Just in case I needed a reminder why I don't have tubulars on my road bike

[Pierre]

Had to change a valve on the rear wheel of my track bike this week. Pulling the tubular off was quite easy. Dealing with the old cement on the aluminium rim...well that was another story!!!

The previous owner must have really caked on that stuff as it was so thick that no amount of Goo-be-Gone was gonna help. Resorted to help from the internet and found some chap who claimed that careful application of heat from a torch would take care of it with ease. I winced at the thought but then winced at the prospect of any more time wasted on removal so gave it a try.

Well, that worked but man, it still took some time believe it or not. The suggestion was to heat until the glue starts to bubble and then wipe glue off. Well, the glue was previously applied so thick that I had to resort to a few different rounds of heat/bubble/wipe for it to finally work. Wow. The approach was effective though. You do go through a few rags as you need to make sure that you have a clean part of the rag to wipe with for each pass. If you make the mistake of using a previously used bit well, back goes the glue on the rim!

But the work doesn't end there. Apply new cement/wait hours repeat 3x, wait longer, apply again, then put tubular on. Holy crap. Who has got time for this???

Anyway, just whining. I do love the idea of the tubulars though, but this is definitely a reminder of why I just cannot afford the time commitment of having these on the road bike!

[AngryScientist]

unless you do a sloppy glue job in the first place, there is no need to get the rim surgically clean to mount a new tire. knock off the big chunks, fresh coat of glue activates the old glue and wham - done.

[oldpotatoe]

Had to change a valve on the rear wheel of my track bike this week. Pulling the tubular off was quite easy. Dealing with the old cement on the aluminium rim...well that was another story!!!

The previous owner must have really caked on that stuff as it was so thick that no amount of Goo-be-Gone was gonna help. Resorted to help from the internet and found some chap who claimed that careful application of heat from a torch would take care of it with ease. I winced at the thought but then winced at the prospect of any more time wasted on removal so gave it a try.

Well, that worked but man, it still took some time believe it or not. The suggestion was to heat until the glue starts to bubble and then wipe glue off. Well, the glue was previously applied so thick that I had to resort to a few different rounds of heat/bubble/wipe for it to finally work. Wow. The approach was effective though. You do go through a few rags as you need to make sure that you have a clean part of the rag to wipe with for each pass. If you make the mistake of using a previously used bit well, back goes the glue on the rim!

But the work doesn't end there. Apply new cement/wait hours repeat 3x, wait longer, apply again, then put tubular on. Holy crap. Who has got time for this???

Anyway, just whining. I do love the idea of the tubulars though, but this is definitely a reminder of why I just cannot afford the time commitment of having these on the road bike!

I have used a rubber flap wheel on a drill, works great.

BUT..contact cement and NO NEED to wait hours and hours between coats to glue on(even a track) tubular. 3-4 thin coats..solvent brush and can 'o tubular glue(I like Panaracer)..

Glue the tire
Glue the rim
Glue the tire
Glue the rim
Glue the tire-WAIT..till it's tacky(about 15 minutes)
Glue the rim-mount, center,little air..WAIT 24 hours..Yes, there's that last 24 hour requirement but not need to wait hours between thin coats.

BUT tubular gluing has become an 'art'..put 4 people in a room and ask about gluing on tubies and get 5 or 6 opinions..The guy that glued on LA7s tubies..waited like 3 DAYS between coats..silly...

[steamer]

I have used a rubber flap wheel on a drill, works great.

BUT..contact cement and NO NEED to wait hours and hours between coats to glue on(even a track) tubular. 3-4 thin coats..solvent brush and can 'o tubular glue(I like Panaracer)..

Glue the tire
Glue the rim
Glue the tire
Glue the rim
Glue the tire-WAIT..till it's tacky(about 15 minutes)
Glue the rim-mount, center,little air..WAIT 24 hours..Yes, there's that last 24 hour requirement but not need to wait hours between thin coats.

BUT tubular gluing has become an 'art'..put 4 people in a room and ask about gluing on tubies and get 5 or 6 opinions..The guy that glued on LA7s tubies..waited like 3 DAYS between coats..silly...

Agreed. That's how it goes for me. I find the total gluing process takes me about 30-40 minutes. I do wait 24 hours before I ride it, though. I use Vittoria glue out of the big can. I use throwaway "acid brushes" I got at Harbor Freight.

I use the torch cleaning method as well. If all I have is the residue from a single previous gluing (which is now the case since I found the torch method), I can get the old glue off in about 20-25 minutes. So, perhaps it's an hour or a little more from start to finish.

