To tape or glue

Shaun67

I know it must have been asked an hundred times, but with all the technological advances which is best, to use glue or tape for tubular tyres ?

Alejandrosdog

i found glue to give a more satisfying finish but tape is cleaner and works perfectly well.

If i was doing lots i would glue. if its a one off or annual replacement get tape.

StillGoing

Glue and I carried a pre-glued spare just in case, but with the tubular sealants you can get now, there's probably no need to carry a spare anymore. I always left about 4" unglued opposite the valve to make getting a tube off at the roadside a lot easier and the pre-glued spare would stick without problem once it came into contact with the residue glue on the rim.

backo

used to always glue but find taping much easier and less mess..tape for me these days

964cup

Tape. Cleaner, much easier to change the tyre at the roadside. More expensive, and needs practice as you can't easily adjust the lay of the tyre as you fit it, but no other downsides. Be aware that the London velodrome insists on glue though, so YMMV if you're riding track.

imposter2.0

Always used tape for road use. Never had an issue. I've always glued track tubs though...

akh

964Cup wrote:

Tape. Cleaner, much easier to change the tyre at the roadside. More expensive, and needs practice as you can't easily adjust the lay of the tyre as you fit it, but no other downsides. Be aware that the London velodrome insists on glue though, so YMMV if you're riding track.

Manchester also insists on glue. Anyone know if there's a valid reason why velodromes seem to insist on glue?

thegreatdivide

Glue for me.

As philthy said above, the spare tub is not longer required. Tufe Extreme will get you home.

imposter2.0

AKH wrote:

Manchester also insists on glue. Anyone know if there's a valid reason why velodromes seem to insist on glue?

I think because glue offers a better chance of the tub staying on the rim in case of a blowout, given the higher lateral forces on the banking. In reality, it would depend on how well the tub had been glued...

Matthewfalle

tape here always - cleaner, quicker, less hassle, all the good points.

quicker to change a taped tub than a tubed clincher.

only used on the road and turbo though, so can't comment foe 'dromes.

agree re sealant & foam stuff as well.

never use clinchers - only tubs all year round

simon_masterson

Imposter wrote:

AKH wrote:

Manchester also insists on glue. Anyone know if there's a valid reason why velodromes seem to insist on glue?

I think because glue offers a better chance of the tub staying on the rim in case of a blowout, given the higher lateral forces on the banking. In reality, it would depend on how well the tub had been glued...

I had always used glue (still do on TT bike), but I tried tape last time I needed to stick tubs on - seems to have worked well. In addition to the adhesion issue, If looking at it from a performance perspective (glue vs tape), I would imagine that the tub would have to be glued really, really well with Mastik One - to the point of being extremely difficult to remove. If applying a couple of coats and leaving an unglued section to help with removal, I can't see there being much benefit over properly applied modern tub tape. (Effetto Mariposa, etc)

shortfall

Considering tubulars for my next wheel purchase. Couple of questions. Firstly, I'm around 17 stone. Would tape be safe for someone of my weight? I'm not going to be doing any Alpine descents but I do a lot of cycling in the Yorkshire Dales which have plenty of very steep descents albeit not usually that long. I'll be going carbon so heat build up in the rim is a concern for me and I want to be sure that the tub can't come unstuck and roll off the rim. Secondly, what are people's recommendations for a good all round tyre for general road use? I won't be racing so longevity and decent puncture protection is more important to me than outright grip and ultimate rolling resistance. The tubs I've seen advertised seem very pricy compared to clinchers and more on a par with tubeless tyres with 40 to 50 quid each seeming to be the norm.
Thanks.

jgsi

Shortfall wrote:

Considering tubulars for my next wheel purchase. Couple of questions. Firstly, I'm around 17 stone. Would tape be safe for someone of my weight? I'm not going to be doing any Alpine descents but I do a lot of cycling in the Yorkshire Dales which have plenty of very steep descents albeit not usually that long. I'll be going carbon so heat build up in the rim is a concern for me and I want to be sure that the tub can't come unstuck and roll off the rim. Secondly, what are people's recommendations for a good all round tyre for general road use? I won't be racing so longevity and decent puncture protection is more important to me than outright grip and ultimate rolling resistance. The tubs I've seen advertised seem very pricy compared to clinchers and more on a par with tubeless tyres with 40 to 50 quid each seeming to be the norm.
Thanks.

