Tub Advice - would be gratefully received

LatimerC

So, I got me my first set of tubs (rims and tyres already glued) second hand off ebay and used them yesterday for first time.

Good news: they definitely worked better than clinchers at lower pressure, worked well on the squelchy stuff and confidence inspiring when off-camber.

Bad news: I rolled the rear tub off on an off-camber section! Managed to avoid a DNF by switching to spare clincher and salvage a few meagre league points

I'm not massively surprised or upset, I think that's sometimes what you get with buying second hand and not knowing the detailed history of your kit - you pays yer money etc...

So I reckon the glue's probably past it, and they're going in to my LBS for re-gluing, but before doing that, any tips on how to inspect the tyres to see if they're still worth re-gluing? Tread seems to be in decent nick, and I don't see any obvious damage to sidewall etc. but am interested in any tub-specific telltale signs to look out for if any exist? Last thing I want to do is glue them back on then find the sidewall's rotted when I could have just glued a brand new tyre on.

How many times (roughly as a guide) do people re-glue existing tyres onto rims? Is this a once-a season job or do you re-glue after a certain amount of use - or just leave it until the tyre's beyond repair / reuse and re-glue with a brand new tyre?

I guess some of this depends on conditions / use, and budgeteary constraints or lack of - Any tips or advice very welcome.

Many thanks.

trek_dan

If they don't look rotten and hold air should be fine. The problem I've had with removing older tubs is that the backing tape comes away when you try and get them off.

LatimerC

Thanks for that, basetape thankfully intact on the rear, and hopefully not too much muck stuck to it / will cleanup OK.

I'm going to give the rim-tyre bond a good prod/ inspection on the front tyre and (assuming it's same condition as the rear) see if I can spot any external signs of the bond starting to fail.

VamP

Deflate and wrestle with the front as if your life depends on it. It kind of does actually. Any sign of peeling away from the rim - then remove and re-glue. If the glue job was shoddy on the rear, it will be shoddy on the front too.

Glue jobs shouldn't deteriorate over the lifespan of a tub, so my money is on it not having been done properly in the first place.

Learn to glue yourself. It's not hard, you'll save money, and have the faith in your equipment that you'll never get with someone else's glue job.

To evaluate state of current tub, maybe post a pic?

LatimerC

Thanks VamP, I'll see if I can get a decent pic. My thoughts were following yours - if the back glue job's no good the front's probably on it's way out too. I'll get the shop to do both for peace of mind probably. Will be interesting to see what 'give' there is when wrestling with the front!

Gluing my own is definitely on my list of things to master - just need to finish building my bike fettling shed first so I don't end up sticking everything to the kitchen table.

VamP

Worth establishing your LBS CX credentials - I have seen some shops with shocking gluing practices - if they are not used to gluing cross tubs, they might just do it like they do road tubs. It's a very different thing.