tubs, worth it?

ugo.santalucia

The only downside of tubulars is the cost and/or hassle involved in repairing them. I have tried a few repairs myself, and whilst they hold air, they are neither pretty nor very confidence inspiring. On the other hand, a professional repair will cost you around 20 quid and a week... which is a bit more than 3 quid and 5 minutes.

The fact that they puncture less is a bit of a myth... they are the same tyres, so they puncture in the same way as the corresponding clincher with a latex or butyl inner tube, there is no reason why they would puncture less. Snakebite punctures of course don't happen, but who punctures that way on the road?

markwb79

ugo.santalucia wrote:

The only downside of tubulars is the cost and/or hassle involved in repairing them. I have tried a few repairs myself, and whilst they hold air, they are neither pretty nor very confidence inspiring. On the other hand, a professional repair will cost you around 20 quid and a week... which is a bit more than 3 quid and 5 minutes.

The fact that they puncture less is a bit of a myth... they are the same tyres, so they puncture in the same way as the corresponding clincher with a latex or butyl inner tube, there is no reason why they would puncture less. Snakebite punctures of course don't happen, but who punctures that way on the road?

So they do puncture less then?

ugo.santalucia

Markwb79 wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

The only downside of tubulars is the cost and/or hassle involved in repairing them. I have tried a few repairs myself, and whilst they hold air, they are neither pretty nor very confidence inspiring. On the other hand, a professional repair will cost you around 20 quid and a week... which is a bit more than 3 quid and 5 minutes.

The fact that they puncture less is a bit of a myth... they are the same tyres, so they puncture in the same way as the corresponding clincher with a latex or butyl inner tube, there is no reason why they would puncture less. Snakebite punctures of course don't happen, but who punctures that way on the road?

So they do puncture less then?

If you puncture by snake bite then yes, but being the kind that hops over a pothole, I've never had one. Tubeless of course is better for that too

dennisn

nibby wrote:

Similar to the OP and the only thing that is putting me off at the moment is
a. carrying a spare tub around as I just normally put a spare inner tube in my back pocket in a small case like a caddy sack at the moment as I hate having bags strapped to the bike
b. If I didn't carry a spare tub and run sealant is it still possible to fix a puncture at the roadside to get me home?
Cheers

a.)Carrying a spare in a jersey pocket is no big deal. I have done it for years.
b.)Yes. It is very possible to fix a tubular (on the road) with sealant. However as the saying goes "ya takes your chances". I NEVER go out for a ride without a spare. I think you'll find that NOT carrying a spare will cause you a whole lot more more grief than stuffing one in your pocket. Standing around waiting for someone to come and get you is, well, I don't want to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Neither do I want to be called to go and get the idiot who didn't carry a spare.

964cup

Pre-inserted sealant makes a big difference, although it dries out eventually and can clog the valve (so Vittorias, or any other tub with removable valve cores are to be preferred). Some people think it can ruin the latex inner (by sticking it together) but this has yet to happen to me. I ride 24mm Pave in the winter and Ultremo HT in summer on my best bike, with a mixture of Corsa Evo CG and tyres-that-came-with-the-wheels on other wheelsets. Anecdotally I have fewer punctures than my riding mates; I will say that I can change a tub faster than a clincher, once I've got the bastarding thing out of the Tubi saddle bag. I assume Arundel sized them for silk tubs and have never updated the design - or they're just better at folding than me.

bjl

It seems the Tufo 160 is popular as a get you home spare , however they are about £50 , noticed that Merlin cycles have a 120 gram Schwalbe track tubular for £25 , I realise they may be a little fragile but as a get you home ride careful option that should fold up really small they may be worth a go , anyone used them ?

964cup

I think it's a false economy to use a really fragile tub as a get-me-home. You can fold pretty well any road tub into a medium-sized saddle bag, or make it into a jersey-pocket sized package (or wrap it in plastic and use a toe-strap to fix it under the saddle). I've got a Schwalble Ultremo HT; a Vittoria Corsa Evo CX (granted, it's a 21c); and a Mavic Yksium (Griplink, I think) as spares on my three tub-equipped bikes. All of them are pretty well as durable as the tyres the bike is actually rolling on. It would be boring, after all, to turn back after 5 miles of a 100-miler because your spare was too fragile to rely on, or have to chance descending an alpine climb on a tyre meant to be used without brakes on a smooth indoor surface.

cal_stewart

IMHO yes, I've puncture once in 10000km due to leaving a tub on to long.

Tubs are faster to change than an inner tub anyway. Costs a downside even in sales you're looking at 40-45

dennisn

bjl wrote:

It seems the Tufo 160 is popular as a get you home spare , however they are about £50 , noticed that Merlin cycles have a 120 gram Schwalbe track tubular for £25 , I realise they may be a little fragile but as a get you home ride careful option that should fold up really small they may be worth a go , anyone used them ?

For me it's grasping at straws to worry about the weight of a tubular spare. Just buy a cheapie tubular and forget about the weight. It's not something that will make a big or any difference, for that matter in your cycling.