All my friends that do not use the sealant I usualy get there old tubulars. It is great, I do not have to buy a tire for the next ten years.
I tried the Vittoria Pittstop (topped off with about 1/2 a C02 cartridge) during IMF, didn’t work (well it did for 2 miles), so I had to change tires. It was a b*tch to get the old tire off. I’ve put new tubulars on, but had never taken one off. I finally had to pry it off with my CO2 inflator…is there an easy way? I was thinking a razorblade to cut the tire and just rip it off might have been quick, but then if you want to salvage the tire…but if the Vittoria pittstop didn’t work once, is the tire salvageable?
Also don’t use your “carbon wheel” brake pads with your alum. training wheels - little pieces of alum get caught in there and they can chew up your carbon rims when you swap. So each time you put your race wheels on and off - you need to swap pads.
Tubulars - a lot of people like the Vittoria Evo Corsa Cx/Ks.
Pressure - depends on weight but I like about 100-120. Also a fast tubular will have a latex tube and will slowly leak air.
No need to have glue on the spare tire(that could get quite messy) just take the punctured tire off and the rim should have enough of a glue base left to hold the new tire. Although this is temporary until you get some more glue/tape on the rim once you get home,so you have to keep the speeds down-especially in the corners or else you risk it rolling off the rim.
The tape is a MESS and like has been said - is horrible to remove. I find that if you can get a ball of glue off of the rim it will help to “roll off” any other glue that is on the rim. Or, mineral spirits and a butter knife work pretty good.
I really think that the Tufo tape robs some of the ride quality as it is so damn thick - I swear I could feel it on my Shamals. I would never put that on my Zipps.
I would say the rim tape is 1,000 times easier to install with a tire than glue. I have only done 4 tires with tape, and 14 with glue. I am not using glue again. Tufo tape on all my new wheels (like I will buy another pair) and my friends wheels.
Soul man - Soul. There is something about spending your night with your finger in the glue coat after coat on the rim and the tire that tells you that it is a job done right. There is pride in knowing that your tire is done right (and you did not add 300gm of tape) that is really nice to know.
Most of that stuff will peel off with the old tire if your careful.In the future when you apply new tape and tires, be sure to remove as much of the white gooey glue portion of the tape as you can before applying a new layer.It’s fine to still have a old layer of the clear sticky portion of the tape left behind before applying another layer of the new tape as long as its reasonably clean.When you get two or three layers its advisable that you strip and clean the rim down to the bed.Goof-off by Valspar is a good solvent for that.
1000 times, really? If you find glueing that hard then maybe there is something to change in your methods. If you aren’t already doing so, try gluing the rim and the tire separately and letting them completely dry, and then mount the tire. Virtually no mess and none of the panic of trying to get the tire on before the glue dries. I don’t care for the Tufo tape just like many others. As glue is one of the main causes of rolling resistance in tubulars, the Tufo tape is like putting on the worst, thickest glue possible. It is too strong for easily removing a tire during a race. And it is a major mess if you ever want to remove it from the tire. The first time I used it I was convinced it was the way to go, but after living with it awhile and then improving my methods with regular glue, I’m completely turned around.
Any flats I’ve had during a race I cut the tire and pull it off, I would not be repairing it anyway. Taking a good tire off takes a little effort but not bad. I always leave a space opposite the valve stem without any glue, incase I want to remove the tire, it makes a good place to start.
So each time you put your race wheels on and off - you need to swap pads.
i appreciate why you do this, but taking the time to this every time one has to switch out to race wheels is insane. i just don’t have that much time in my life. clinchers it is for me.
Carry a single edge razor (not in your poket and do not ever, ever try and stuff it down the bike shorts) or box cutter. Flats: if the sealant does not work, cut the old tire off the rim…
Question to board on getting Conti Comps on a Zipp rim.
Is it just me or is it EXTREMELY difficult to get this tire over the last protion of the Zipp 808 rim? For me it is near ridiculous, and yes I stretch them for about 24 hrs. Should I stretch them longer? Am I doing something wrong? Thanks