I’m gluing my first tubular and can’t find glue anywhere. Any recommendations for an alternative adhesive?
I’m going to be helpful in a different way: Stan’s Sealant for your new tubeless tires when you sell these tubulars, hopefully this weekend.
Tub tape is the alternative. I cannot see any situation where it would be sensible to use anything other than adhesives specifically designed to attach tyres to rims. Too strong and you’ve ruined several thousand dollars of wheels, too weak and you are gambling your life on a descent, bad chemical reaction, you’ve melted rim, tyre and risk bad things happening on a descent.
I’m gluing my first tubular and can’t find glue anywhere. Any recommendations for an alternative adhesive?
You can’t find glue, even online? Some people use 3m fast-tack, but really I’d look for actually tub glue. Tyres will be harder to remove with something like fast-tack. Or as Duncan said, go tape. It works fine and is less hassle. Slightly slower CRR than a glued wheel, but i’d imagine the differences would be close to negligible.
, too weak and you are gambling your life on a descent, bad chemical reaction, you’ve melted rim, tyre and risk bad things happening on a descent.
I’ve always wondered if that’s an urban myth or at least something that is exaggerated - tyres popping off rims because of a poor glue job. Perhaps a pro rider might pop one, riding aggressively on a huge descent, but cruising round corners at 35km/hr is not going to cause a tyre to pop off the rim. My first tubs I used tape and when I flatted in a race, pulled the tyre off which took all the tape with it and the spare went on with no glue, tape etc and was fine. And that was a hilly course. Then I went glue and the spare was never pre-glued.
Slightly slower CRR than a glued wheel, but i’d imagine the differences would be close to negligible.
**Shock horror. That sort of comment will get you banned for life from this forum 
99.8% of posts fall in that category.
Yeah, and you may be right at the tyre off rim ‘fear’. But by same score, I’m never going to advise someone else to take that risk as it’s not something I’d personally do myself. It’s likely to be a ‘swiss cheese’ situation where it would take a series of unfortunate circumstances to end up with a tyre off. But ride long enough and that will (could?) happen. I admit my bigger fear was the permanent adhesion of the tyre or at least inability to sort a puncture on course.
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, too weak and you are gambling your life on a descent, bad chemical reaction, you’ve melted rim, tyre and risk bad things happening on a descent.
I’ve always wondered if that’s an urban myth or at least something that is exaggerated - tyres popping off rims because of a poor glue job. Perhaps a pro rider might pop one, riding aggressively on a huge descent, but cruising round corners at 35km/hr is not going to cause a tyre to pop off the rim. My first tubs I used tape and when I flatted in a race, pulled the tyre off which took all the tape with it and the spare went on with no glue, tape etc and was fine. And that was a hilly course. Then I went glue and the spare was never pre-glued.
You can ride an unglued tire for 99% of regular riding. The problem is confidence in the tire. If I’m not confident in the equipment then I’m not taking corners at 100%, and it’s in the back of my mind the entire race. Probably not super important in a triathlon, but IMO not a risk worth taking.
Also, keep in mind there is substantial rolling resistance difference between tub glues. If memory serves Vittoria has tested fastest.
Google vittoria mastik one and buy literally any of the options that pop up.
How many tubes you looking for? I have a few of Vittora Mastik I’ll give you, message me if interested.
(in pink)
Tape is an alternative but not as reliable as glue. Make sure you prep with acetone or isopropyl alcohol.
, too weak and you are gambling your life on a descent, bad chemical reaction, you’ve melted rim, tyre and risk bad things happening on a descent.
I’ve always wondered if that’s an urban myth or at least something that is exaggerated - tyres popping off rims because of a poor glue job. Perhaps a pro rider might pop one, riding aggressively on a huge descent, but cruising round corners at 35km/hr is not going to cause a tyre to pop off the rim. My first tubs I used tape and when I flatted in a race, pulled the tyre off which took all the tape with it and the spare went on with no glue, tape etc and was fine. And that was a hilly course. Then I went glue and the spare was never pre-glued.I’ve seen tires come off in a race at least once. It was a criterium and something happened where the rider made a hectic move (perhaps avoiding a crash) which put a side force on the rear wheel and the tire came off. This was a fairly exceptional event. That said, if I was cornering hard, it would really wear on my mind to know the tire is not well-glued.
I’m gluing my first tubular and can’t find glue anywhere. Any recommendations for an alternative adhesive?
You can’t find glue, even online? Some people use 3m fast-tack, but really I’d look for actually tub glue. Tyres will be harder to remove with something like fast-tack. Or as Duncan said, go tape. It works fine and is less hassle. Slightly slower CRR than a glued wheel, but i’d imagine the differences would be close to negligible.
3M Fast Tack was widely used as an alternative to normal tubular mastik ‘back in the day’ but 3M has changed the formulation of Fast Tack since then and it’s no longer as suitable for gluing tubs.
It’s best to stick with the tub glue supplied by tire makers and, in my experience, Vittoria mastik is the best.