So are these Gommitalias total garbage? They sure are cheap.
That is the going rate for cheap tubulars. Vittoria Rallys/Uno/Lion somethings, etc. are all in that price range.
I have never seen Rallys for that cheap.
I might go for it. I picked up some FSA carbon wheels for a good deal, but money is pretty tight now. More than than anything I want to learn the process of gluing and see what the fuss is about.
Everyone loves those Yellow Jersey tubulars. I think they sell them in groups of three for $50 or something. I’m too lazy to go and look.
The extreme tape is supposedly good for cross. My problem with tape is that it’s super easy and clean to put on but after you remove the tire there is a huge amount of tape and the mesh that holds the tape together left on the rim and it’s really hard to clean.
EDIT: Also make sure you pump your tires up to 200+ and ride in a straight line on them for a few hundred meters to activate the tape. If your really light get a fat freind to do it.
I think this is just luddites trying to make tubulars more appealing. I’ve ridden the clements that these are supposedly rebranded(different factory concords? discontinued molds or something) and wasn’t impressed. Seriously if you are going to ride cheap tubulars just stay with your clinchers until you can get something better. I’ve seen very lightly used vittoria ks pairs go for $60 on ebay anyway.
I have my Conti Gatorskin Sprinter taped on to Tri Spoke via Tufo Extreme tape. From what I hear, the regular tape is trash and shouldn’t be on the market. I’ve also heard that it’s hard to get the tire off to change a flat. But yeah, my tire hasn’t slipped off or anything and the act of taping was very simple.
I’ve heard the Extreme is overkill for most applications and can be tough on carbon rims.
I wouldn’t use any tape on carbon sidewall rims.
I haven’t talked to a single person who liked the regular tape.
I only use Miyata tubular tape. Never had a tire roll off and it is pretty clean when you take the tire off also. I have never used Tufo because out over here most people prefer the Miyata tape (supposedly 3M stuff).
the yellow jersey/clement tubs suck. the casing isn’t uniform and two of mine had an inverted bulge near the valve stem which required a shit-ton of glue to adhere. “good for the price” is the operative phrase here.
tape is for pussies who don’t know how to glue properly. with glue you can reuse a tire after a flat but tape destroys the basetape of the tub.
The more I read up on this, the more glue seems like the way to go.
[quote=“MIN”]
tape is for pussies who don’t know how to glue properly. with glue you can reuse a tire after a flat but tape destroys the basetape of the tub.[/quote]
Not true. I’ve taken off taped tires that where the basetape was fine and glued ones where it was trashed.
Glue FTW!
Its not hard but takes time to do the job right.
X 2
I think it has more to do with how careful you are taking the tire off.
I rode/raced my tubular Tri Spoke at the track for the first time last night… gotta agree, tubulars do feel better at the track! 160psi on a tubular really makes a nice difference vs. 120 on a clincher out there. Tubulars are sweet!
i met a guy last night riding some rad dt-swiss tubulars on the street. he said they were given to him by his friend that works here at Fitzroy Cycles. funny thing was he didn’t know anything about them and had just put on the tires and pumped them up…pretty low too. he mentioned hitting a pothole earlier and had a bit of a lump in the tire. it had shifted on the rim and twisted around a bit. i told him to call his friend and ask him how to actually use these wheels he was given. “here are some wheels…have fun (haha)”
X 2
I think it has more to do with how careful you are taking the tire off.[/quote]
yeah it is.
gotta be careful either way.
use a tire lever.
a little trick i’ve read is to go light on the glue directly opposite the valvestem. you know where the easy spot is to get your tire lever under the basetape without fucking it up.
[quote="(|)"]
a little trick i’ve read is to go light on the glue directly opposite the valvestem. you know where the easy spot is to get your tire lever under the basetape without fucking it up.[/quote]
One thing I will never do is “go light on glue” so that the tire is easier to take off.
[quote=“dutret”][quote="(|)"]
a little trick i’ve read is to go light on the glue directly opposite the valvestem. you know where the easy spot is to get your tire lever under the basetape without fucking it up.[/quote]
One thing I will never do is “go light on glue” so that the tire is easier to take off.[/quote]
lol. yeah.
they talked about a half inch section where they would not glue or they wouldn’t put a tack coat there or something.
i think all it would do is give your tire a spot that make a little noise everytime it makes a revolution.
i think it was in the classic and vintage forum at bikeforums where i read that.
i guess for the guys that just go on slow sunday cruises on their old road bikes it’s something to do.
Cheap tubulars up right now: