dealing with tub punctures

lennymc

So tho those of you who ride regularly on tubs (Astra) how do you deal with punctures? Do you bring a spare, pre glued tub? Do you bring a bottle of gunk stuff?

onthefringe

lennymc wrote: »

So tho those of you who ride regularly on tubs (Astra) how do you deal with punctures? Do you bring a spare, pre glued tub? Do you bring a bottle of gunk stuff?

vittoria pit stop..
and once you pick out the offender ( if there is one there) away you go and most likely it will do the job for weeks even months..

bcmf

I bring a spare pre glued Tufo tub. Tufo are a tubless tub. I refrain from putting any gunk into Vittoria tubs as if you leave the tubs ( with latex tubes) and they go flat the gunk will destroy your tube.
I have two tubs I will be sending for repair. Barely used so worth repairing.

AstraMonti

Pre glued tyre (the lightest you can find) plus either this http://www.effettomariposa.eu/en/products/espresso-family/espresso/ or this http://www.tufo.com/tufo-tyre-sealant/. Sealant is always the first choice for me.

bcmf wrote: »

I refrain from putting any gunk into Vittoria tubs as if you leave the tubs ( with latex tubes) and they go flat the gunk will destroy your tube.

That's what I 've heard as well but personal experience has shown otherwise, two of my good tyres, one veloflex and one FMB are with the tufo sealant for more than 8 months (the veloflex were flat for more than 3 months) and I have no issues.

The tax man

I bring a pre glued tub out with me. No punctures so far. *touch wood*

bcmf

AstraMonti wrote:

That's what I 've heard as well but personal experience has shown otherwise, two of my good tyres, one veloflex and one FMB are with the tufo sealant for more than 8 months (the veloflex were flat for more than 3 months) and I have no issues.

I flatted a Pave. Stuck Tufo gunk in. Worked for a short bit.Went flat again 4km from home. Rode home on the flat. Took out a section of the tube and it was as mess. Completely stuck together on the inside. No amount of air would separate it.

lennymc

great! So, where do people keep their tubs of sealant and spare tyres - under the seat? Im thinking of a set of decent TT race wheels, maybe a disc, and given I will be wearing a skinsuit, I wont have any pockets. I did read that some of the Tri people keep stuff in their tear drop helmets..... I like the idea of a pre glued tub & co2 - I have experience of motorbike tyres with sealant stuff, and it can get messy.

What's the advantage of Tubular over tubeless or clincher?

Tubs seem like a lot of hassle to change if you do puncture?

godtabh

ronoc wrote: »

What's the advantage of Tubular over tubeless or clincher?

Tubs seem like a lot of hassle to change if you do puncture?

I think the chance of puncture is less

lennymc

my main advantage is i have a nice set of tub wheels that I want to race more. In open races I normally have access to a support car of some sort, but not so much in vet races or TTs. IMHO they ride nicer than clinchers (i know feel is subjective, but I like them).

Brian?

onthefringe wrote: »

vittoria pit stop..
and once you pick out the offender ( if there is one there) away you go and most likely it will do the job for weeks even months..

+1 to that.

Brian?

ronoc wrote: »

What's the advantage of Tubular over tubeless or clincher?

Tubs seem like a lot of hassle to change if you do puncture?

Lighter, roll better and better puncture resistance.

doozerie

Some other claimed advantages of tubulars which are often cited:
* If a tubular punctures, it won't blow off the rim like a clincher can, assuming it is well glued anyway. When you puncture at speed this is a potentially significant safety benefit, particularly when in a bunch, as it increases the chance of you retaining control of the bike - once there is absolutely no rubber between your rim and the road, you are in serious trouble.
* They corner better as the tyre walls are more supple and can flex more = faster and safer handling. Some of the better clinchers claim to get close to achieving the same thing but, depending on who/what you believe, they still can't quite match tubulars in that regard.

And a claimed advantage of tubulars which I've seen mentioned only once (here) is that the spoke tension of tubular wheels is not affected by tyre pressure, unlike with a clincher. It's an interesting angle on the whole debate, basically the suggestion is that you can run tyres at higher pressure with a tubular if you want to, regardless of tyre width, hence the very high max pressures you see printed on the sidewalls of tubulars. It does make me wonder too whether (well-built) tubular wheels are less prone to buckles and the like, since clincher wheels are theoretically subjected to greater release of spoke tension by people who like to inflate their clinchers up to the max recommended pressure.

lennymc

I thought the problem with high pressure on clinchers was due to the sidewalls of the wheels, where the bead of the tyre meets the rim. Never heard that about the spokes.

Alek

I find it hard to believe that pressure in the tyre can compress the rim towards the axle enough to affect spoke tension in any measurable way...

Anyone has access to spoke tensiometer? It would be an easy check.

