Tubulars - Triathlon - Runner's World

TheEngineer pirate

pirate

13/03/2012 at 19:55

Being a total bike noob, I thought I'd ask. Weighing up new purchases and possibly a planet-x which comes with tubs on the deep section wheels.

Do they ride differently? Just how much of a ball ache are they to change? How long do they last? Are they more susceptible to cr@p roads?

....and is there a bike school I can go to where I can learn all these things?!

O.rangeCannon (kona-7) pirate

pirate

13/03/2012 at 21:16

I use clinchers but then I am a mountain biker / pretend triathlete..

Planet x have a set of 40mm deep section wheels with aluminium breaking surface for £399??? I am sure they will swap those if clinchers scare you

Roadies say tubs are better, but then they also wear bike shoes / cleats that dont allow you to walk around in

I have not been on my MTB for a serious ride in 18 months

Darkness

pirate

13/03/2012 at 21:31

I train on clinchers and race on tubulars. Changing a tub is a piece of cake if you use Jantex tub tape. Main benefit as far as I am concerned is the lower weight of wheel that is possible. While carbon clinchers are improving they are still generally heavier than the tubular option and the carbon clincher rims have been known to crack under the pressure of the clincher bead.

Main drawback with tubs is the cost of the tyre itself and the fact they can't be easily repaired so one puncture often means binning them (there is a guy that does repairs but about £15 per repair IIRC, never used the service myself).

Ridgebackmax

13/03/2012 at 21:31

I have tubs on my race wheels they feel faster but that may be the wheels i find them a doddle to change if you use tape not glue lots of how tos on you tube i use Tufo tubs if you get a flat you unscrew the valve squirt in some gloopy sealant and reinflate and jobs a good un they dont suffer from pinch flats like clinchers but cos of the cost i wouldnt use them for dsy to day

IronCat5 in the Hat pirate

pirate

13/03/2012 at 22:08

I'm more concerned about binning 7 months of training and the race entry for the sake of a few punctures.

cougie

pirate

13/03/2012 at 23:30

I don't think they're worth it unless you're really pointy end and trying for kona.

Normal tyres for me have been bombproof. Tubs I seem to flat just by looking at them.
£120 worth on one 20 mile ride was the worst though.

I've even flatted using the tufo sealant.

TheEngineer pirate

pirate

14/03/2012 at 08:04

Right, that's pretty much confirmed my reluctance! They're not cheap, either.

Will weigh up my options, thanks guys.

Cheerful Dave pirate

pirate

14/03/2012 at 08:37

I use them for races and I've never had any trouble with them. Changing during a race is quicker than clinchers, and you won't have the problem of finding out a mile down the road after a flat that you hadn't got all of the glass out of the tyre. And they're light & fast.

Having said that though, there are a lot of very good clincher wheels these days, and if I was after a new set I might swap to those, just because they're a whole lot cheaper to run.

If you want to try some, I've got a PX 101/82 set you could have a go on. Heck, if Gladys can get round Regensburg on them they can't be bad...

Bouncing Barlist pirate

pirate

14/03/2012 at 10:42

I use tubs on my TT bike, I use Continental Competition which are a good race tyre, soft rubber so apparently dont last mega long. Ive had 3-4 flats in training and one in a race, think thats over not much more than 2000 miles so ill agree with Cougie and say theyre not proving very robust at the moment.

Once you have the hang of getting them on and off and assuming youve got a pre-stretched spare for race day they dont take any longer than clinchers to change.

I like the idea they theyre faster/lighter but cant say I particularly notice the benefit, that said overall my TT bike maintains higher speed easier but thats more to do with aero wheels than the tubs.

I also like that you can pump them up to 140 or so PSI

popsider

14/03/2012 at 10:57

I think these days the advantage is if you want all carbon rims - they can be made a little bit lighter and a bit more robust if you use tubulars. I can't see that changing - the shape of the rim for clinchers is just inherently more fragile.

I don't buy that tubs themselves are any faster than clinchers - not that I can really notice anyway I know some claim they can feel a difference - but for an expensive race day only wheelset I'll take a little bit of extra faff with tubs for a bit of weight off the rim and a reduced chance of them breaking - though to a large extent it would depend on how good a deal I was getting as performance wise there is not a lot in it either way.

If the wheels are going to be used for training or even sportives etc though - clinchers every time. I know you can get the sealant but it's not foolproof - I got a bad puncture warming up for a TT with a tub and had to borrow a mates training wheel as the hole was so big the sealant wouldn't hold more than about 60psi without squirting out.

TheEngineer pirate

pirate

14/03/2012 at 13:20

Well the P-x Exocet comes with 101/82's (though it is possible to downgrade this seems a waste?!) so if that's possible CD I'd be very interested! It's possible I could get a set of training clinchers to supplement these. This could limit my experience using them though so may ride tubs for sportives and some training too just to get used to them?

In terms of failure... I've read everything from "it's practically impossible to replace tubs during a race" to "it can be quicker than clinchers"... either somebody isn't telling the truth or some people are much better at it than others. I would like to think that if I knew how to do it, I could be reasonably proficient. Nothing scares me more than the idea of the tire rolling off at speed during a race though!

Couple all this with the fact I'm barely capable of making a decision on a bike, and I'm quite lost at the minute!

Golden Boots pirate

pirate

14/03/2012 at 14:32

O.rangeCannon... wrote (see)

I use clinchers but then I am a mountain biker / pretend triathlete..
Planet x have a set of 40mm deep section wheels with aluminium breaking surface for £399??? I am sure they will swap those if clinchers scare you

I am picking my brand new PX Steaqlth with the 62mm clinchers up at the end of the month. I asked them to change from the 82/101 tubs and they did with no problems!

Cheerful Dave pirate

pirate

14/03/2012 at 14:48

I'm sure we could sort something out SE. I'm in Epsom if you're ever down this way.

TheEngineer pirate

pirate

14/03/2012 at 14:57

I'm down this way all the time - living in Ealing now! Should really update my profile...

Are you on @rsebook?

Bouncing Barlist pirate

pirate

14/03/2012 at 15:41

SlowEngineer wrote (see)

Well the P-x Exocet comes with 101/82's (though it is possible to downgrade this seems a waste?!) so if that's possible CD I'd be very interested! It's possible I could get a set of training clinchers to supplement these. This could limit my experience using them though so may ride tubs for sportives and some training too just to get used to them? In terms of failure... I've read everything from "it's practically impossible to replace tubs during a race" to "it can be quicker than clinchers"... either somebody isn't telling the truth or some people are much better at it than others. I would like to think that if I knew how to do it, I could be reasonably proficient. Nothing scares me more than the idea of the tire rolling off at speed during a race though! Couple all this with the fact I'm barely capable of making a decision on a bike, and I'm quite lost at the minute!

Sounds like the speed people can change tubs/clinchers is individual and experience, people go on about how hard tubs can be to change but fail to mention the many people who'll take 5-10 mins or longer to change a clincher tube.

I think its very unlikely that a tub will roll off at speed, youd need an extreme force to overcome the resistnace of a rolling fully inflated tube in a concave surround. I think the dangers of them rolling off are at low pressure. I rode the last 60 miles of IM Regensburg on a barely glued on tub with no problems. If you are worried just avoid sharp corneriing/dead turns at speed.

Re exhanging between race and training wheels, if youve carbon rims on one set and metal on the other you also need to swap over the brake pads. Some rubber pads arent very good for braking on carbon, also pads youve used on metal rims can accumulate metal burs/metal dust which will wear away a carbon rim.

stella belly

14/03/2012 at 21:29

Chrissie uses clinchers and she goes quite fast.

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