Making the transition to tubulars

[nickf]

Curious if anyone made the switch to tubs and ended up going back to clinchers?

I ran tubs exclusively for around 5 years. 2 years ago I moved to another state, bad roads, stranded twice from punctures, sealant couldn't fix it either. Had to call Uber wife to pick me up. After that, I went back to clincher for convenience. Where I live now all I have is my wife as a backup plan, no other friends or family around. When I'm riding 50-60 miles away from the house in the middle of no where the last thing I need is a tubular puncture. But I have to admit I miss the road feel and confidence descending. Descending on clinchers makes me a little nervous.

[jlok]

oh btw Campagnolo has not forgotten tubular just yet with the Hyperon Ultra Tubular!
https://www.starbike.com/en/campagnolo- ... -wheelset/

[HammerTime2]

oh btw Campagnolo has not forgotten tubular just yet with the Hyperon Ultra Tubular!
https://www.starbike.com/en/campagnolo- ... -wheelset/

But perhaps Campagnolo has forgotten tubular rim.

[LMCuba]

Just mounted a Michelin Power Cup for the first time. Pleasantly surprised by how much easier it was compared to Veloflex Protours and Vittoria Corsa Speeds. I have never pre-stretched any of them.

[Geoff]

I have never tried those. I would be interested to hear your experiences.

I just glued-up a pair of Bontrager RSL 62s with Pirelli P Zero Race SLs that I got from my friends at Lidl Trek. They went right on, too. I wonder if that is a trend with new tubulars?

[LMCuba]

Only a few rides in, and so far it rides very similarly to Veloflex Protours (both in 25). It does keep pressure much better than Protours, so I usually run it at just slightly lower pressures. Curious as to how long it'll last.

Interesting that as tubs became more or less obsolete the new ones are somehow very easy to mount. I'd love to hear what you think of the wheels and the tires! Never considered the Pirellis for the absurd price but curious how they perform. Are these the same ones UAE had difficulty descending in the wet with a year or two ago? It may have been the Tour of Slovenia.

[jlok]

Only a few rides in, and so far it rides very similarly to Veloflex Protours (both in 25). It does keep pressure much better than Protours, so I usually run it at just slightly lower pressures. Curious as to how long it'll last.

Interesting that as tubs became more or less obsolete the new ones are somehow very easy to mount. I'd love to hear what you think of the wheels and the tires! Never considered the Pirellis for the absurd price but curious how they perform. Are these the same ones UAE had difficulty descending in the wet with a year or two ago? It may have been the Tour of Slovenia.

How wide is the tread on the Power Cup 25? Always fancy one but scared off the narrow tread found on the TLR model.

[LMCuba]

Only a few rides in, and so far it rides very similarly to Veloflex Protours (both in 25). It does keep pressure much better than Protours, so I usually run it at just slightly lower pressures. Curious as to how long it'll last.

Interesting that as tubs became more or less obsolete the new ones are somehow very easy to mount. I'd love to hear what you think of the wheels and the tires! Never considered the Pirellis for the absurd price but curious how they perform. Are these the same ones UAE had difficulty descending in the wet with a year or two ago? It may have been the Tour of Slovenia.

How wide is the tread on the Power Cup 25? Always fancy one but scared off the narrow tread found on the TLR model.

I hadn't paid attention to it before, but it does look to be noticeably narrower than the Veloflex Protour in the same width. I don't do very technical descents so not sure how it'd do. They feel very similar in my normal riding.

[Geoff]

Never considered the Pirellis for the absurd price but curious how they perform. Are these the same ones UAE had difficulty descending in the wet with a year or two ago?

@LMCuba, not sure about pricing or which version of the tires they are. I just get whatever the Team sends. I have a few sets of the Bontrager wheels over the seasons, and I have been pretty happy with those. The 62s are pretty nice. It is always funny to see the Team stuff, where the wheels have the blacked-out logos with the giant white 'BONTRAGER' stickers adhered over them for advertising! The rim beds are really wide. I think that 28s might fit better than the 25s, but they glued-up ok.

[LMCuba]

Never considered the Pirellis for the absurd price but curious how they perform. Are these the same ones UAE had difficulty descending in the wet with a year or two ago?

@LMCuba, not sure about pricing or which version of the tires they are. I just get whatever the Team sends. I have a few sets of the Bontrager wheels over the seasons, and I have been pretty happy with those. The 62s are pretty nice. It is always funny to see the Team stuff, where the wheels have the blacked-out logos with the giant white 'BONTRAGER' stickers adhered over them for advertising! The rim beds are really wide. I think that 28s might fit better than the 25s, but they glued-up ok.