I’m surprised you are thinking of tubs.
I race with FFWD tubs but my go to wheels for training are Mavic clinchers.

shortfall

JGSI wrote:

Shortfall wrote:

Considering tubulars for my next wheel purchase. Couple of questions. Firstly, I'm around 17 stone. Would tape be safe for someone of my weight? I'm not going to be doing any Alpine descents but I do a lot of cycling in the Yorkshire Dales which have plenty of very steep descents albeit not usually that long. I'll be going carbon so heat build up in the rim is a concern for me and I want to be sure that the tub can't come unstuck and roll off the rim. Secondly, what are people's recommendations for a good all round tyre for general road use? I won't be racing so longevity and decent puncture protection is more important to me than outright grip and ultimate rolling resistance. The tubs I've seen advertised seem very pricy compared to clinchers and more on a par with tubeless tyres with 40 to 50 quid each seeming to be the norm.
Thanks.

I’m surprised you are thinking of tubs.
I race with FFWD tubs but my go to wheels for training are Mavic clinchers.

A few reasons really. I'm curious to see how they compare to my tubeless set up in terms of feel, the apparent ease of set up using tape rather than glue, the fact that tubular wheelsets seem a bit cheaper than tubeless and clincher equivalents, the weight saving, and the bling factor.

sungod

Shortfall wrote:

Considering tubulars for my next wheel purchase. Couple of questions. Firstly, I'm around 17 stone. Would tape be safe for someone of my weight? I'm not going to be doing any Alpine descents but I do a lot of cycling in the Yorkshire Dales which have plenty of very steep descents albeit not usually that long. I'll be going carbon so heat build up in the rim is a concern for me and I want to be sure that the tub can't come unstuck and roll off the rim. Secondly, what are people's recommendations for a good all round tyre for general road use? I won't be racing so longevity and decent puncture protection is more important to me than outright grip and ultimate rolling resistance. The tubs I've seen advertised seem very pricy compared to clinchers and more on a par with tubeless tyres with 40 to 50 quid each seeming to be the norm.
Thanks.

fwiw i always glue (vittoria mastik'one)

all wheel/tyre systems can have issues if they get too hot, but if you get a cf rim hot enough to melt glue i think you'll have other things to worry about!

for correctly mounted tubs matched to the rim "rolling off" isn't a common event in road/track cycling - think of all the races in the mountains, all the track races, probably it's happened but i can't recall ever seeing it

i'd expect it to be more common 'cross riding with fat tyres at low pressures

but at road pressure even an unglued tub can stay on the rim remarkably well

good tubs are made in are lower volumes than clinchers and it's labour intensive, reflected in the price

veloflex are what i usually ride, match the tub width to the rim width, choice of black or natural sidewall

for normal road tyres, as far as puncture resistance goes there's not much in it, veloflex/vittoria/dugast/conti/schwalbe will all cut on sharp glass/flints in wet weather

grip/ride of ones i've ridden a lot...
- dugast grip best i've tried, but they run a bit heavy, ride great
- veloflex grip good, better than vittoria g+ in the dry, ride great
- vittoria g+, grip not quite as good as veloflex in the dry, a bit better in the wet, ride great

...of the three i'd say veloflex are most durable, all can be repaired by hand, also all seal well with tufo extreme

only tried these once, didn't like either...
- conti black competition, grip good, ride poor
- conti gatorskins, really poor wet grip, seem no more cut resistant than the others, ride awful

btw uk prices can be far higher than buying in france, i get most of mine from there

shortfall

sungod wrote:

Shortfall wrote:

Considering tubulars for my next wheel purchase. Couple of questions. Firstly, I'm around 17 stone. Would tape be safe for someone of my weight? I'm not going to be doing any Alpine descents but I do a lot of cycling in the Yorkshire Dales which have plenty of very steep descents albeit not usually that long. I'll be going carbon so heat build up in the rim is a concern for me and I want to be sure that the tub can't come unstuck and roll off the rim. Secondly, what are people's recommendations for a good all round tyre for general road use? I won't be racing so longevity and decent puncture protection is more important to me than outright grip and ultimate rolling resistance. The tubs I've seen advertised seem very pricy compared to clinchers and more on a par with tubeless tyres with 40 to 50 quid each seeming to be the norm.
Thanks.

