Tubs or clinchers?

Midlife":2hit0htb said:

I was looking for clinchers that looked like tubs and someone on here suggested looking at these .....

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=242915

Shaun

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Hmm, those are interesting, I think a little further investigation is required.

Thanks Shaun.

lewisfoto":vhaaxkeh said:

Hey Richard I guess I could have tubulars on a cyclocross bike! Now you have planted the seed and aI want a MTB with tubulars.

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Tubs do definitely come out on top in cyclo-cross (says the clincher devotee, through clenched teeth) thanks to the almost zero likelihood of a pinch puncture when running at low pressure in gloopy conditions. MTB tubs - well, there seemed to be a few in evidence at the Olympics last summer. They looked suspiciously like Dugasts, so wouldn't be cheap. Cross tubs as a rule aren't ten-a-penny either, which is another reason why I don't use 'em.

David

Some very good clinchers out there with good ride quality and low rolling rolling resistance.

Conti GP4000s very low rolling resistance and good puncture resistance.
Vitoria Corsa EVO 320 TPI good ride quality and low rolling resistance.
Veloflex open tubulars some have tan sidewalls same qualities as the vittoria tyre.

There are some good tubs out there. Conti Vittoria and Veloflex to name but some manufacturers but for everyday riding clinchers everytime.

The Open pro rim is a low weight clincher rim but so it the Velocity A23, Ambrosio Excellight, H Plus Son Archetype. These are all 440-460g (sometimes the archetypes weigh in at 480g like the ones in the shop at the moment). Plenty of light weight hubs out there as well. A wheelset even with 64 spokes can be under 1600g.

For tubular rims there are many that weight the same as clincher rims but some like the Mavic reflex and the Ambrosio Crono are a light lighter (340-360g). So if the a light tub rim is picked a tubular wheel with tubs can be alot lighter. Continental tubs like the Gatorskin sprinter offer good durability and reasonable ride though not the best apparantly. I have Gatorskin tubs on my Alan and they are O.K but not puncture proof as I found out i Norfolk one day. Fortunatley I had a spare pre glued tub on me and it was as quick to change over as an inner tube. So Tubs are not inconvient but they are more expensive. If you use tubs you need to have some at home stretching on rims as well as a spare and a couple on the bike. A tub habbit is expensive.

Brilliant information, thank you.

I have Easton EA50 clinchers on my Raleigh and they weigh in at 1785g a pair, plus around 325g for the Michelin Pro 4 tyres and whatever the tubes weigh. I have been looking at 24 or 38mm carbon rims to get a little more weight off, and was hoping to match or beat that with the new build.

I'll happily build the wheels myself, as I may well end up doing with the Raleigh, so I'll look at the rims you've mentioned, but I'll be looking for a low spoke count to keep weight down.

I do want a degree of durability, and having enjoyed a thorn (and the associated deflating feeling) from hedge cutting last autumn, that was my one reservation when it came to tubs.

I think I'll maybe look at a lightweight clincher build, with a careful choice of tubes and tyres.

Novatec A291 /F482 hubs are very light 325g/pair (black only though). With a pair of Velocity A23's built up with Sapim Lasers front and NDS rear and Sapim Race spokes DS rear brass nipples weight would be for a 24F/28R 1560g. That could be an all black build. If modern DA hubs are used the weight would be a bit more.

Also there is the much cheaper Novatec A171/F172 hubsets that look quite classic. These come in silver and black. With silver A23's on a 24F/28R count weight would be with the same spokes 1620g (maybe a handful more). This last build works well as I have done it a few time now and would suit a classic bike.

Can you hear that noise?

It's all the gears grinding away in my head

Do current mavic reflex rims come in well under 400g? :shock: I thought they were a bit over that, about the same as ambrosio nemesis.

Neil, if you're looking at carbon rims then look carefully at the weights - carbon clinchers are barely any lighter than alloy clincher rims, and in low profile versions don't even have an aero advantage (plus they have a braking disadvantage over alloy rims).

foz":100yi7z4 said:

Neil, if you're looking at carbon rims then look carefully at the weights - carbon clinchers are barely any lighter than alloy clincher rims, and in low profile versions don't even have an aero advantage (plus they have a braking disadvantage over alloy rims).

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Yes, I'd spotted that, hence my original thought of going to tubs.

I've had a bit of a read up on those Velocity rims, and I fancy that's the route forwards for both this build and also an upgrade for my workhorse Raleigh 853 too.

Tufo tires at one time made a tubular/clincher. They were a tubeless tubular tire that had a winglike bead that mounted to a clincher rim. Never really caught on and I don't know if they are still made.

Check out Tufonorthamerica.com, they are based out of Canada and they still make the tubular/clincher for about $80 Canadian money, whatever that is. I think they are made in eastern Europe somewhere and Ribble in the UK used to carry them at one time.