Thanks Geoff. Glad to hear you're enjoying the wheels. Must be nice to have pro team stuff!

[Geoff]

Tell that to my wife!

[LMCuba]

Tell that to my wife!

[3Pio]

Doesn't everyone, eventually? The advantages that tubulars had against clinchers have been offset by tubeless (runflat ability with inserts, less risk of pinch flats), the weight advantage is not only diminishing but second to rolling resistance now and braking (heat buildup) is a non-issue with disc brakes (and rim brake wheels are good enough for alpine excursions by now). With that said, I still keep a few pairs as I love their ride feel and their, for now, unique position in CX.

...and, in a longer perspective, everyone will as it is rapidly approaching dead tech - just as my other darlings mechanical shifting and rim brakes...

Im riding almost exclusive on Tubular all year round, and just switch to clinchers winter time using Continental 4Season for better grip.

Where i live roads are pretty bad and rough, but i still prefer tubular (im riding at least 8 months only on tubulars).

On tubulars in last years i covered at least 45000km, and never ever had to call someone to pick me up (knock in wood).

What i do:

1. Carry sealant Tufo Extreme or Orange recently

Sealant fix the problem most of the times, and after is used i can still ride many more km's same tire

2. Carry a spare tub which at my case is Tufo Elite <135gm 22mm. I put fresh coat of glue once per year, and that's it.. If sealant doesnt work on road i just replace the tire. This tire pack almost same as regular clincher inner tube, and im using it only as spare (when i get back home i remove it and put new tire).

Bringing this spare once also helped to a friend with clincher, which he have totaly destroyed tire. So i put this spare to his clincher rims, inflated as max as i can, and we were able to arrive to first place where he was able to get a new tire (riding slowly and without turns)

The whole procedure of fixing is not too long and i would say almost similar as regular clincher.

I like tubulars that much and plan to stay as long as possible on them (and never switch to tubeless) that i bought another pair Bora One 35 AC3 wheelsets brand new.

And i would say that this is actually pretty good time to ride on tubulars. Why i think this? As tubular becoming obsolete and not hype, u can find very high end tires for really cheap. Specialized AllAround2, or Veloflex Pro Tour or Vittora Corsa's.... I made some stock of tires finding cheap (same or even cheaper than tubeless tires) so im covered... And there is always Continental Sprinter which offer ok riding quality and beeing very durable and grippy (but dont provide same feeling as tires i mentioned)

U mentioned mechanical shifting and rim brakes... I have always approach KIS (Keep It Simple) and i dont feel any need for electronic shifting or disc brakes on road bikes... Add more negative than positive for me (dont need to have debate on this is personal opinion based on 30 years experience), so what i done about this?

Again i made spare parts Campagnolo Chorus/Record 11sp as i plan to stay Mechanical/Rim brakes/Tubular for as long as possible.. Good thing about this is that if search u will find high end parts for much cheaper... Why should i switch to electronical shifting with all problems if my trusty Mechanical Campagnolo never ever dissapointed me? I can fix and maintance everything my self.. I dont worry if it's cold, wet if battery is dead etc... Also i like Campagnolo beside high end quality and durability, u can buy spare small parts for last years models. Which means u dont have to buy whole new groupset or whole part just because some small part failured...

So at the end with combination i decide to stay as long as possible im getting:

1. Lighter and really good riding bikes (in way how race bike should ride)

2. Safe on downhills (no risc that my tire will go away from rim)

3. Reliable, Durable, long lasting parts with easy maintance...

I wrote this not as a start of debate, but just to share my experience regarding all this which maybe can help to other in their decisions.... At the end of the day, u should rite what u feel is working best for u, and making u want to ride.....

[Dannnnn]

Recently picked up a set of FFWD F6r tubs and bought some Vittoria Corsa G 2.0 25mm tubs.
Plan is to tape them on using the Effetto Mariposa tape.

Planning on using them for crit racing (on an oval track) and can't wait to give them a spin.

[3Pio]

Recently picked up a set of FFWD F6r tubs and bought some Vittoria Corsa G 2.0 25mm tubs.
Plan is to tape them on using the Effetto Mariposa tape.

Planning on using them for crit racing (on an oval track) and can't wait to give them a spin.

Im curious why u will use tape vs glue with Mastik for example?