Ok, so I bought a new bike. Came with 404 clinchers, had them swap out with tubulars and bought the zipp disc for racing. I have ben using clinchers since I started racing 4 or 5 years ago. I would carry a couple Co2’s and a couple tubes depending on the distance. After suffering several flats during racesx I have gotten quite fast at replacing the clinchers. Now I have to start over again.
I bought Tufo tubulars that use the rim tape. The bike dude gave me a demo of installing the tape and tire so I think I can handle that. My question is what do you carry for racing? Do I put a big tubular on the back of my bike? Have any of you used that Tufo seelant stuff just to get thru to the end of the race? Or is it put in before the race and if I do get aflat it seels it automatically? I wont carry a spare for sprints and short races but I really dont want to get a flat during a Half or longer without a back up plan. Should I carry extra tape or is the tape on my rims re-useable? Will i be able to peel off the old tubular by hand or will I need a lever?
Thanks
Ken,
I used the tape last year, then switched to glue becuase I didn’t think that the tape would leave any residue if you needed to swap tires in a race.
Regarding the Tufo sealant, I currently have some in my tires, but I’m not sure I would go that route again. The sealant can goop up the valve mechanism and can cause the valve to stick open, preventing a good seal once you put air in the tire. I found this out while messing around with my spare. That said, using a small knife or even a real small hex tool, you can clean out the valve and there’s no problem. Still, I race with the small plastic valve core removal tool tucked away somewhere, that way, if I need to change mid race, and if the valve is gooped open, I can fix it. I’ve heard that putting air in the tire while the valve is at the bottom (i.e., so no sealant gets into an open valve) can help.
Later
I have only hearsay on the Tufo tape, but here’s what I hear:
- tape is not re-usable, will usually tear during removal
- it sticks too well, can be difficult to remove the old tyre, may need a lever
- can use the sealant either way. If you add it first, remember it will add some rotating weight to the wheels, if that kind of thing bothers you.
I use tubulars on my race wheels, but with good old-fashioned glue. This seems simpler than the tape on the whole… Read slowman’s primer,
http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/maintenance/tiremount.html
Yes, I haul a spare tubular around on the bike for races… so much for lighter wheels.
The Conti Sprinters appear to be remarkably f***-resistant. After a race in a rainstorm, I dug out five shards of glass from the tires, but no flatting. I was impressed.