I was wanting to know from those that have tubular race wheels how often you have to repair or replace a flat on your race wheels only? How many races/miles do you put on them a season? Those that live in places with thorns or goatheads during the summer I would really like to hear from you as I would be dealing with the same factors during late summer races.
Also anybody that has had race clinchers then tubulars can you really tell much of a difference in weight and rolling resistance between the two, for example 808 clinchers then got 808 tubulars?
Is there anybody out there that can help me understand how often they flat? I know there is a lot of past threads on tubulars vs. Clinchers but I know all about the positives and negatives I am more looking at just the the issue of flatting on race wheels. Any feedback would be much appreciated it!
I was wanting to know from those that have tubular race wheels how often you have to repair or replace a flat on your race wheels only? How many races/miles do you put on them a season?
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A tire should be replaced if you see any cuts.
Also anybody that has had race clinchers then tubulars can you really tell much of a difference in weight and rolling resistance between the two, for example 808 clinchers then got 808 tubulars?
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You can’t really feel the difference while you are riding, but it is measurable.
I flatted much more often with clinchers then I do with tubbies, in training. I changed to all tubbies for training and racing and flat less. I’ve never flatted in a race. On the other side, if you use a cheap tubbie you’ll flat more often then a good tubbie. So the tire makes a difference in flats.
The only way to flat a tubbie is a sharp object making a hole. Clinchers on the other hand will flat with a sharp object, but more often then that they will pinch flat if you hit a sharp hole or whatever and the tube gets smashed…poof…pinch flat. Tubbies don’t pinch flat.
I’ve never been able to tell a difference between tubbies and clinchers for speed. But the tubbies handle better then clinchers. For the majority of people the difference in speed is small enough that you won’t notice.
Tubulars don’t flat any more or less than clinchers. Clincher will flat for far more reasons than a tubular, however.
But there is no definitive answer to your question. If you use cheap tubular tires, you will probably flat alot. If you use
very high quality tires, you will flat less often. I used to ride with a guy who used very expensive tubulars and he
NEVER flatted. As a matter of fact, he did not even carry a spare.
I guess that is what I want to know, the chance that tubulars flat compared to clinchers. I just got into riding last summer and it seemed like once a week I was flatting on my training clinchers so the idea of always having to replace $100+ tubulars all the time in races scared me. I like Vittoria tires but would tubulars would you recommend, it seemed like most sites i look at everybody complains how their tubulars don’t last long and they wouldn’t recommend them.
I just got into riding last summer and it seemed like once a week I was flatting on my training clinchers.
Then you’re doing something wrong - either pinching the tubes when installing them or you have some equipment issue. I had a string of flats a couple of months ago (including the Texas 70.3) and I couldn’t figure out why. Turned out that the rim tape I was using on my rear wheel wasn’t wide enough to cover the offset spoke holes on Hed’s C2 rims. Switched to wider tape and no problems.
It’s inevitable that you’ll flat at no fault of your own but if you’re flatting every week then user error has to be a factor.
No I wasn’t pinch flatting, The roads around Boise have glass and rocks all over the bike lanes. Also we have things called goatheads that are thorns that puncture tires all the time. A lot of the local shops pull them out of the tires people bring in and collect them, usually filling up a small mason jar by the end of the year, Thats why I switched to tubeless MTB tires because they are such a problem riding in the foothills around Southern Idaho.
I flatted much more often with clinchers then I do with tubbies, in training. I changed to all tubbies for training and racing and flat less. I’ve never flatted in a race. On the other side, if you use a cheap tubbie you’ll flat more often then a good tubbie. So the tire makes a difference in flats.
The only way to flat a tubbie is a sharp object making a hole. Clinchers on the other hand will flat with a sharp object, but more often then that they will pinch flat if you hit a sharp hole or whatever and the tube gets smashed…poof…pinch flat. Tubbies don’t pinch flat.
