I’d still hate to have been Beloki…and I’ll bet his tubies were glued on by a professional.
<<Honest question, I’m not trying to stir any pots: What does one do with the flatted tire? Leave it on the side of the road and pick up later? If speed of changing tires during a race is the issue, wouldn’t this make more sense? Or, do you stuff it in a back pocket and finish the course?>>
The one time it happened, she left it by the side of the road and rode back to pick it up later. Keep this in mind: for someone of her abilities (11 medals at worlds, including five gold), the issue is not so much an extra few seconds on the bike because she choose tubulars over clinchers, but the fear of losing several minutes trying to change a clincher flat. She’s only had one flat in a race (in 22 years), but she was able to change it and still win. So, for her, it is mostly a peace of mind sort of thing.
I hope you aren’t implying that Beloki crashed because he rolled a tubular. He rolled the tire because he was on his way down already.
I hope you aren’t implying that Beloki crashed because he rolled a tubular. He rolled the tire because he was on his way down already.
Yup. He went sliding sideways and his wheel made a sudden grab at something on the ground, which spun him around and flipped his bike. The same “grab” pulled his tire off. He woulda crashed riding anything. It had zero to do with the fact that he was on tubulars.
Just making the point – I’ve got no side in this debate.
- Weigh a tubular wheel, 20 grams of cement and tubular tire. Weigh a clincher tire, clincher wheel, inner tube, and rim strip. Wow, amazing difference isn’t it? All at the outer circumference of the rim where 1 gram of weight actually does make a difference.
I missed this before, but I read Kraig’s post, so…
6.a. Add the weight of a spare inner tube and a patch kit to the clincher setup; add the weight of two spare tubies to the tubie setup. If you carry two spares, clincher is a lighter overall setup. If you carry one spare, it’s a tie, but that’s not a good strategy if you’re doing your one IM your spouse lets you do every few years, and you spent many $$$$ flying there and renting a room, etc. Nothing like a DNF to make you wish you had clinchers and two ounces worth of little round patches.
And I’m glad Kraig came along with his thoughts on the “weight at the rim” BS. Nobody would listen to me, but Kraig knows his sh*t.
Brett asked:
<Honest question, I’m not trying to stir any pots: What does one do with the flatted tire? Leave it on the side of the road and pick up later? If speed of changing tires during a race is the issue, wouldn’t this make more sense? Or, do you stuff it in a back pocket and finish the course?>
In the U.S. you best take it with you, lest you end up with an abandoned equipment penalty. We don’t know you plan to go back.
David Schoonmaker
Cat. 1 USA Triathlon official
I can’t remember the last time I had a pinch-flat. The last time I had a flat in a race was due to a “goathead” thorn, one of those nasty two-pronged things. Didn’t thorns spring up after Adam and Eve ate that apple? About a third of the racers got flats. I understand that a tubular is much faster to fix, but are they any more resistant to thorns and glass? Are flats the inevitable consequence of sin?
if you have a clincher tire that gets a small hole or rip in it, you can put all the new tubes in that tire you want to, but it’ll eventually poke its way through the rip and flat itself again.
Two words: tire boot.
Not an issue.
Ken Lehner
Two words: tire boot.
And – tire boots cost a dollar. Well, in fact, they *ARE *a dollar.
A dollar bill folded over makes a very nice tire boot for clincher rips up to a half inch or so.
Julian,
I have used a folded dollar bill before it works great…