Tubular Tyres. A Beginner's Poll.

Please choose a budget amber wall from these 3

  • Vittoria Rally Road

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Continental Giro Road

    Votes: 1 20.0%
  • Schwalbe Lugano T-active K-gaurd

    Votes: 2 40.0%
  • Challenge Elite Road

    Votes: 2 40.0%

  • Total voters
    5
  • Poll closed .
Definitely not Vittoria Rally. I haven’t had a single round one out of the 4 I bought. Hopeless.

Conti Giro. Can’t go wrong with these in my opinion.

I actually have a pair of Challenge Vulcano mounted and ready to go but not ridden them yet. Advantage being that they are 25mm. They are a really nice quality tyre and look classic.

The tan wall 25mm Tufo S33 is worth a look too - but I’ll warn you you’ll get a lot of snotty comments about them.
 
Schwalbe Lugano by far good wearing tub but also responsive on the road.
 
Jonny69":3hk3hvco said:
Definitely not Vittoria Rally. I haven’t had a single round one out of the 4 I bought. Hopeless.

Conti Giro. Can’t go wrong with these in my opinion.

I actually have a pair of Challenge Vulcano mounted and ready to go but not ridden them yet. Advantage being that they are 25mm. They are a really nice quality tyre and look classic.

The tan wall 25mm Tufo S33 is worth a look too - but I’ll warn you you’ll get a lot of snotty comments about them.

So what prevents them from being round? Is it how the valve is connected to the tube?
 
I can't answer for all tubs, but my challenge and michelins are hand made - in my limited experience, Michelin have better hands than challenge and there tyres run truer when mounted :D (not that the challenge caused me a problem).

WD :D
 
+1 on Challenge being a bit hand-bodged. I have many pairs of Strada 25c tubs, and while I've done a lot of riding on them, and like them, they aren't the roundest things ever. They do settle a bit with use, and definitely don't like being kept folded up as spares under your saddle, but Vittoria, for instance, make a more consistent carcass. The Vittoria Corsa G+ 25c is my go-to now for general road use, although I still use the Stradas on all my classic bikes because they have a more vintage look (albeit with a fatter profile than period). Taking the Strada to max pressure (175psi) after fitting and then leaving it like that for a while seems to help with roundness, as does extreme care in fitting.
 
964Cup":3b49kmuf said:
as does extreme care in fitting.

Talking of fitting, any hints and tips?

There does seem to be plenty of You-tube clips, perhaps too many I think as I gave up wading through all the ones that rattle through so fast, treat you like you already have fitted a few and don’t actually discuss any helpful preparations other than what particular brand of glue they prefer.
 
Sure. Here goes:

1. Tape, not glue. Unless you're racing track or cross, in which case, glue.
2. Jantex 14 or Tufo, because the covering strip is plastic. Jantex 76 has a paper strip which is *really* hard to remove without it tearing. I use a lot of 76, but it takes more practice. Always 14 on carbon rims in any case, as the glue in 76 isn't strong enough on carbon.
3. Use a truing stand. It makes getting the tape on properly, and fitting the tyre, so much easier.
4. Apply the tape carefully to the rim. It needs to go on with some tension, be completely straight and have no bubbles.
5. Pull back about 5cm of covering tape on each end either side of the valve, and fold the ends so that they stick out perpendicular to the wheel rim.
6. Put about 20psi in the tub. Enough to make it round, not so much that it twists.
7. Take the wheel off the truing stand. Put some proper shoes on. Yes, really.
8. Place the wheel valve hole uppermost, with the rim resting on your feet. That's why you need shoes.
8. Stretch the tub either side of the valve between your hands as hard as you can, and then push the valve through the hole and the base tape down onto the exposed adhesive (see step 5 above). Make very sure that the valve goes in straight and that the tyre is aligned with the rim.
8. Now use your bodyweight to stretch the rest of the tub around the rim. Shoes, yes - or this will hurt. Trust me. Try to make sure it settles as straight into the well as you can.
9. Put the wheel, with mounted tub, back into the truing stand. Spin it up and see how straight the tub is. Because it's not glued anywhere except just either side of the valve, you can straighten it up if you need to. You'll need to. With practice, you won't need to. Mostly. Remember that the tyre only has 20psi in it, so it won't be all that round. You're looking for straightness laterally; some vertical variation isn't a problem, but see below.
10. If you have a big vertical lump where the valve is (you'll always have some deformation on most rim/tub combinations due to the way the valve seat sits in the valve hole) you can restretch the tub away from the valve on either side. Taking the wheel out of the stand and putting it valve down and leaning on it with all your weight can also help get the valve seat bedded in properly, as can (in extremis) using a cable tie each side of the valve to squeeze it down on the rim. Again, practice.
11. Now for the hard bit. Depending on the tub you may need to take some, or all, of the pressure out. What you need to be able to do is fit a wooden pencil between the tub and the rim - you pull the tub up, just ahead of the folded-out cover tape, and slide the pencil crosswise into the space created. This lifts the tub away from the tape enough that you can pull out the cover tape. With practice and plastic cover tape, you'll be able to skip the pencil and just ease the cover tape out (perhaps easing the pressure at that point by pulling the tub up with your fingers) but for 76, for newbies and for easy visual verification that the tub is going on straight, the pencil is unbeatable. Now you pull out a bit of cover tape, check the tub is staying straight as it goes down onto the adhesive, roll the pencil round a bit, rinse and repeat until you reach the other end of tape on the other side of the valve. Pull out the last bit of cover tape, hold the tub up with your fingers, carefully extract the pencil, then push the last bit of base tape down onto the adhesive. Small smooth plastic tyre levers work well for this, too - you want something that won't snag and won't mark the rim.
12. Put about 40psi into the tub and spin it up to see if you kept it straight. If not, you can lift it off the adhesive, which won't really have grabbed it yet, and try to sort it out - but this can be a bit like playing whack-a-mole, so it's best to get it right first time.
13. Now pump the tub up to maximum pressure - which will usually be a lot, like 160-170psi, sometimes more. This will take any kinks out of the rubber, force the base tape into the adhesive, and let you see how round and straight you really managed to get it.
14. Leave for a while to let the adhesive get a proper set (doesn't take long) then deflate to your preferred pressure and enjoy.

For bonus points, do this in the dark, in the rain, at the roadside after a crash. And yes, always carry a wheel's worth of tape - you can't rely on the tape staying on rim when you rip off a punctured tub that won't seal with Tufo Extreme. Always carry Tufo Extreme - and always check that the nozzle on the bottle isn't clogged before assuming it's not working. And always, always, point the valve away from you. That stuff cannot be washed out of clothing.

Being able to use a pre-glued spare is the one key advantage of glue, but I don't think it compensates for the many disadvantages.

And yes, I've raced on taped tubs, descended Alps on taped tubs, (occasionally) got downhill KOMs on taped tubs and haven't rolled one yet, so I don't think glue is necessary unless you're seeking absolute period authenticity, are a masochist, or (see above) are racing track where glue is required or cross where glue is necessary or you *will* roll a tub. In fact, you'll roll a tub anyway. And land on your face.

I suppose I could try to turn this into a Youtube video if anyone cared enough. Apart from the rolling a tub and landing on your face in the mud bit. Someone else will have to model that bit.
 
964Cup,
This was exactly the kind of advice I was looking for, you are a gentleman sir and should be commended for the most comprehensive answer I have ever received. I’ll let you know how I get on when my tubes eventually turn up.
 
All good advice, could I also add :

1. Consider https://www.effettomariposa.eu/en/products/carogna/ tape - I much prefer it to the stuff I removed ;-)

2. The above has enough to trim a bit off but leave the backing tape in place at each end, folded out at right angles it gives you something to tug on to remove all the backing tape but without disturbing the tyre in anyway.

WD :D
 
Thanks WD Pro,
And there was me thinking this thread was dead!
 
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