Commuting on tubulars?

jimmcdonnell

Any thoughts, comments, observations?

My daily commute is 6 miles, at speed, over London's finest most potholed, grit-and-debris-strewn roads, 5 days a week all year - sun, rain, snow etc. I don't do sportives or anything else apart from long countryside noodles on the road bike.

What are the relative advantages/disadvantages between tubs and clinchers?

Discuss.

tgotb

On the off-chance that this is a genuine query:

Tubulars:
Marginally less rolling resistance (depending on who you believe)
Marginally better aerodynamics (depending on tub and rim)
Marginally quicker to replace punctured tyre with a spare (for straight-line use only)
much less susceptible to pinch flats

Clinchers:
Significantly cheaper
Much wider range of robust clinchers available
Punctures can be repaired in minutes by the side of the road (as opposed to taking an evening at home)
Tyre can be replaced in minutes, as opposed to 24 hrs min for proper tub gluing job

I think I heard of someone using tubs as inner tubes for clinchers, for almost total puncture invulnerability. If true, must have been fat tubs/narrow clinchers...

sheffsimon

jimmcdonnell wrote:

Any thoughts, comments, observations?

My daily commute is 6 miles, at speed, over London's finest most potholed, grit-and-debris-strewn roads, 5 days a week all year - sun, rain, snow etc. I don't do sportives or anything else apart from long countryside noodles on the road bike.

What are the relative advantages/disadvantages between tubs and clinchers?

Discuss.

Entirely pointless using tubs for commuting IMHO.

As for using tubs as inner tubes - Robert Millar is the man in question.

jimmcdonnell

On the off-chance that this is a genuine query:

Why wouldn't it be? Can't see the comedy or trolling potential...

Entirely pointless using tubs for commuting IMHO

Tubulars:
Marginally less rolling resistance (depending on who you believe)
Marginally better aerodynamics (depending on tub and rim)
Marginally quicker to replace punctured tyre with a spare (for straight-line use only)
much less susceptible to pinch flats

Clinchers:
Significantly cheaper
Much wider range of robust clinchers available
Punctures can be repaired in minutes by the side of the road (as opposed to taking an evening at home)
Tyre can be replaced in minutes, as opposed to 24 hrs min for proper tub gluing job

But thanks for the sensible comments anyway - that's what I wanted to know, really.

I shall try to word my questions more carefully in future, or else only ask questions about proven sober, serious topics. :?

tgotb

jimmcdonnell wrote:

On the off-chance that this is a genuine query:

Why wouldn't it be? Can't see the comedy or trolling potential...

Sorry, no offence intended. The clinchers vs tubs argument is a staple on racing forums.

In summary, tubs are (imho) slightly nicer to ride on and allegedly faster (but the differences are very small enough to keep racers arguing the toss). I also forgot to mention that the wheel/tyre combination is a bit lighter.
The downside is so huge that you'd be nuts to use them for commuting. Tubs tend to be fragile, are a complete pain to fit, and can't be repaired by the side of the road, meaning you have to carry a spare. Sealant is ok for some punctures, but can't handle a big blowout. Decent tubs are also eye-wateringly expensive.

I train/commute on clinchers, and race on tubs. I often question the wisdom of the latter...

Yossie

If you don't mind the initial extra cost, the inconvenience if you have a puncture and have the tub wheels (and don't mind destroying them on London's finest), then I can't see any problem at all - if you want to, do it.

I've had to use the tub shod race bike to get to work and back over the past ten days while I've been fitting new mechs and cables to the trainer/commuter and love it - however am personally not preared to put up with the cost, hassle should it all go wrong, etc.

I know that I'll miss using them though.

Tubs are (imho) nicer to ride on and they make you feel special - sometimes little things like that help you feel that little bit more chipper when you've had a pants day at work.

HTH

Y

Monty Dog

Tubs are better in my experience in dealing with potholes / impact punctures, however they are not very resistant to 'sharps' so keep mine for race duties only and certainly wouldn't consider them for commuting in London. There are few clincher tyres comparable in terms of handling and feel to a decent tub, particularly on smooth tarmac. However, for everything else, the convenience and ease of repair means that clinchers are best for everything else. If you insist on tubs, keep to something durable like a Tufo with sealant rather than Veloflexes.