Tubulars: Prep. / Old trends in technology

[Too Tall]

Yes Virginia they file tubulars in Maryland ***?
These are some NOS Vittoria CX from Bugsplatbuddah bob. Beats me how old they are. Condition was aces so it's time to set these puppies up for training races in a few weeks :) These Vittorias have a solid laytex layer over the basetape that needs removal. "Removal" involves filing and getting off most of it. You don't have to go nuts just break it up. I spent about 3 mins. on each tyre. You can see from the photos how much laytex is removed esp. over the serial number is evident. Once they are filed glue soaks easily into the cotton base tape. Not all tubulars have laytex over the basetape.

[TMB]

Good idea.

I have always used sandpaper.

[dave1215]

wow, that is truly a craft. :)

i so want to try tubulars.....

[rwsaunders]

I remember watching the Science of the Tour de France on The Discovery Channel a few years ago, and there was a Belgian who "cured" Lance's tubulars in a barn. 4-6 years if I recall correctly.

[Z3c]

"a Belgian" was Julien DeVries who wrenched for LeMond and Lotto(Bruyneel etc) before Lance and is a legend..

[chrisroph]

italian made? larger volume than the current (excellent) thai built tyres? if so,should be plenty aged and ready to go. nice!!

[DarrenCT]

the cold beer while u do this

[tbushnel]

3 minutes? Maybe I'm too OC, but it took me like 45min per tire on some vittoria tires. They sure did glue up well though - almost too well. I had a H&ll of a time getting it off after an unfortunate flat.

great pics
ted

[Dave B]

I remember watching the Science of the Tour de France on The Discovery Channel a few years ago, and there was a Belgian who "cured" Lance's tubulars in a barn. 4-6 years if I recall correctly.


I still have it on tape.

Discovery ran it non stop when Lance was riding.

There was a great bit cut out when the other mechanics were all talking with Julien and said Lance was the greatest rider ever.

Julien started laughing and then got into a "discussion" on how Lance was good, but he will never be Merckx.

The other mechanics kept after him and Julien never once listened to anything they said.

Funny...Disco cut that out of the subsequent viewings. :rolleyes:

[stevep]

tt,
post the video of you when you use the handcrank to start your car.

some cars now have electric starters i hear.



i love tubulars, i have a super fine pr of tubular wheels sitting in my basement. i'm not likely to ever use them again even though i have 3-4 tires that need to be used.
too much trouble.

[Too Tall]

tt,
post the video of you when you use the handcrank to start your car.

some cars now have electric starters i hear.



i love tubulars, i have a super fine pr of tubular wheels sitting in my basement. i'm not likely to ever use them again even though i have 3-4 tires that need to be used.
too much trouble.

PM sent ;)
Yo Bushnel, use a bigger file. That mill file is sharp.

[Longdaddy]

I mean, don't fear the reaper, you know? (Que more cow bell.....)

I was 19 when I got my first tubulars- mavic hubs and GEL280 rims (ok, i was 150lbs back then.)

Boy, I made a mess! Red mastik all over the place, rims, side walls... :crap:

But it felt like I made it to the "next level".

And the ride? Goodnight, nurse.....

I love em and plan on going back to them full time when I get home.

[tbushnel]

Yo Bushnel, use a bigger file. That mill file is sharp.


Thanks TT. I will be mounting a new rear this weekend, so I'll give it a go.
Ted

[Too Tall]

Thanks TT. I will be mounting a new rear this weekend, so I'll give it a go.
Ted
I've got a short video of the file action. It seems really dumb to post it here :rolleyes: The motion is side to side so that you cut the laytex off kinda like sweeping off crumbs...bear down it works fast....don't "file" back and forth.

[superunleaded]

It seems really dumb to post it here :rolleyes:

I don't think so. I'm sure I am not the only 1 who wants to see the video :rolleyes:

[Too Tall]

FWIIW It have been a long time since I used Vittoria tubulars and I liked they way they sit on the Velocity Pro rims ALOT and they are round as heck. Other than T.K. can anyone tell me anything about modern CXs? These are NOS. TIA.