fwiw i always glue (vittoria mastik'one)

all wheel/tyre systems can have issues if they get too hot, but if you get a cf rim hot enough to melt glue i think you'll have other things to worry about!

for correctly mounted tubs matched to the rim "rolling off" isn't a common event in road/track cycling - think of all the races in the mountains, all the track races, probably it's happened but i can't recall ever seeing it

i'd expect it to be more common 'cross riding with fat tyres at low pressures

but at road pressure even an unglued tub can stay on the rim remarkably well

good tubs are made in are lower volumes than clinchers and it's labour intensive, reflected in the price

veloflex are what i usually ride, match the tub width to the rim width, choice of black or natural sidewall

for normal road tyres, as far as puncture resistance goes there's not much in it, veloflex/vittoria/dugast/conti/schwalbe will all cut on sharp glass/flints in wet weather

grip/ride of ones i've ridden a lot...
- dugast grip best i've tried, but they run a bit heavy, ride great
- veloflex grip good, better than vittoria g+ in the dry, ride great
- vittoria g+, grip not quite as good as veloflex in the dry, a bit better in the wet, ride great

...of the three i'd say veloflex are most durable, all can be repaired by hand, also all seal well with tufo extreme

only tried these once, didn't like either...
- conti black competition, grip good, ride poor
- conti gatorskins, really poor wet grip, seem no more cut resistant than the others, ride awful

btw uk prices can be far higher than buying in france, i get most of mine from there

Thanks for sharing.

joe2008

Always ride tubulars, always use glue. I enjoy the process.

I ride tubulars because they are great to ride, they are less hassle if you puncture, and they are far safer in the event of a high speed blow-out.

Matthewfalle

tape will be fine and conti sprinters will tick every box.

neeb

Glue, and pay someone else to do it.. ;-)

Glueing's a faff and it makes your house smell. Tubulars ridden in summer don't seem to puncture very often so I consider it an affordable luxury to pay a local bike shop £20 to do it. I may be very lucky to have someone local who does it to a professional standard for that price..

A properly glued tub can take a few minutes to remove at the side of the road (I just use a rounded plastic tyre lever to get it started), but it's not much worse than a tight clincher and it's once in a blue moon you have to do it.

964cup

"Sealant will get you home". No it won't.

3 cases in point -

1: Exploded a tub on a (thankfully supported) sportive descending the back of Box Hill. Ran over some glass at reasonably high speed; the sidewall split (Vittoria CX, IIRC). Quite a loud bang.

2. Briefly locked up a Corsa Speed braking on a sketchy surface descending into the valley on the CdF. Instantly went through the rubber and the canvas. Hole was about 1 cm long.

3. Had a tub (Corsa G+) fail at the tyre end of the valve stem. Sealant (Tufo Extreme) was just pissing out of the join; it might have sealed eventually but the valve had clogged to death by then.

Always carry a spare on any ride from which you don't fancy taking an Uber home. A Tufo Elite Jet <160 is about the same size rolled as an inner tube, but will get you home (carefully). An Arundel Tubi saddlebag will take any normal road tub along with a tyre lever, half a roll of tape, a gas can and a gas head. Had them on all my bikes before I switched to tubeless throughout.

imposter2.0

neeb wrote:

Glueing's a faff and it makes your house smell.

It is what it is. Some things are a faff, but still worth doing. As for any 'house smell' issues - simply glue them in the garage.

neeb

Imposter wrote:

neeb wrote:

Glueing's a faff and it makes your house smell.

It is what it is. Some things are a faff, but still worth doing. As for any 'house smell' issues - simply glue them in the garage.

I live in a 3rd floor flat, so the garage isn't an option..

If you enjoy it, fine. Personally I don't, although I've done it in the past - I build all of my own bikes and do all of my own maintence otherwise, but I'd rather have my tubs glued by someone who does several a week and is very good at it, and not have smelly tyres hanging around my flat between applications..

They give you the fright of your life when you forget they're there and end up with one around your neck when going to the toilet in the middle of the night in the dark..

Also I've got to have some excuse to provide custom for the local bike shop!

shortfall

Is new tape needed for every new tyre?

imposter2.0

Shortfall wrote:

Is new tape needed for every new tyre?

