Tubulars vs Clinchers and size

bobgfish

Hello

25 years ago I used to use Tubulars. At the time you could not just swap on Clinchers as the rim size was slightly different and had to move the brake blocks a few mm's.

Can someone advise if this is still the same? or have the finally standardised the sizing?

TommyEss

Tubular rims and clincher rims are still different. There is however a third way wherein the rim can use a tubeless (not tubular) tyre, or a standard clincher. Fulcrum for example have some of their wheels offering "2-way fit". You then need a tubeless road tyre, and some sealant (these tubeless tyres are akin to that used by a lot of mountain bikers, and as the name suggests, it has no inner tube at all - more like a car tyre).

bobgfish

I know they are different rims.

What I need to know is if the braking surfaces have the same diameter. Years ago these did not line up and you had to move the brake blocks.

Not looking at tubeless and would just like to be able to swap clincher wheels with tubulars depedning on what I'm doing without having to move brake blocks.

graham_g

bob - yes, they're now, sensibly, standardised. It was dunlop we had to blame for the totally daft 27 1/4" rims when everyone on the continent had settled on 'sprints'. Now the old sprint size rim (700c) is the standard for both tubs and clinchers on road bikes. Clearances are tighter nowadays too so quite often no room for a mudguard and definitely not enough adjustment on brakes if wheels were swapped for something smaller.

bobgfish

Thanks. Thought that might be the case.

TommyEss

Sorry - my bad!