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]

Originally Posted by 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!

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]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by Dead Man

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]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

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/pr...rogna-remover/