Racing Ralph tubs?

trek_dan

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TBSCRRHTE/ ... bular-tyre

Anybody have any experience of these? Seem like a steal at £21 each. I've always used Challenge tubs for cyclocross so have absolutely no idea what there like, reviews online seem limited too. I use the clincher version on my MTB and rate them.

VamP

The only thing I know about them is that they have a butyl inner, and that no-one* uses them.

* - By no-one, I mean that I have yet to spot anyone on the start line using them.

Last time I bought mega cheap tubs from a discount outlet - it may even have been Planet X - they were the Vittoria XG, which are woeful. So I'd tread carefully, especially as it's not just the financial commitment with tubs, is it?

I suspect there will be a tubular version of the X-One, and I further suspect that it will be rather good.

bendertherobot

I'm using the clincher of the X-One which is great and now the clincher of the X-One bite which was just outstanding in the mud last weekend. Cheap as well.

VamP

I have it on good authority that Nick Craig rode the X-Ones set up tubeless at the really rather very muddy Durham Trophy race couple of weeks ago. That's the regular X-Ones not the Toothy ones.

bendertherobot

I ride the regular ones tubeless and they're brilliant. Just wanted that bit more grip in the really bad stuff. For lighter riders I reckon the normal ones are a great choice.

VamP

Would you get reliable performance from a tubeless set up at 16 psi? That's the acid test to get these things adopted.

ugo.santalucia

why would they be bad? If you can go down to under 20 PSI without pinching them, they'll be better than a clincher in the mud

bendertherobot

I'd have to have something capable of showing me 16PSI.

If it's any consolation I accidentally did a road ride then other day on S-One at 20 psi. Felt a bit weird on a couple of cattle grids but otherwise didn't really notice. My fault for not checking pre ride.

trek_dan

I hate everything about tubeless tyres so thats definitely not an option for me. I know people baulk at the gluing process but in my experience thus far I actually find it far less hassle than getting tubeless to seat and seal properly.

VamP

Yeah, I'm not an early adopter on tubeless either. Have seen too many race burps and the tears and the rest.

@Ugo - he's not comparing to clinchers though. And not all tubs are created equal. Not by a long way.

VamP

16 psi is where you bottom out every 100 yards or so. It is very very soft. It is the softest you can get tyres to be and still consider them in any way to have air in them. It is not measured with a gauge, but with a gentle squeeze.

It is also the place where grip is to be found when there is no grip. 8)

devhads

I think tubeless has got better and more and more people are adopting it. The tyres are now better with Clement, Vittoria and Schwalbe all putting out decent tubeless ready tyres. They're no longer heavy and tough, with 350g tyres with 150+TPI being available. I'd previously used it on my MTB so tried it for the 3 Peaks and it was flawless.

I've just bought a new tubeless wheelset and doubt I will use my tubs this year. I haven't tried tubeless at anything below 25 yet but a team mate has had success at 20psi. If it doesn't work at really low pressures I've never had problems with Challenge open tubulars and latex tubes at 18f/20r so will just do that.

VamP

Yeah but Mastik. Because.

devhads

VamP wrote:

Yeah but Mastik. Because.

Mastik One >>> Schwalbe One. It's the future.

tgotb

VamP wrote:

16 psi is where you bottom out every 100 yards or so. It is very very soft. It is the softest you can get tyres to be and still consider them in any way to have air in them. It is not measured with a gauge, but with a gentle squeeze.

It is also the place where grip is to be found when there is no grip. 8)

I rode both the Nationals and the MK trophy race last year at 12/13psi. In the Nationals I was bottoming out on pretty much every root, but it was still the right pressure for me :-)

I persevered for a long time with tubeless, but never got them to work reliably much below 20. Even at 22/23 (which is what I tend to use for training in the mud) you can burp the rear if you corner too aggressively on a bit of tarmac. Mind you, with tubs at 12/13psi on tarmac I'm normally cr*pping myself riding anything but the straightest line...

VamP

TGOTB wrote:

VamP wrote:

16 psi is where you bottom out every 100 yards or so. It is very very soft. It is the softest you can get tyres to be and still consider them in any way to have air in them. It is not measured with a gauge, but with a gentle squeeze.

It is also the place where grip is to be found when there is no grip. 8)

I rode both the Nationals and the MK trophy race last year at 12/13psi. In the Nationals I was bottoming out on pretty much every root, but it was still the right pressure for me :-)

I persevered for a long time with tubeless, but never got them to work reliably much below 20. Even at 22/23 (which is what I tend to use for training in the mud) you can burp the rear if you corner too aggressively on a bit of tarmac. Mind you, with tubs at 12/13psi on tarmac I'm normally cr*pping myself riding anything but the straightest line...

We haven't yet tackled the thorny subject of gauge accuracy. I find my little gauges under-read quite significantly - i.e. 16psi comes out as 12 psi, and furthermore, you lose a bit of pressure by the act of measuring. I have now given up on measuring, but have a developed a finely honed sense of calibrated hand pressure squeeze measurement.

I don't actually believe 12 psi is rideable on 33mm tyres. Even for 55kg racing snakes. I suspect your 12 and my 16 are very similar

VamP

devhads wrote:

VamP wrote:

Yeah but Mastik. Because.

Mastik One >>> Schwalbe One. It's the future.

Maybe. Last year Effeto Mariposa Carogna was the future. The year before that it was disc brakes. Before that we had indexed gears. And look how that turned out

I protest too much. Only earlier today I purchased a pair of 28mm Ones.

trek_dan

VamP wrote:

devhads wrote:

VamP wrote:

Yeah but Mastik. Because.

Mastik One >>> Schwalbe One. It's the future.

Last year Effeto Mariposa Carogna was the future

A local bike shop race team have all been using that tape this year, I remain skeptical but apparently it REALLY is the future

VamP

It seems they have trouble with batch control. Most of the time it works very well, but every so often a duff batch turns up.

Two guys in our club have used it, one has had no issues, the other had very poor adhesion.

Me, I like the whole glue faff.

LeePaton

Had a set of these they were pretty good but obviously not FMB/Dugast quality, not ran challenge tubs so can't compare to them. Felt I could abuse them a bit more for some reason than the boutiques though.

Pleasure to put on with effetto tape never had an issue with the tape at all myself.