I have a set of clincher 808’s and 404’s but I want to get a disc. I really don’t want to pay 1800 for a clincher 900 but I can’t find one on craigslist or ebay for cheaper but I have come across several sub 9 tubulars for about 1000.
2 questions
Would I look really stupid showing up with a clincher front wheel and tubular rear wheel?
I have a fear that buying and using a tubular will be nothing but a headache with flatting on it every time I race and DNFing. Can enough people one here help me to forget that fear and that tubulars can be fairly durable for racing with?
No problems with my sub9 tubie yet . I have put about 200 miles on my tubie combo and been good so far. You wouldnt look stupid but if you brought flat repair kits for both you have a lot of stuff to carry. Buy a decent tyre and you should be good.
I have a fear that buying and using a tubular will be nothing but a headache with flatting on it every time I race and DNFing. Can enough people one here help me to forget that fear and that tubulars can be fairly durable for racing with?
do you get a flat every race that you do?
if so, then you have some serious issues with
a) not avoiding sharp objects on the ground; and
b) using a double-edged knife as a tire lever.
I was told a long time ago that using double edged knives were the best tings to use for tire tools. Are you telling me that this was bad advice?
I do not think that you would look bad having a tubular and a clincher on the same bike. I know w few people that have that setup. I would make the switch but dont want to deal with the pain.
I have a fear that buying and using a tubular will be nothing but a headache with flatting on it every time I race and DNFing. Can enough people one here help me to forget that fear and that tubulars can be fairly durable for racing with?
Why would you DNF? Would you not bring a spare on the bike? Or would you only bring the clincher spare. That’s the problem with having two types of tires I guess. You would be best to pick one type probably
i don’t think you’d look stupid, but you would have a good deal of flat-repair on your bike.
i think the main advantage to going with like wheels is that you can either bring tubes & c02s, or pitstop & c02s, not everything at once.
in addition, i have just begun riding my sub9/808 set, and i find them incredibly comfortable.
if you are doing longer course stuff, then i’d guess tubies are the way to go.
though i haven’t ridden multiple discs, i recall rapp saying that the sub9 is quite comfy over the long haul, something you might want to keep in mind.
I guess I would think I might DNF because I would have no experience changing a Tubie so even if I brought one I would fear that I would not know how to get it on properly. I would plan to bring a spare tube and Tubie as well as CO2 and the like.
My biggest concern is that I have been riding road bikes for about a year now and as the summer progressed last year I stared to get a lot of flats because of things we have around here called “goat heads” that you can’t see while you are riding but usually are spread all over the sides of roads.
Do any of you have to deal with these where you live? if so how often do you have to replace your Tubie?
How much difference would I feel weight wise by getting a sub 9 compared to a clincher 900? Sorry for all the questions, I live in a place where I get see these two wheels in person so it makes it tough to shop.
I have a set of clincher 808’s and 404’s but I want to get a disc. I really don’t want to pay 1800 for a clincher 900 but I can’t find one on craigslist or ebay for cheaper but I have come across several sub 9 tubulars for about 1000.
2 questions
Would I look really stupid showing up with a clincher front wheel and tubular rear wheel?
I have a fear that buying and using a tubular will be nothing but a headache with flatting on it every time I race and DNFing. Can enough people one here help me to forget that fear and that tubulars can be fairly durable for racing with?
Umm…why not just get a cover for either the 808 or 404 rear?
I have never seen a wheelcover in person so I don’t know what they look like. Are they easy to take on and off? Will it perform very similar to a true disc?
No knock on anybody on ST but from pictures that I have seen they sometimes don’t look aesthetically pleasing to me.
They don’t look as good and they don’t make that “whoosh whoosh” sound but from everything I’ve ever heard here, a wheel cover performs just as well as a full disc for a fraction of the price. Plus they give you the flexibility of having it on or off.
I’ve never put one on or taken one off but I don’t think it’s any harder than putting on/taking off a cassette.
I had the same dilemma as you. I had a set of 404 clinchers and wanted to add a disc to my arsenal. I was somewhat money conscious, but ended up buying a 900 clincher off eBay for $1600 total. Packing for a race and setting up is already a hassle in my opinion, so why add to that by having to carry two different sets of equipment to replace a tubie and a clincher? I just put my disc on along with my 404 front the other day, and I don’t regret my decision.
They don’t look as good and they don’t make that “whoosh whoosh” sound but from everything I’ve ever heard here, a wheel cover performs just as well as a full disc for a fraction of the price. Plus they give you the flexibility of having it on or off.
I’ve never put one on or taken one off but I don’t think it’s any harder than putting on/taking off a cassette.
Much easier. It has a series of bolts that clamp the covers, which are a heavy plastic, to the wheel. Lots of people take the added step of electrical taping the cover-wheel junction.
I have never seen a wheelcover in person so I don’t know what they look like. Are they easy to take on and off? Will it perform very similar to a true disc?
No knock on anybody on ST but from pictures that I have seen they sometimes don’t look aesthetically pleasing to me.
Here’s how one would look on something as deep as your 808s (that’s on a Jet 90). I don’t bother with the “bolt” hardware and just tape the edge with quality 3M electrical tape (search the archives for tips on that).
It will perform as good as or sometimes better than “true” discs…since, after all, it IS a disc once you put a cover on the wheel.
What would make it perform better than a real disc?
Also, if you get a flat with one of these things in the race, how do you then inflate the new one with the cover on there? Is it difficult?
That depends on the disc you’re comparing it to…if you go back in the archives you’ll see some posts from Jens Heycke where he found in field testing that his rear 808 with a cover was measurably faster in his setup than some “real” discs he also had, including IIRC a Mavic lenticular disc and a flat Zipp disc.
Do you see that opening that’s taped over in the pic above? That’s for access to the valve stem for inflation. Replacing a tire or tube with the cover in place is no different than if the cover is not on there.