[Etienne]

Hi,

the best way to remove glue is to use pieces of old clothes, or bandages, soaked with white spirit, then positioned on the glue and wait 20 to 60 minutes.

Then glue goes off easily and the rim is clean.

[uber]

Tape instead of glue.

[CAAD]

I have been using Carogna tape for a few years now. I will never glue another tire on. I can replace a tire in 10min, then ride it the next morning.

[Dead Man]

i probably would have let a coat tack up on the new tire, rewetted the glue already on the rim, and mounted.

everyone develops their own style, if one can persevere through the initial learning period. it seems like a lot more work than it is till you find your own comfort zone

[Gummee]

Hi,

the best way to remove glue is to use pieces of old clothes, or bandages, soaked with white spirit, then positioned on the glue and wait 20 to 60 minutes.

Then glue goes off easily and the rim is clean.I much prefer my wire wheel on the drill press. No chemical residue to affect the bond of glue to rim.

M

[redir]

Some of my now vintage wheels still have glue on them from the 80's.

[mcallen]

I use tape now and been very happy with it--I think there are some threads about tape and different folks' experiences. Before you can tape, you do have to get the rim very clean, so I feel your pain. But once rim is clean, you never have to go through that process again. Tape comes off much easier (at least the ones I've used).

[homagesilkhope]

i probably would have let a coat tack up on the new tire, rewetted the glue already on the rim, and mounted.

Right. After all, when you're out on a ride and get a flat, don't you routinely make it back home after doing just what Dead Man describes (except that steps 1 and 2 usually get omitted)? I suppose this learning opportunity occurs a lot less frequently in the sealant and cell phone era.

everyone develops their own style, if one can persevere through the initial learning period. it seems like a lot more work than it is till you find your own comfort zone

Yes. For example, on occasion you'll wake up to a morning flat and if you're away from home and don't have a spare wheel handy, what're you gonna do? Since the show must go on, it's simply strip the old tire, apply a coat of glue to rim, mount new tire and ride. (Conservatively, for the first hour or so anyway.) And voila! you've learned that technique works pretty well.

Then there are other, harder lessons. Since rolling a tire - the only time it's happened to me, on a road bike anyway - at the bottom of the course at Nevada City, I've been less stingy with the glue and mostly religious about laying down a coat on a new tire in advance and letting it cure. If time permits, that is.

[Louis]

The guy that glued on LA7s tubies..waited like 3 DAYS between coats..

I'm sure that explains why he was so fast. I think I'm going to try waiting 3 weeks between coats - that ought to help me win at least one stage of the TDF.

[ultraman6970]

I been using tubulars since im 12 y/o when I started racing in the track and honestly never seen anybody using 3 coats of glue in a rim plus 1 or 2 in the tubular. Way too much and the tubular can roll out anyways.

As for the rim the OP is talking about, 2 options... the original owner or used like 1 full tube of glue per rim or that rim had more than a handfull of tires glued. With the years glue stays there and glue on top, the new glue reactivates the old one and good to go. But yeah ive seen those rims with like zillions of dry coats of glue on them :)

The best and simpler for the track (for the paranoids) is tufo tape, the problem is to remove the tubular tho, that wont get off easily.

In a new rim for track IMO 1 light coat, then a wettish coat then a lightis coat in the tubular, mount. inflate to 120 psi... wait like 3 hours and good to go. In 3 hours that thing is set, new glues dry really quick.

The reason for the glue is pretty much so the tubular doesnt slide around the rim or the valve will start moving :P IN the track you have to go with more pressure so the tubular constricts and get tight.

Not something to be done but a good test... grab a new tubbie, put it in a rim w/o glue and put 120 psi or 140... then try to get it off the rim with your thumbs. I said new ok? not super stretched ok? :P . Then realease the air and the force you need to remove that thing will be minimal. Put air again and will get tight around the rim. That's how those things work.

[P K]

https://www.effettomariposa.eu/en/products/carogna-remover/

[nooneline]

Ten years ago or so I had a chat with a mechanic who was working for a world champ cyclocrosser and I asked him how he glued wheels. He said, "I put glue on the rim. Then I put glue on the tire. I wait a little bit, and then I put the tire on the rim."

[oldpotatoe]

Ten years ago or so I had a chat with a mechanic who was working for a world champ cyclocrosser and I asked him how he glued wheels. He said, "I put glue on the rim. Then I put glue on the tire. I wait a little bit, and then I put the tire on the rim."