[chrisroph]

FWIIW It have been a long time since I used Vittoria tubulars and I liked they way they sit on the Velocity Pro rims ALOT and they are round as heck. Other than T.K. can anyone tell me anything about modern CXs? These are NOS. TIA.

I've got a bunch of the new ones and they are terrific. They have a good supple handle and are very high quality. The cotton base tape is high grade and has less latex to scrape off than the old ones. They are nice and round, very strong, and have a smooth and compliant ride. They are lower volume than the old ones but still are very comfortable.

I love them. Plus, you can get them for about $55 from sdeals. I just took delivery of 6 from them.

[3chordwonder]

Thanks TT. I will be mounting a new rear this weekend

can't resist

[Too Tall]

Sdeals??? I just got a small arm load of new Vittoria CX from Probikekit, decent deal. The volume of these tyres is decent not perfect for me and quality of build, roundness etc. is great. Good stuff. I'll post a link to a small video of how I file the laytex off basetape soon.

*Here you go...basetape prep. using a clean file.
http://www.bicycle-coach.com/images/bikes/misc/btprep.AVI

[gone]

So you only do the high spot in the middle of the base tape? I've always done the whole tape (the white part on Vittoria's). Am I obsessing?

[Too Tall]

So you only do the high spot in the middle of the base tape? I've always done the whole tape (the white part on Vittoria's). Am I obsessing?
The Video is misleading? I def. file the entire basetape avoiding the tyre case/tape bond and yes I do file the entire basetape. This vide is a bit misleading as I had to hold my camera with one hand and file with the other so the tyre is not stable and am not using full pressure...but you get the idea.

[LegendRider]

Too Tall,

How do you keep your brushes from hardening between glue-jobs? My brushes always become rock solid.

[Too Tall]

Too Tall,

How do you keep your brushing from hardening between glue-jobs? My brushes always become rock solid.
If I am working on lots of wheels that day I roll them in saran wrap or submerged in glue...both work fine. Careful to keep some wrap over the top of you glue can or lost solvents will reduce spreadability of the glue. I like old toothbrushes when I've got them othewise disposable flux brushes.

[tbushnel]

great video.
ted

[sspielman]

A VIDEO!!! Wow...Thanks for your efforts in keeping the culture alive.....

[zank]

Too Tall,

How do you keep your brushing from hardening between glue-jobs? My brushes always become rock solid.

As TT said, you can get bags of acid/flux brushes for pretty cheap.

[sspielman]

As long as we are talking about flux brushes for tubular cement....I have always found that the glue is quite a bit easier to handle if it is THINNED a little...tough to accomplish from a tube, but easy as pie if you are using cement from a can...

[wasfast]

That's actually one advantage of the tube form since it stays thin. The large can, especially once it's gets below 50% can dry out more. The Mastik 1 is great stuff.

[Michael Maddox]

You know, you're going to make me go out to the barn and get those sew-ups out of the rafters, don't you? (I was a DeVries fan, too.) Unfortunately, I own exactly ZERO tubular wheelsets with freehubs; they're all freewheels, and I've sworn off the old stuff for the sake of my marriage and reduction of my junk pile.

Any suggestions for a good tubular wheel these days? Shimano, preferably, as to retain the use of my large SRAM cassette investment.

[Dave B]

I recently got a cross wheelsset with the dugast tires already glued on. It looks like he put a layer of glue-ish materials on the sidewalls. Is this to keep the side wall free form dirt or simply a cosmetic issue. Will dirt in the sidewall break down these tires?

These are my first go with tubular wheels and the tires came with them.

Any thoughts.

Take the tires off and reglue or use them until they begin to break lose and reglue then?

[roman meal]

I recently got a cross wheelsset with the dugast tires already glued on. It looks like he put a layer of glue-ish materials on the sidewalls. Is this to keep the side wall free form dirt or simply a cosmetic issue. Will dirt in the sidewall break down these tires?

These are my first go with tubular wheels and the tires came with them.

Any thoughts.

Take the tires off and reglue or use them until they begin to break lose and reglue then?