Chips Lovell

If I was riding out to a TT I'd bring a spare tub in a saddle bag. During a TT itself though I wouldn't have anything in the way of spares with me. Chances of flatting are very low and someone will more than likely pick you up. Worst case scenario is that you have to ride a flat tub back to the start finish.

lennymc

40k on a flat tub... (worst case scenario)

Chips Lovell

Most are out-and-back circuits though?

lennymc

yeah- but some are 80k long.

AstraMonti

I 'd never ride a punctured tub on carbon rims for more than a few hundred meters, not when I am paying for them at least

Chips Lovell

lennymc wrote: »

yeah- but some are 80k long.

OK, you got me there. I didn't even know anyone ran TTs of that length. If it was 80km, I'd probably consider putting a spare tub under the saddle.

80km.... Pure masochism.

lennymc

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

OK, you got me there. I didn't even know anyone ran TTs of that length. If it was 80km, I'd probably consider putting a spare tub under the saddle.

80km.... Pure masochism.

the IVCA do at least one..... :eek:

Lusk_Doyle

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

OK, you got me there. I didn't even know anyone ran TTs of that length. If it was 80km, I'd probably consider putting a spare tub under the saddle.

80km.... Pure masochism.

It's either that or talk about how this used to all be fields. Let the oldie have his fun!

lennymc

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

It's either that or talk about how this used to all be fields. Let the oldie have his fun!

I'll give ye fields later on ye young whipper snapper. Gonna push you into a ditch.

Lusk_Doyle

lennymc wrote: »

I'll give ye fields later on ye young whipper snapper. Gonna push you into a ditch.

I won't be there tonight!

lennymc

boooo!

Lumen

You could put the spare tub in a bidon on the seat tube. More aero innit.

lennymc

Lusk_Doyle

Are pre glued tubs done with the tape as opposed to a glue that you paste on? The whole gluey nature of a rolled up tub with exposed glye has me confustered?

lennymc

my understanding is that the glue goes off, but is reactivated when the pressure is applied from pumping the tub. I would imagine (can someone confirm) that it is a get you home measure, where you would properly re glue your tub, rather than a permanent leave it on there kind of thing.

FrankGrimes

I had bad luck with punctures on Veloflex Arenbergs, though they’re very supple, they don’t seem to stand up to our Irish roads. Was close to ditching tubs altogether due to the hassle, but then thought that having spent the time to learn how to glue tubs, I’d give it another go. So I got some Continental Competition 25mm tubs. Fair enough they don’t look as supple, but they instantly seem more puncture resistant (without being extremely heavy, seems a reasonable trade-off – Gatorskins would be a step too far for me). Did need to channel BraveStarr’s Strength Of A Bear to get them on though. Using a spare clincher wheel to pre-stretch the next one at the ready, definitely makes it easier.

I don’t like the idea of pre-loading sealant into tubs, particularly when I only really use tubs in races or time-trials, so that’s just offsetting much of the gains. Used Vittoria Pitstop after puncturing in a race recently, maybe I did something wrong but it went everywhere and didn’t work. Searched online and found much more consistently positive reports on Tufo Extreme Sealant. Tried that on the punctured tire and it worked well, and quickly, so now carry that with me. I like that it has the valve core removal tool hooked to the lid for convenience.

Will take a punt on Vittoria’s new Magic Mastik next time I’m glueing up tubs as if it’s claims prove to be valid, it would take a lot of the hassle out of the equation (though it requires a clean rim to start from). What Jeb said on the spare: in a 40km or shorter TT, gamble with no spare/sealant/pump. In a race, sealant & pump, maybe spare tub, on a long ride, sealant & spare tub.

Can’t really explain why, but I do just like the ride quality of tubs, do feel they corner better, but can’t put my finger on it, but there is something about the ride quality which feels a little different that I like. Would be interested to see the actual net weight saving of a tub with Conti Competition tires vs. carbon clinchers with Conti GP 4000S with latex tubes and if that is offset by the recent trend toward viewing clinchers as rolling better (e.g. Tony Martin using them in TTs). Sounds like the gap may be narrowing but for now it does seem for many racers tubs are worth the hassle.

And yes, can vouch that a pre-glued tub does work even though the glue is dried – certainly enough to get you home to reglue, though when I did it recently, did have to apply a fair bit of force to get it off, so a reasonably strong bond was formed.

bcmf

Tubs are the most Euro way to ride your wheels. Forget about the science of it all.
"Excuse me. But are they tubs ?"
Respond with nonchalant nod through dark lens shades.
"Cool".
Ride away and hope they don't explode/roll off rim due to poor gluing and shatter the euroness.

AstraMonti

I 've glued a few tyres but I only use tape as of lately. It's so much more convenient, easy and for Ireland I think is ideal. Yes I know there is a rolling resistance penalty which is very low and for my own use negligible. I need around 5mins to install a tyre with tape while with glue I need 5 days and a lot of patience. And no, I haven't rolled a tub on the road (I have in CX but that was my own fault, and it was glued too :P).