Tubular or Clincher

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Moderator: robbosmans

Do you usually ride clinchers or tubulars?

Tubular
144
42%
Clincher
171
50%
Tubeless
24
7%
 
Total votes: 339

dalpooh
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 10:54 am

by dalpooh

Riding clincher for commuting, tubular for event riding. just own both~

Shogunade
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 4:05 am

by Shogunade

I had tubulars.
I took a three hr bus ride with a buddy to do a century.
I got a puncture on the first km.
I bought him lunch because the trip was my idea and I couldn't ride.
I switched to clinchers.

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Mep
Posts: 516
Joined: Fri May 28, 2004 4:11 pm

by Mep

Shogunade wrote:I had tubulars.
I took a three hr bus ride with a buddy to do a century.
I got a puncture on the first km.
I bought him lunch because the trip was my idea and I couldn't ride.
I switched to clinchers.


This is exactly my fear. I like the idea of saving weight on tubulars but have seen some research that the performance gains are marginal at best. Can someone sell me on tubulars?

I wouldn't mind switching if they were just as convenient as clinchers.

User avatar
ak47
Posts: 286
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2007 2:57 pm

by ak47

I have Tufo Elite Jet 160g spare tubular in my back pocket. Packed with a tape it's maybe 30% larger than the spare tube.

Mep
Posts: 516
Joined: Fri May 28, 2004 4:11 pm

by Mep

Fair enough, it just sounds like a real pain removing/adhering each time you need to change your tire. Maybe it's just a matter of getting used to.. but the weight savings are real!

fabriciom
Posts: 160
Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 8:42 pm
Location: Madrid, España

by fabriciom

Tubulars on my home assembled wheels using mostly chinese components, 50mmx25mm with novatec hubs, sapim cx-ray spokes, and ceramic hybrid bearings.
Very satisfied, soon to go on a build a second set but 60mmx25mm and SKF bearings on the novatecs.
I use continental sprinter 700x25 tubular tyres with mastik one glue.

KimJaeCheon
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed May 04, 2016 3:46 pm

by KimJaeCheon

clinchers... I have no tubular wheelset TT

964Cup
Posts: 195
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:31 am

by 964Cup

Tubulars for everything except some commuting and Audax. For those I use tubeless. The only bike I own (of 9) that still uses clinchers lives on the turbo. The trick with tubs (apart from practicing roadside changes) is to carry a can of sealant, and use the right tubs for the job. Vittoria Paves or Challenge Strada for winter riding and commuting, Conti Comps or Vittoria Corsa for regular riding (or Schwalbe Ones, but they're heavy). I have a set of Veloflex Records I'll be using in the Alps this summer - we'll see how that goes. They're lighter than any other option (185g each) but may be too fragile.

Johnny Rad
Posts: 2025
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2006 6:22 am
Location: Zion

by Johnny Rad

Wow, nearly a 50:50 split after >175 votes. I was initially surprised we have so many tubie users here, but Denavelo makes two strong points. First, we're a weight conscious group (duh) and tubies have generally offered the lightest wheel options. Second, a good portion of our tubie users may have adopted them awhile back.

Denavelo wrote:I initially went Tubular because it was the only way you could get a really decent wheelset under 1100g that was stout enough for daily riding...


I tried tubies for <1/2 season many years ago. The emergency fix-a-flat sealant can didn't help (two separate occasions) and my wife only begrudgingly helped. I recall my tubies riding better than my clinchers from back then, but my new Schwalbe One 23c's paired with Challenge latex tubes are incredibly smooth riding. They're supple to the point they feel like they're grossly under-inflated.

PLuKE wrote:...I have been using Schwable One 23c with Vittoria latex tubes, which have felt great.
Last edited by Johnny Rad on Thu May 05, 2016 5:33 am, edited 1 time in total.

mbrider
Posts: 34
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 10:49 pm

by mbrider

I ride a mix of tubs and clinchers. One wheelset I do not own is carbon clinchers, as it just never made sense to me.

I use clinchers mainly for winter / training and commute. On my road bike I ride latex tubes and schwalbe one 25s. Its a pretty nice combo. I use the latex not only for the low Crr and ride feel, but also because my experience, they do not deflate immediately. they slowly lose air pressure. This can be the difference between crashing and being able to come to a controlled stop in many situations. Ive had a couple times where a flat with a butyl tube has meant rim on road almost instantly, and that is very scary on a decent in the rain or in a turn at speed.

Tubulars too typically allow you to ride them for a bit and slow down in a controlled manner. I think this is one of the key reasons pros predominantly have stuck with tubulars for road races.

If you truly want a light set of wheels, its got to be tubular. And if you want a light and aero set, also tubular.

If rotational weight and overall bike weight doesnt matter (flat four corner crit that doesnt go below 20mph or a TT with anything less than ~ 5% grades) then I could see the potential for a super aero clincher set up, with latex tubes and really low Crr clinchers making sense, and maybe being slightly faster. The risk then would be a puncture. With a tubular you could use sealant and possibly not have to stop.

I have had more flats with my tubulars over the past couple of years, but that is most likely because I have been riding them more than my clinchers.

As others have mentioned, there are options to stop flats with tubulars. Sealant or Contis / Tufos. The Conti competitions in 25 are fairly decent riding, and certainly stop flats. Gluing tubs is not so bad, once you get used to it. And even easier once you have the rim already with glue on it, like when replacing a tubular.

I have a new set of wheels being built, that will have the new Zipp tubs on it 24 front and 27 rear, with sealant. Very excited to try these out. The tires in my hand were very very supple and grippy (even more so than my veloflex Arenbergs).


FreaK
Posts: 852
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2005 5:57 am
Location: mOntreal

by FreaK

I was just thinking about how many fewer flats I feel like i've had on tubs. At this point I have a lot more time on tubs than clinchers and i think a disproportionate percentage of those flats i did have were on clinchers, just in km/flat ratio. Though it does sting more when you can't just throw a tube in.
it's actually possible to come to the conclusion even before realising it makes no sense at all
-
tymon_tm

User avatar
iliedanila
Posts: 122
Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2016 7:30 pm
Location: Romania

by iliedanila

I have recently went from clinchers to tubs. In order to live easy with tubs I have glued them using tape (in 10 min I was riding my bike), also I added 1/2 of sealant in each tyre. Now when I ride, I have a small bottle of extreme sealant and my co2 pump in my pockets. Also one thing to keep in mind if you have long descents on carbon rims.. It's safer to do that on tubs than on clinchers, the tyre will receive less heat from braking.

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sawyer
Posts: 4485
Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:45 pm
Location: Natovi Landing

by sawyer

Tubulars almost all the time. Clinchers only for odd circumstances - e.g. a longish/solo ride when there is a high chance of a flat.

Commute through London every day on tubs and have on average 2-3 punctures a year

Like to think I'm not a tubular snob, but all my carbon wheels are tubs, I like the light feeling of tub rims, and they really shine descending in the mountains
----------------------------------------
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by Weenie


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gmakris
Posts: 139
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2014 10:36 am

by gmakris

I have both but I prefer clinchers all the time even for racing.

New clincher tyre tech with 50gr pair butyl tubes rides better than my tubulars and its so easy to maintain.

Zero flats with clinchers for the past two years...

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