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Tubs or Clinchers?

dannyfagdannyfag Posts: 15
edited February 2014 in Road buying advice
Hi all,
I have just bought a nice new, second hand bike, but it has never been ridden, confusing huh... The dilemma I have is it has a nice set of Dt swiss carbon tubs which get great reviews and also look the part. The wheels are new so I have not ridden them, but I was just going to sell them and get clinchers which I have always ridden with in the past and also have on a winter bike.

I have a group of riders who all ride clinchers and have all said to flog them and get clinchers again. Apparently tubs are the devils turds :D

It was only last night that one of the group mentioned he had ridden tubs in race events and also general riding.

Now I am unsure what to do. The wheels are purely for riding with mates in the summer and a couple of sportives.

Anyone have tubs for fun, or are they race only. Also will I be "phoning a friend" if I get a flatty?

Posts

  • DeVlaeminckDeVlaeminck Posts: 8,688
    Sell them - honestly you don't want to be faffing with tubs for general riding - I know some will say they use them for general riding but those people are few and far between.

    If they are campag I might be interested depending on what they are.
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • sloppyschleckondssloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    Ditch them.

    I may also be interested, what hubs and rims are they.
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • bikes`n`gunsbikes`n`guns Posts: 959
    Sell them,, I`ll give you 100 quid for them. Oh, and I`ll pay the postage as well.
    Trek,,,, too cool for school ,, apparently
  • dannyfagdannyfag Posts: 15
    Bikes`n`guns wrote:
    Sell them,, I`ll give you 100 quid for them. Oh, and I`ll pay the postage as well.

    They may be up for sale, new £1800, plus also have some nice tyres on them.... :D
  • sloppyschleckondssloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    dannyfag wrote:
    They may be up for sale, new £1800

    I'm out
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • rudivoller22rudivoller22 Posts: 492
    I'm leaning towards getting some tubs for racing, probably stick to clinchers for day to day riding though.

    Can anyone recommend a good entry level to get me started - dont want to spend a load of money only to not get on with them.

    A few places do 50mm carbon tubs for under £500 - PX and Fuerte Bici seem
    Pretty good value for me. Anyone recommend anything in that ball park? I'd be happy to get some built bit know nothing about carbon tubular rims (just had a set of hope/archetypes built for everyday riding).

    Would mainly be for longish rides in decent weather - and a couple of half ironman races and ironman uk in July.

    Cheers
  • northpolenorthpole Posts: 1,499
    Interesting dilemma you have facing you! All things being equal, my guess is that you should change to clinchers and sell your tubs without using them to maximise sales value. What I have no idea about is what the wheels are worth RRP and what you would realistically be able to sell them for - worth doing a bit of tracking on fleabay. If there's a massive financial hit to take, I might be tempted to keep them and see how you get on with them - where's the downside? If you decide they aren't for you, you may not loose much more value on the wheels than you'd be able to obtain selling them unused.

    Peter
  • StillGoingStillGoing Posts: 5,209
    Keep them. Tubs can be used for training as well as racing, just equip yourself for the one time you get a puncture. I carry a superglue pen, sealant and a spare pre-glued folded tub just in case and have never yet needed them. Fingers crossed it stays that way. There's no risk of pinch flats with tubs and changing them is a doddle provided you have left a small unglued section to get you started peeling the damaged tub off. The ride on tubs I find much smoother and let's not forget, tub wheels are cheaper than clinchers.
    I ride a bike. Doesn't make me green or a tree hugger. I drive a car too.
  • ugo.santaluciaugo.santalucia Posts: 28,042
    You can ride tubulars for fun, but only if you are prepared to learn a couple of new skills, like fitting them and repairing them. Shortcuts like using tape and repairing with sealant work in most cases and not all cases... so glue and pre-glued spare tyre are the safe option and I suggest you learn to do that.

    There is nothing intrinsically difficult, but you have to do the homework... if you are not prepared, don't bother with tubs
    left the forum March 2023
  • Iamnot WigginsIamnot Wiggins Posts: 685
    I'd keep them. I use tubs on my good bike & haven't had any issues. Just replace your spare tube with a thing of sealant if you get caught out. I carry Tufo sealant as numerous people I've spoken too said it works up to very high pressures.
  • racingcondorracingcondor Posts: 1,434
    I agree with Ugo. Carry a pre-glued spare and tubs are fine for training (and unless they're race wheels you're probably best off not mounting the lightest tyres you can find). What you will need though is a spare wheelset at home so that you have something to ride while you're gluing your tyres on after a puncture / worn out tyre.
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