I’ve never been able to tell a difference between tubbies and clinchers for speed. But the tubbies handle better then clinchers. For the majority of people the difference in speed is small enough that you won’t notice.
I don’t know where to start…besides, of course, that you need to work on your “obstacle avoidance” skills…
Not necessasarily true. I ride 4-5 thousand miles during the fall to spring season in DE and never flat with my clinchers. when I move to the shore in NJ for 3-4 months each year I flat around 20-25 times. Granted I ride more miles but the bigger issue is all the broken glass the yahoos fling all over the place,
I was wanting to know from those that have tubular race wheels how often you have to repair or replace a flat on your race wheels only? How many races/miles do you put on them a season? Those that live in places with thorns or goatheads during the summer I would really like to hear from you as I would be dealing with the same factors during late summer races.
Also anybody that has had race clinchers then tubulars can you really tell much of a difference in weight and rolling resistance between the two, for example 808 clinchers then got 808 tubulars?There is no answer as to how many times a tire, whether tubular or clincher will flat. There are just too many variables. You will hear proponents of both. I have raced and trained on both and do not truly see or feel a difference, again because of the number of variables involved. The right choice is the one you feel most comfortable with. With sew ups you need to be able to accept the expense and extra effort that they require. While many believe that clinchers cannot compare to tubulars, only each rider can make their own mind up. For myself though, after 20 years of racing on nothing but tubular tires I have switched to clinchers. With some crr data showing an advantage and the lower cost and ease of mounting and repairs, it just made more sense.
So you are saying that there is not much difference that you can tell from a performance standpoint between clinchers and tubulars? I won’t gain several minutes over 40k on tubulars compared to clinchers?
So if I have two sets of zipp clinchers then I should keep them and not worry about changing all of them over to tubulars?
So you are saying that there is not much difference that you can tell from a performance standpoint between clinchers and tubulars? I won’t gain several minutes over 40k on tubulars compared to clinchers?
Ummm…no…and actually, you’re being a bit too simplistic by just saying “tubulars as compared to clinchers.” Within each mounting type, there are good and bad tires. But, to be honest, I’m of the opinion that the average user is infinitely more likely to be able to put together a near “world class” setup using clincher wheels/tires than with tubulars.
So if I have two sets of zipp clinchers then I should keep them and not worry about changing all of them over to tubulars?
So you are saying that there is not much difference that you can tell from a performance standpoint between clinchers and tubulars? I won’t gain several minutes over 40k on tubulars compared to clinchers?
So if I have two sets of zipp clinchers then I should keep them and not worry about changing all of them over to tubulars?NO, you absolutely Will Not gain minutes over a 40k TT. Seconds maybe, with a setup that is as perfect as possible (though for the average Joe that setup is unattainable from the technical standpoint of correctly gluing the tire to the rim). With that said, I do not think that the tubulars are any faster. I know many will dispute this but i have several tubular race wheels and have retired them for clincher wheels due to the fact that well chosen clinchers are competitive with well chosen and installed tubulars. The clinchers are just so much easier to live with day to day, and like I said do not give up performance. Again, this is my experience. Just do not let yourself be fooled into thinking that tubulars are the magic bullet to PR bike splits.
I have had my tubulars for 5 or so months now and I love the feel and I love the ride. I dont care of they are faster or slower or what ever as I am not in that league anyway…yet!
I think that you need to find the right tyre for the roads you ride on. I used to have one brand that were curt to shreds in 200k and I flatted 3 or those in around 2 weeks. So I asked on here and looked on the web and I changed the tyres, I have now had only one flat. I check the tyres before I ride.
If I ride in the wet I am much more likely to get a flat as its all flint here on the roads.
As much as I love them blah blah blah I didnt get them through choice and if I was going to upgrade my wheels I would get clinchers as I know how to change a clincher much fatser an a spare tube is much easier to stash than a whole tyre.
hope that helps.
