wheelsmith

slowandsteady

Ok, so i think I've finally settled on a choice of wheels.

i think I'm going to go for wheelsmith for them, gigantex 50mm rims, sapim xray spokes and wheelsmith hubs. Because they are going to be summer wheels i don't think i need the Chris King hubs; i also think they would take them out of budget.

what i cant decide on is tubs or clinchers. I think the clincher is only about 100grams heavier than the tub and road side repairs scare me a little on the tub. I've read good reviews about tufo sealant and if its as good as they say i think i would go for tubs. Has anybody used it?

i also presume the tufo sealant can only be used with tufo tyres. So, are the tufo tyres any good?

from what i can see from the website they will come with skewers but i can see no mention of brake pads, can anyone clear that up?

thanks

markos1963

Go tubs, buy whatever tyres you prefer, carry a pre glued spare if you are worried about roadside repair as it's far easier than using sealant. Enjoy.

StillGoing

The sealant works with any make of tyre. I recently moved to tubs by accident after ordering some Chinese wheels only to find I missed the bit that said Tubular, Doh! Anyway, having tried them, I'll never go back to clinchers in a hurry as they are so much more comfortable, lighter, free rolling and look good. As for the quality, don't believe everything you read about Chinese wheels. There's good and bad everywhere. But I digress; yes the idea of the expense of replacing punctured tubs put me off, but doing a bit of research I came across this how to video that shows you can repair a tub on the rim within minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsgHNA5Nuvw

I ride with Conti tubs but I carry a spare glued up Tufo tub after advice on here that they are the easiest to fold relatively small. But I also carry a superglue pen and sealant in the hope that if I do puncture, I can repair it on the rim.

thegreatdivide

Tufo and Stans will only work with tubs that have a 'removable core' valve e.g. Conti and Tufo (not great tyres). Veloflex, Vittoria and I think Challenge (aka the good tyres ;-)) all have the core fixed i.e. the whole valve stem comes off, so liquid sealant won't work - however you use a slimline can of Vittoria Pit Stop instead.

For 50+ rides I take a can of Pit Stop and a Tufo 160 tub, anything less and I take just the can.

Changing a tub is a piece of pi$$.

sloppyschleckonds

Slowandsteady wrote:

Because they are going to be summer wheels i don't think i need the Chris King hubs;

Are you buying for next summer?

thegreatdivide

philthy3 wrote:

but doing a bit of research I came across this how to video that shows you can repair a tub on the rim within minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsgHNA5Nuvw

Man that wasn't minutes - that was a lifetime of faffing about!

I'll bet a bike that the reason he didn't get on with Pit Stop was a) he's prob got a deal with Stan's going on and b) he didn't do it right - plus all that kit weighs more than a lightweight tub! ;-)

StillGoing

You've got ignore the American necessity to talk instead of getting on with it. It would've taken him a lot less otherwise. I ignored the brand name and just carry any sealant with a pen as one spare tub doesn't solve the problem of a double puncture.

slowandsteady

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Slowandsteady wrote:

Because they are going to be summer wheels i don't think i need the Chris King hubs;

Are you buying for next summer?

I'm hopefully buying for the next few summers. And dry winter days most likely. Not that i see many of them.

ok so tufo is out really as the tyres aren't upto it. What size does a pre-glued tyre go down to? For my clinchers just now I've got the smallest saddle bag i could find, I'm not really wanting a huge bag under my seat.

kfinlay

Do rule out clinchers such as Vittoria Open Corsa as they are an 'Open' tubular tire and ride very well. Granted they will never be tubs but still very very good. I have a set of Wheelsmith wheels that you are looking to buy with these tires and latex tubes - way better than using tyres such as Continental GP4000s that are so popular. - See my siggy for a pic.
If you use Campag and in or around the Fife area, I'd be happy to let you try them on your bike and go for a cycle together so you can assess them. Mines weighed in a 1420g with titanium skewers but no cassette/tyres/tubes. Braking is good (no exceptional) and they are a great pair of do it all wheels for the UK (never took them to the Alpes a few weeks ago).
HTH

sungod

unless your roads are full of pointy stuff, i'd go for tubs

veloflex are lovely, carbon/criterium, or if you want extra rubber for poorer roads roubaix/arenberg (veloflex have a standard stem with removable core)
vittoria are also good, but the proprietary stem limits choice of sealant
i've found tufo extreme sealant much better than vittoria pitstop, the decathlon one is reportedly good but haven't tried it
use a tufo as the spare, they fold really small

slowandsteady

kfinlay wrote:

Do rule out clinchers such as Vittoria Open Corsa as they are an 'Open' tubular tire and ride very well. Granted they will never be tubs but still very very good. I have a set of Wheelsmith wheels that you are looking to buy with these tires and latex tubes - way better than using tyres such as Continental GP4000s that are so popular. - See my siggy for a pic.
If you use Campag and in or around the Fife area, I'd be happy to let you try them on your bike and go for a cycle together so you can assess them. Mines weighed in a 1420g with titanium skewers but no cassette/tyres/tubes. Braking is good (no exceptional) and they are a great pair of do it all wheels for the UK (never took them to the Alpes a few weeks ago).
HTH

thanks for the offer, very good of you.

i am running campag but I'm a good few hours from you.

how did you find the wheels from the stick affairs? Money well spent?

kfinlay

Slowandsteady wrote:

kfinlay wrote:

Do rule out clinchers such as Vittoria Open Corsa as they are an 'Open' tubular tire and ride very well. Granted they will never be tubs but still very very good. I have a set of Wheelsmith wheels that you are looking to buy with these tires and latex tubes - way better than using tyres such as Continental GP4000s that are so popular. - See my siggy for a pic.
If you use Campag and in or around the Fife area, I'd be happy to let you try them on your bike and go for a cycle together so you can assess them. Mines weighed in a 1420g with titanium skewers but no cassette/tyres/tubes. Braking is good (no exceptional) and they are a great pair of do it all wheels for the UK (never took them to the Alpes a few weeks ago).
HTH

thanks for the offer, very good of you.

i am running campag but I'm a good few hours from you.

how did you find the wheels from the stick affairs? Money well spent?

Not sure what you mean about 'the stick' :?
as for the wheels, I think they are excellent although I haven't ridden tubs in over 25yrs so not the best person to give comparitive advice hence the offer. They are light enough for UK climbs, stiff too but comfortable for long rides even on the porr roads we have here in Fife. I use Reynolds blue pads and braking is very good but obviously not on par with braking on an aluminium surface.
What I would say about Derek is that he gives genuine advice and doesn't try to sell the stuff he makes most profit on or the most expensive.

(of course I meant to say in my previous post 'Do NOT rule our clinchers!!!') :oops:

slowandsteady

Ok. So. I've got a set of 50mm tubs coming my way with vittoria corsa evo tyres.

I bought a vittoria rally as a spare to use in an emergency but the thing folds up huge! HUGE!! So I don't fancy carrying that around under my seat.

so with sealants, I'm 99% sure the vittoria corsa has a latex tube in it. What sealant can I use for that? One that comes in a small can hopefully.

ugo.santalucia

Slowandsteady wrote:

Ok. So. I've got a set of 50mm tubs coming my way with vittoria corsa evo tyres.

I bought a vittoria rally as a spare to use in an emergency but the thing folds up huge! HUGE!! So I don't fancy carrying that around under my seat.

so with sealants, I'm 99% sure the vittoria corsa has a latex tube in it. What sealant can I use for that? One that comes in a small can hopefully.

I carry two spares under my saddle... the miracle of folding...
Vittoria Pit Stop is designed for Vittoria tyres, but like any sealant it will only work on pin prick punctures, a large tear will not be fixed with sealant. I advise you to carry a spare tyre if you go far from home

slowandsteady

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Slowandsteady wrote:

Ok. So. I've got a set of 50mm tubs coming my way with vittoria corsa evo tyres.

I bought a vittoria rally as a spare to use in an emergency but the thing folds up huge! HUGE!! So I don't fancy carrying that around under my seat.

so with sealants, I'm 99% sure the vittoria corsa has a latex tube in it. What sealant can I use for that? One that comes in a small can hopefully.

I carry two spares under my saddle... the miracle of folding...
Vittoria Pit Stop is designed for Vittoria tyres, but like any sealant it will only work on pin prick punctures, a large tear will not be fixed with sealant. I advise you to carry a spare tyre if you go far from home

I think I need a folding tutorial.

smidsy

There are also particular tubs that fold much smaller (almost credit card sized). Tufo I think. There is a picture on here somewhere.

If you only want it as an emergency spare go with one of those to save space.

ugo.santalucia

These are two Vittoria CX folded in a recycled musette



If you only have one, you can do a neater fold ie. a less long one, or you can do a longish fold and fit it in your rear pocket with no need for bags, I've done that too

thegreatdivide

Here's a pic of the options I'll take on rides and the tub sizes. I prefer to stick my spare tub in my center jersey pocket and hardly notice it.

Vittoria Corsa + Pit Stop - long rides
Tufo Elite 160 + Pit Stop - long rides
Tufo sealant - sub 50 mile rides (Conti rides)
Pit Stop - sub 50 mile rides

ugo.santalucia

thegreatdivide wrote:

Here's a pic of the options I'll take on rides and the tub sizes. I prefer to stick my spare tub in my center jersey pocket and hardly notice it.

Vittoria Corsa + Pit Stop - long rides
Tufo Elite 160 + Pit Stop - long rides
Tufo sealant - sub 50 mile rides (Conti rides)
Pit Stop - sub 50 mile rides

I never go anywhere without my Nectar card too...

smidsy

I knew I had seen it somewhere. Top stuff.

thegreatdivide

I keep the tubs in zip lock sandwich bags too - just took 'em out for the pic.

on-yer-bike

On a long ride I carry a spare Conti in an Arundel Tubi bag and a Vittoria Corsa in the back middle pocket because it folds flatter. My legs would rub on the tubs if I put two behind the saddle. Don't carry sealant.

drlodge

Slowandsteady wrote:

Ok, so i think I've finally settled on a choice of wheels.

i think I'm going to go for wheelsmith for them, gigantex 50mm rims, sapim xray spokes and wheelsmith hubs. Because they are going to be summer wheels i don't think i need the Chris King hubs; i also think they would take them out of budget.

what i cant decide on is tubs or clinchers. I think the clincher is only about 100grams heavier than the tub and road side repairs scare me a little on the tub. I've read good reviews about tufo sealant and if its as good as they say i think i would go for tubs. Has anybody used it?

i also presume the tufo sealant can only be used with tufo tyres. So, are the tufo tyres any good?

from what i can see from the website they will come with skewers but i can see no mention of brake pads, can anyone clear that up?

thanks

Just been through this thought process, see my thread here viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=12935650

I was always convinced about the ride quality of tubulars and for me, carbon clinchers are neither fish nor foul. I would question the advantage of CX-ray spokes, I have Dt comp (Sapim race equiv) rear and DT revs front (Sapim laser equiv), and saved about £100 in the process. Used Novatec hubs since like you, these will be fair weather wheels and I don't need them to last forever in all conditions. The wheel cost came in under £400...bargain I'd say.