Sounds like a body fluid residue or a latex sidewall sealant (www.cyclocrossworld.com sells this- aquaseal?).

Not having seen the tire, I don't know how it is glued on. Belt and suspenders approach is to take the tires off and reglue or tape/glue.

You don't need another tragedy.

[Dave B]

I think it is the aquaseal stuff.

Is this a benefit any more then cosmetic? I suppose keeping dirt out of the sidewalls makes sense, but cross/tubulars/thsi stuff is new. I searched and did not find stuff on aquasealing tires.

I'll check somewhere else.

Cheers

[zank]

I always aqua-seal my cross tubulars. Mr. Pres, that is likely what it is as roman meal said.

The aqua-seal protects the cotton casing from constant water and mud exposure and helps protect the side wall from cuts and tears. The cotton can also pick up dirt as you mentioned. It is really easy to apply and I do suggest it for any cotton casing cross tubular. And for the vain folks, it does keep the sidewalls looking good. Especially if you are paying a bit extra for custom colored casings... :D

[MilanoTom]

In order to properly apply tubular tire glue, one must have a lit cigarette hanging out of one's mouth.

[zank]

In order to properly apply tubular tire glue, one must have a lit cigarette hanging out of one's mouth.

I don't envy that job. I did a dozen or so last fall and that was enough. Maybe I should have started smoking.

[Big Daddy]

I don't envy that job. I did a dozen or so last fall and that was enough. Maybe I should have started smoking.

The lit cigarette burns the fumes before entering the nasal passages...

who says that smoking is bad for you!?

[Too Tall]

I always aqua-seal my cross tubulars. Mr. Pres, that is likely what it is as roman meal said.

The aqua-seal protects the cotton casing from constant water and mud exposure and helps protect the side wall from cuts and tears. The cotton can also pick up dirt as you mentioned. It is really easy to apply and I do suggest it for any cotton casing cross tubular. And for the vain folks, it does keep the sidewalls looking good. Especially if you are paying a bit extra for custom colored casings... :D
Yo Zankissimo, base on content I ordered a can of laytex carpet cement...seriously :cool: I am going to test this on some old tyres to see if there are any issues...but it looks like a winner for re-sealing basetape and sidewalls. Man, I must be bored. :rolleyes:

[Too Tall]

In order to properly apply tubular tire glue, one must have a lit cigarette hanging out of one's mouth.
Awesomenessissimo :cool: That's what I want to do in retirement, smoke/drink/cuss at snarky young riders/wrench and ride alot. That would work.

[Polyglot]

Yes Virginia they file tubulars in Maryland ***?
These are some NOS Vittoria CX from Bugsplatbuddah bob. Beats me how old they are.

The 1995 date code is clearly visible. 13 years old.

[stevep]

maybe i should start smoking.
the rest describes my schtic.


Awesomenessissimo :cool: That's what I want to do in retirement, smoke/drink/cuss at snarky young riders/wrench and ride alot. That would work.

[Too Tall]

The 1995 date code is clearly visible. 13 years old.
Good catch. These are in perfect condtions. One race and a bunch of training miles, nice :)

[tmanley]

I just happened to stumble across this thread as I was doing some research on gluing tubulars. The last set I glued were some Conti Competitions and I knew there was something about the base tape glue on the Vittoria's that required me to do a bit more knowledge gathering.

I decided to get a file and proceeded to remove the glue from my CX's. Gotta say, this worked great and the glue really soaked in nice to the base tape. These tires were just mounted a few days ago and they are going to be a pain to get off due to the strong adhesion (which is a good thing...I rolled a tubular coming out of a 180* hairpin turn in my last crit!).

-Thanks, Todd

[vaxn8r]

Reading this old thread brought to mind a classic from BSNYC, a must read for riders of any kind of tire. Enjoy.

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2008/04/makin-it-stick-how-to-install-tubular.html

[Too Tall]

Hey I like that bikesnob guy I'm going to send him a box of love.

[saab2000]

appropriate thread. Gonna prep mine properly when they arrive, hopefully Thursday.