I’m going tubular for races. I have two deep dish wheels (front and back) and a disc wheel. I’ll be carrying 1 spare tubular.
My question is:
What do I do about the valve when running disc in back and deep dish in front? If I don’t have the extender on the spare wheel’s valve then I can use the spare with my disc wheel easy. However, if I flat the front then I’ll have to get the extender on the value which is going to eat up a lot of time. And visa versa. i could start with the extender on but that creates the other issue.
Does your front wheel have a screw on valve extender that just relies on the air to push in the tire valve or do you have the type that actually extend the valve out to the end of the extender?
I would just take your spare and put some teflon tape on the threads of the valve. If you flat on the rear just change the tire.
If your front goes flat change the tire and if you have the simple screw on valve extender on there now just take a couple of seconds to unscrew it from the flat tire and put it on the spare. If you have the type that extends the valve out on your flat front then you could carry a spare extender (the kind that doesn’t extend the valve) strapped in with your spare tubular and if you have a front flat then take a second to screw it on.
As long as you have the teflon tape pre-wrapped on the threads it should be fine. I flatted several times last year and it only took a few seconds to throw the valve extenders on if needed (I was using clinchers last year but was running a disc/deep front so I was basically in the same boat). If I flatted in the rear then I just used the spare tube. If I flatted in the front I swapped extenders and it only took about 10 seconds or less.
I am a tubular newbie so I’m not quite sure on the extenders. I was under the impression that I had to remove the core and put it on the extender. But I’ll take your comments to my LBS and have them hook me up with the proper extender.
A removable valve core is what I would use not the shit kind
It ain’t hard to remove ! Well it isn’t rocket science
Do you have other tubbies to use to learn on ?
Good luck
Although heavier you might want to carry two spare tires, one with and one without the valve extender. If you are doing a long event (70.3 or 140.6) you might need the second tire anyway. Last year I went to the Pucon Chilie IM RED DOT 70.3 with Ken Galhs travel group. He told me that he has done Kona 25 times and always carries two extra tubulars. I ride with a Zipp 404 upfront and a Zipp disc in the back, both are clinchers. My approach is to have two tubes with me, one with a 80mm stem for up front and the other 35mm for the disc. If I flated twice on the disc, I think that I could use a long stem sticking out of the wheel aperture to get back to the transition area, however I would not be able to use the short stem on the fron 404 wheel. Tim
there are two types of extenders, the type that require the valve to come out (usually tufo branded) and then the other kind (that everyone else makes) that doesn’t require the core to come out. For years I swore by the removeable type but now I’m sold on the non-removeable if and only if they are installed properly. If installed properly (open the valve and crimp the little nut thingy so that it can’t screw closed again, a few wraps of teflon tape, hand tight, then 1/4-1/2 turn extra with pliers) they do not leak and are very easy to use.
Anyways, assuming you use type that don’t require removing the valve stem. Just place an extender on the spare (you might not want to do the extra tightening with the wrench…) and if it goes on teh front wheel leave it on, on the disk take it off. I’d reccomend the extender on the spare as if you are planning on taking the extender off the flatted front tire and your hands are sweaty or just feeling weak it can sometimes be impossible to get a properly tightened extender off without tools.