In my experience, yes. Assuming you mean that if you are replacing a tyre, you can't usually use the existing tape..

shortfall

Imposter wrote:

Shortfall wrote:

Is new tape needed for every new tyre?

In my experience, yes. Assuming you mean that if you are replacing a tyre, you can't usually use the existing tape..

Yes that's what I meant. I take it the old stuff just peels off easily?

Matthewfalle

it either peels off in one long strip like a piece of tape or sticks to the old tyre.

brazilian times better than glue.

Matthewfalle

but as its about £4 for a roll of Jantex that does 2 tires its not that bad.

Matthewfalle

no need to pay anyone anything to fit tubs let alone £20 (!!!!!!!!!!) a tire.

Alejandrosdog

sungod wrote:

Shortfall wrote:

Considering tubulars for my next wheel purchase. Couple of questions. Firstly, I'm around 17 stone. Would tape be safe for someone of my weight? I'm not going to be doing any Alpine descents but I do a lot of cycling in the Yorkshire Dales which have plenty of very steep descents albeit not usually that long. I'll be going carbon so heat build up in the rim is a concern for me and I want to be sure that the tub can't come unstuck and roll off the rim. Secondly, what are people's recommendations for a good all round tyre for general road use? I won't be racing so longevity and decent puncture protection is more important to me than outright grip and ultimate rolling resistance. The tubs I've seen advertised seem very pricy compared to clinchers and more on a par with tubeless tyres with 40 to 50 quid each seeming to be the norm.
Thanks.

fwiw i always glue (vittoria mastik'one)

all wheel/tyre systems can have issues if they get too hot, but if you get a cf rim hot enough to melt glue i think you'll have other things to worry about!

for correctly mounted tubs matched to the rim "rolling off" isn't a common event in road/track cycling - think of all the races in the mountains, all the track races, probably it's happened but i can't recall ever seeing it

i'd expect it to be more common 'cross riding with fat tyres at low pressures

but at road pressure even an unglued tub can stay on the rim remarkably well

good tubs are made in are lower volumes than clinchers and it's labour intensive, reflected in the price

veloflex are what i usually ride, match the tub width to the rim width, choice of black or natural sidewall

for normal road tyres, as far as puncture resistance goes there's not much in it, veloflex/vittoria/dugast/conti/schwalbe will all cut on sharp glass/flints in wet weather

grip/ride of ones i've ridden a lot...
- dugast grip best i've tried, but they run a bit heavy, ride great
- veloflex grip good, better than vittoria g+ in the dry, ride great
- vittoria g+, grip not quite as good as veloflex in the dry, a bit better in the wet, ride great

...of the three i'd say veloflex are most durable, all can be repaired by hand, also all seal well with tufo extreme

only tried these once, didn't like either...
- conti black competition, grip good, ride poor
- conti gatorskins, really poor wet grip, seem no more cut resistant than the others, ride awful

btw uk prices can be far higher than buying in france, i get most of mine from there

you dont remember beloki??? I believe the the phil show was just banging on about how awesome Armstrong was when he rode accross the field to avoid the rolled tub carnage

imposter2.0

Shortfall wrote:

Imposter wrote:

Shortfall wrote:

Is new tape needed for every new tyre?

In my experience, yes. Assuming you mean that if you are replacing a tyre, you can't usually use the existing tape..

Yes that's what I meant. I take it the old stuff just peels off easily?

I've only ever used Jantex, which is easy enough to remove. It either comes off with the tyre, or sticks to the rim, or sometimes a bit of both. The newest Jantex tapes with the plastic backing makes tyre fitting very easy - the old paper backings really were a test of patience..

Matthewfalle

Imposter wrote:

Shortfall wrote:

Imposter wrote:

Shortfall wrote:

Is new tape needed for every new tyre?

In my experience, yes. Assuming you mean that if you are replacing a tyre, you can't usually use the existing tape..

Yes that's what I meant. I take it the old stuff just peels off easily?

I've only ever used Jantex, which is easy enough to remove. It either comes off with the tyre, or sticks to the rim, or sometimes a bit of both. The newest Jantex tapes with the plastic backing makes tyre fitting very easy - the old paper backings really were a test of patience..

this exactly.