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tubular tyres?

why would you use tubular tyres, what are the benefits, are thay hard to change, what happens when you get a puncture, do they have inner tubes, was looking at 'planet x' wheels which seem very impressive but i know nothing about these tyres.

Comments

  • hussler.hussler. Posts: 390
    I use Tubulars both in training and in racing, I love them:) I think they 'feel' better on the road than Clinchers... My tubs are Conti Competition 19mm they are the top of the range that conti offer.

    Changing them is no more difficult that changing the Inner tube on clinchers...one advantage is that your not gona get a pinch flat if you dont fit the new inner tube correctly.

    You can also ride Tubs flat for a while, where as you cant with clinchers unless you want to ruin your rims.

    One piece of advice for the tubs.... Make sure your 'spare' has been pre stretched and actually fits on your rim fairly easily... Brand new ones can be awkward to get on initially hence the pre streched method of a spare.

    My spare is my old tub I replaced this year. It has enough tread for loads of miles yet, I change my tubs every 2 years and rotate through old with new then the old ones become my spare and my old spare goes on my training wheels:)
  • nivaghnivagh Posts: 595
    I race on tubs and train on clinchers, simply because I got some second hand race wheels and they are tubulars. For me, the issue of punctures in a race is a non - issue, since I only race sprint distance (at least, presently) so if I get a puncture, my race is over anyway.

    I can't comment on the difference in "feel" between tubs and clinchers because my two sets of wheels are vastly different from each other so I can't tell how much is the tyre, and how much the wheel.
  • TommiTriTommiTri Posts: 879
    I train on clinchers and race on tubs.
    The reason I got the tubs was due to getting a great deal on a set of zipp 404s, which were the wheelset I wanted as I am so bloody light I wasn't sure I could handle a deeper rim. Plus I think their weight advantage over hilly courses is considerable. I am extremely glad I got them, they feel so smooth and they are super fast. I did my research and went for the tubs with the lowest rolling resistance I could get with a good amount of puncture resistance. I went for vittoria corsa evo Cxs, got a great deal on them from ribble.

    So what are the advantages? well its hard to say if this wheel/tyre combo rolls any better or is faster than the equivalent 404 clincher, as I haven't tried that, but they are considerably faster than my other set (easton EA50s, with michelin pro light 2s on -another extremely low rolling resistance).
    But what I love about them more than anything is the weight, these tip the scales at just over 1200 grams for the set without tyres, which is dam light! They are also super stiff. Whilst you should be able to get the stiffness with the equivalent clincher I doubt you will get the lightness unless you go for really top end clinchers with full carbon rims.

    I agree with conehead about the tyre changing, but I don't plan on changing mine in a race as they are glued on (for better rolling resistance and a decreased chance of rolling the tyre), so I doubt I would get them off before the race ended anyway!
    So heres my point - I know a few people who have races tubs/clinchers and swapped between the two, the general trend has been - Long distance races - clinchers, shorter distance - well both.

    This is partly due to the increased chance of puncture and also you aren't going to carry more than 1 spare tub with you, what happens if the very unlikely happens that you get 2 punctures? With clinchers you could just carry multiple innertubes.
  • shadowone1shadowone1 Posts: 1,408
    more stuff that I know hee haw about.

    I'm going to end up selling the wife and remortgaging the house... clinchers/ tubs.....omg another quandry.....
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