people get flats and can’t replace the tube on the road quickly or easily
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people invent clinchers
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people get pinch flats as a result of clinchers sucking
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people get used to clinchers because its cheaper and therefore on more bikes, but since they get pinch flats with those clinchers they think “I would never use tubular because I get so many flats!”
but you wouldn’t get those flats if you weren’t using clincher in the first place
am I wrong about this?
I’ve only had one “real” flat (ran over a razor, needed new tire), everything else has been pinches from hitting potholes too hard. So…wouldn’t the logical thing be to just switch to tubulars?
Strictly speaking pinch flats, you are correct.
But I wouldn’t switch to tubulars just because of your reason.
I would look into how you could have avoided your pinch flats and change riding habbits.
I ride tubulars for the ever cliche supple “feel” and the look/weight of the wheels.
But, even being a tubular fan, I commute on clinchers now.
if i was followed by a support car with extra wheel sets, hell yeah id rock tubulars. otherwise any weight benefit blah blah is negated by carrying a spare tubular tire vs carrying a spare clincher tube
sol, sounds like you have never ridden tubulars over a period of time.
They are not for everyone.
Just like how riding S tires on the street is not for everyone(car reference for sol)
i had good luck riding tubs for about half of last year, including winter (when our roads get flooded with sand/ glass/ detritus). no punctures/ slow flats but i would get paranoid from time to time that i was going to flat and then spend half an hour waiting around in the rain for the tyre to stick on the rim and then it would fly off when i went around a corner on the way home and i would die in a twisted mess of bike parts and hipster limbs
Most of my flats (I would estimate that i’ve had 15 or so in my cycling career so far) have been the result of a little shard of glass or a thorn embedding itself in the rear tire. I think I’ve had one pinch flat.
anomaly - I can replace a pre-stretched tubular faster than a clincher, you just have to ride easy the rest of the way home and then glue the tire when you get there. People worry about punctures destorying the tire but that, like you said, is rare and small punctures are easily sealed with any number of tire sealants. I ride tubulars on all of my bikes at times and they are wonderful.
I’ve had three flats with tubulars in the last four years. One was riding the sidewalk on a steel deck bridge that was sprinkled with glass. One riding behind a strip malll and one fucking around on rollers trying to ride now hands (cut the sidwall).
Tubulars is not just about the weight, its about the ride! Feels Good Man!
I haven’t owned a clincher well set since the 80’s but, I’m about to buy a set for the shop errand bike project.
If you are getting numerous pinch flats you have nobody to blame but yourself. Keep an eye on your tire pressure. Also, cheap tubular tires suck. If you do make the switch, spend the money to get good ones.
Aaaaaah, pinch flats. I’ve never had one, but a buddy of mine gets ‘em all the damned time from potholes n’ stuff. I’m thinking he just needs to pay more attention to the shittier parts of the streets we ride.
I’m going to have to disagree with you here. Ever rode in Cleveland?[/quote]
I am from Ohio and I live in New England, land of truly epic potholes. I am regrettably familiar with them. I also weigh 215lbs. and ride 23s. I have had one pinch flat in my life and it was my own damn fault. Seriously, you need more air (either through wider tires or higher pressure). I agree, Cleveland streets do suck badly though.
This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t try tubulars, though. You should. I just don’t think this is a very good reason.
sol, sounds like you have never ridden tubulars over a period of time.
They are not for everyone.
Just like how riding S tires on the street is not for everyone(car reference for sol)[/quote]
ive never seen a tubular irl
sol, sounds like you have never ridden tubulars over a period of time.
They are not for everyone.
Just like how riding S tires on the street is not for everyone(car reference for sol)[/quote]
ive never seen a tubular irl[/quote]
So you’re saying that you have no idea what you’re talking about.
Carrying a spare tubular tire isn’t much more than carrying a spare tube. And that doesn’t matter anyways, because a spare tire isn’t included in rotational weight.
I’ve run a friend’s tubular wheelset on my bike for a bit because I was curious. When I went back to clinchers, my bike didn’t feel nearly as nice anymore. You don’t really notice a wheelset’s weight and the tire quality until you roll something nicer for awhile. I didn’t get any flats in the month that I was running them though, so I can’t pass opinion on the tire change vs tube change issue.
Part of me still wants to get a tubular wheelset for my fixed gear, but I’m probably not going to because I hardly ever ride it anyways.
I am riding tubulars exclusively, on all of my bikes. Most of the flats I am getting are the ones from small shards of glass or wire embedding themselves in the tire. Usually it takes more than one rotation for them to get through, so wiping the tires after each ride helps. Tufo sealant is very effective against these, I have repaired several tubulars with minimal volumes of it.
I do have a training S22 which has most of the tread gone from riding brakeless and it is still going strong. Still, I managed to get “impact” flats (technically they are not pinch flats as there is no tube in Tufo tubulars to be pinched against the rim) riding cross tubulars at low pressure on cobblestones. I have also had pleasure of riding this:
