Tubulars, glue, race tire - kona….someone save me the work

ok, i read too much on this forum to start over thinking things but when we talk about 10w here, there etc i now want to ask

so i am on my way to kona with 808 front/1080 back….baring getting blown off the bike due to the 808 front this wheel choice seems fine.

my latest concern is i have 2 (taped) ironman schwabe tubulars on both wheels and per the other threads it appears i have the butyl tubes as they are not loosing air

questions:

  • do i need to take them off and have them glued vs tape (what is tape costing me really….sounds odd to think its 5-10w but that is what I’m reading here)
  • do i keep the scwabe tires or should i find something better (what is keeping same tire costing me vs other options if this is burly - if i keep them should i pump them with more pressure?)
  • and what tire pressure….roads are smooth here. I’m a lamen but it just feels faster with tires pumped harder but if lower pressure tires really go faster on smooth roads then I will trust the crowd but it seems wrong from a common sense standpoint

i know - this has been rehashed more than a few times on this forum alone.

I’m sure you will lose .5 mph with those tires if not more over Vitorria.

It’s too late to go making equipment changes. If your present combination is reliable, then messing with it increases your chances of having an issue that could ruin your race day.

Enjoy the atmosphere out there. It’s absolutely incredible all week. Running around to bike shops and stressing over equipment isn’t the thing to be doing.

And go with 110 psi. Sounds like you have latex. Air up race morning - there will be plenty of pumps

Have a blast and race hard!

It’s too late to go making equipment changes. If your present combination is reliable, then messing with it increases your chances of having an issue that could ruin your race day.

gluing a pair of tubulars is about a total of 1h of work spread out over 36h–even when i do 4-5 coats for a FAST tire. tons of time to make it happen. it’s like a little arts & crafts project.

definitely go mastik one vs tape, and definitely use a tire with latex tubes.

After a recommendation here I just switched from tufo tape to the new effetto mariposa. Didn’t ride it yet but have to say when tufo comes as kind of double sided tape this one is more like glue on roll. As for applying the tapes are the same but the EM is thicker.

After a recommendation here I just switched from tufo tape to the new effetto mariposa. Didn’t ride it yet but have to say when tufo comes as kind of double sided tape this one is more like glue on roll. As for applying the tapes are the same but the EM is thicker.
dude…you race kona how many times a year? a FAST glue job with mastik 1 isn’t much work. saving a few minutes or an hour on installation is a 1-time thing…you will be racing those wheels over hours during that one race alone.

all tapes, thus far, test higher in terms of rolling resistance than mastik 1 (so you’re giving up power). i haven’t seen the EM tape tested, but i don’t see anything that makes me think it will be any different (i.e. no loss).

if we were talking about training tires it is maybe a different conversation, but this is your big race.

I ain’t doin Kona not at all (and I can’t blame the tape for that unfortunately). At the end it’s ones preference and gotta work what’s best for em.