Yup, for a lot of people, many who have never used or glued on, tubulars, it has become some sort of black art or something. :)

[jamesdak]

I have been using Carogna tape for a few years now. I will never glue another tire on. I can replace a tire in 10min, then ride it the next morning.


Yep, this!

My last 3 sets have been taped and the oldest is still holding up just fine after two years.

[merckx]

When tape is used, and a puncture occurs, do you bring a roll of tape with you so that a spare tub can be attached?

[Ralph]

Yup, for a lot of people, many who have never used or glued on, tubulars, it has become some sort of black art or something. :)

Used tubulars for 35 years. And when there was already plenty of old glue on rim, just put another coat on it, let get tacky, then put tire on. Didn't usually put glue on tire. Maybe Florida heat helped keep tacky. The old spare I carried under seat for emergencies just went on in a few seconds, never put any glue on it to get me home (maybe go careful on down hills). No big deal. Although I did have some old tubular rims to stretch tire on first with about 80 lbs air.

Don't use tubulars anymore. Don't see the need, clinchers so good. But using tubulars is no big deal.

[CAAD]

When tape is used, and a puncture occurs, do you bring a roll of tape with you so that a spare tub can be attached?

I carry a co2, 3oz bottle of sealant, plastic valve core remover, and a cell phone.

[colker]

When tape is used, and a puncture occurs, do you bring a roll of tape with you so that a spare tub can be attached?

Yeah... i thought that too.

[ultraman6970]

Thats for solid mastic... there's 2 types of glue.. .the hard one which is usually red and the one like vittoria and continental. For those you have to use thinner or even flue to get them soft. A second option which ive seen here is to use like a metal brush but a soft one and start scraping, they sell one really good that can be used with a drill.

https://www.effettomariposa.eu/en/products/carogna-remover/

[oldpotatoe]

When tape is used, and a puncture occurs, do you bring a roll of tape with you so that a spare tub can be attached?

Bring a pre-glued spare..maybe the below, to get a decently glued on tubular, off.

I carry a spare tire, a below gizmo, $5 wrapped in old sock strapped below saddle, phone. My tubies when on the bike are all treated with sealant..Orange Seal.

[merckx]

I carry a co2, 3oz bottle of sealant, plastic valve core remover, and a cell phone.

Sealant doesn't always work. When a taped tire is removed, it usually pulls the tape from the rim. When this happens, the rim no longer has a sticky surface, and a pre-glued spare won't have enough purchase power to be safe. For this reason I still prefer to glue. When pushing through a brevet, it is comforting to have a spare that will hold well, and a frame pump that will bring it up to pressure.

[teleguy57]

I like OP's paint can opener; I have a small flat-bladed screwdriver with the edges rounded so they're not sharp. Also carry a valve core remover, small bottle of sealant and a frame pump. CO2 is not reliable enough for me.

And I also have a spare pre-glued tub as well (which reminds me I have to do my annual glue refresh since I've only used it once) and even have a bag for two tubs on longer rides in areas where phone coverage is iffy - call it belt, suspenders, and extra set of suspenders :eek:

[Rusty Luggs]

http://kuktl.dept.ku.edu/bicycle/Cusa1.pdf

Only gluing procedure I have seen based on actual testing of adhesion performance

[kppolich]

Mariposa Carogna tape is the answer
https://www.effettomariposa.eu/en/products/carogna/

Personal review on Page 4
https://thepaceline.net/forums/showthread.php?t=168489&page=4&highlight=mariposa

[Pegoready]

All the discussion of glue vs. tape, sealant vs. not, what to carry on a ride, how to fix a flat etc. isn't helping anyone's case that tubulars aren't a black art ;)

[colker]

All the discussion of glue vs. tape, sealant vs. not, what to carry on a ride, how to fix a flat etc. isn't helping anyone's case that tubulars aren't a black art ;)

Black art is not boring.

[sw3759]

I carry a co2, 3oz bottle of sealant, plastic valve core remover, and a cell phone.


curious about the co2 and sealant interaction..what is the general consensus on this,?i
thought it was kind of common knowledge that most sealants react bad to the co2 for some reason? the low temp maybe or something else

[CAAD]

curious about the co2 and sealant interaction..what is the general consensus on this,?i
thought it was kind of common knowledge that most sealants react bad to the co2 for some reason? the low temp maybe or something else

I only had to use the sealant twice and both times it worked. Inject sealant, rotate valve to the top and hit it with co2, turn wheel to seal hole.

I had to use the cell phone once. Massive side wall cut.

Other then that I ride the tires till I see cords showing through.