Tubular vs clincher

macguyver

daveryanwyoming

I would like to hear from the forum members on the pros & cons of these wheelsets.
... Have heard about many bad expierences with tire changes on the tubulars! CHIME IN!!I've ridden both tubulars and clinchers on various bikes over the years. Tubulars tend to be lighter for similar wheels, never pinch flat, typically have a great smooth ride and have a great feel while cornering. They tend to be more expensive over time since most folks no longer repair their own, they're pretty messy to install since you deal with some nasty glue to hold them on and since field repairs aren't very common (touring cyclists on sew-ups used to carry a handy stitcher to do full repairs in the field but that's pretty rare these days and not much fun) you have to carry at least one and preferably two spares for long rides. (kinda offsets the small weight advantages for non racers who don't have a support vehicle chasing them with spare wheels)

Modern high end clinchers aren't much heavier and as many of the tech folks on this forum will remind you; weight differentials, even rotating weight, measured in grams has virtually no performance impact on your cycling. Good ones corner surprisingly well. There's a certain talent to quick tube changes with high pressure clinchers but it's not nearly as messy since there's no glue involved. I also like the peace of mind with clinchers since I don't have to worry about how well the glue has bonded on a field change when I'm hurtling towards a fast corner. High end clinchers aren't cheap, but tubes and patches are, so you don't trash the tire (or have to find someone skilled to do your sew-up repairs) with every flat.

I used to train on clinchers and race on sew-ups, but these days my track bike has sew-ups on all wheel sets and I ride Michelin Pro clinchers on all my road wheelsets. Track wheels don't flat very often so I didn't see much sense in changing wheels there but when I moved up to 8/9/10 speed hubs I chose clinchers. I'm real happy with the way the Michelin tires ride and don't miss my sew-ups too much. If I win the lottery I might consider some trick sew-ups for crits just 'cause I like the feel in the corners but I don't really think they'd make me go any faster.

Good luck,
Dave

Tech72

I rode tubulars for many years - various wheelsets with Mavic GEL280, Mavic GP4 and Ambrosio Excellence tubular rims with Wolber, Continental, Vittoria and Pariba tubular tires. Tubulars are definitely great riding, better feel, rolling resistance, grip and comfort than any clinchers I've ever rode on. So why did I sell all my tubular wheelsets and am currently riding nothing but clinchers (Mavic Ksyriums, Cosmics, Open CD's and Rolf)? Simple; what a pain in the **** tubulars were to live with. I loathed every flat repair and new tire glue-up job. Time consuming and dreadful work. I would still ride tubulars if I had a team of mechanics to take care of my tubular wheelsets - but I don't. Tubulars are a dream to ride but a nightmare to live with.

For all their high maintenance, it's always nice to have a top notch tubular wheelset for the special ride or event though. I do regret getting rid of all my tubular wheelsets.......

John M

mrklein

I would like to hear from the forum members on the pros & cons of these wheelsets.
I am considering going with the tubular cause of the higher psi i can run & the weight savings- but I am not involved in any type racing-at least not yet & not any time soon but I wont rule it out completely.I just ride alot / train. Have heard about many bad expierences with tire changes on the tubulars! CHIME IN!!
Thanks!!!I have been riding nothing but tubulars for thirty years except for a set of ksyriums I used last year. I liked the the fact that with the clinchers a patch kit and two tubes lets me do a long solo ride in a rural area without worry. Other than that I really like the tubulars better; better ride, better cornering, lighter stronger wheels. This year I put over 3000 miles on a set of conti sprinters and they are not bald. I normally ride about 5000 mi per year and almost never flat.(Famous last words!) On the other hand I never ride in suburbia and weight 135 so this helps and I always wipe the tires after going thru debris. I do carry two tires on long rides and if you flat in the hills the new tire is not too secure which is scary. Bottom line? I like tubulars but the other posts on this subject are correct in that they cost more and many people don't like the mess. I don't have any problems but I know how to do it. I justify tubulars because biking is my passion and this is my one time to spend a little extra. Also, I have friends who are into boats and bikes, ANY bike is nothing cost wise compared to that! (Two blown big blocks drink a lot of gas all at marine prices!)

carpediemracing

the big points got hit before but to summarize:

tubular:
PROS: no pinch flats (hence their popularity in cross racing), lighter, better handling in narrower sizes (due to no bead). they accelerate super well. you can ride a flat tubular for a while to get home or to a phone or whatever. the tire holds the pressure so the rim can be lighter.
CONS: pain to glue, messy, and if you skimp on this step, you roll a tire (even worse than a messy glue job). even if you don't flat, you should reglue every couple years. hard to find tires sometimes. if you flat you really shouldn't just mount another and keep going - your ride is done. tread is usually off a bit, even with a proper glue job. tires cost a lot and they're hard to patch (I've patched a lot of tubulars but only a couple come out "good enough to race"). broken spoke and have to access the spoke nipple? time to reglue.

If you glue properly, you'll never roll a tire. The fear of rolling a tire was drummed into my head as a kid so I always, always make sure my tires on are securely. You may roll a portion of a tire in a bad crash, but it will be virtually impossible to remove the tire from the rim without a screwdriver and a lot of swear words. Rolling a tire is inexcusable, and you can be liable if you roll a tire and cause a crash.

clincher:
PROS: you can install them quickly, cleanly. changing a flat, if you're fluent and vigorous, will take, say, 2 minutes even with a regular pump. sub 60 seconds was the record on a group ride for a clincher tube change and semi-rideable pressure. straight tread. cheap to buy, cheap to fix.
CONS: pinch flat. narrow tires dont handle well, esp if the rim is made for wider tires (say a rim for 23 mm tires and you have a 19 mm tire). little bit heavier, both in the rim and the tire.

Tubulars leap forward and corner great, but when speed is not changing a lot (i.e. you're averaging 25 mph) then they really don't do anything. Climbing - well, technically tubulars will be better but I'm limited by my lack of climbing strength. My rides consist of jumps/sprints joined by recovery periods (because I enjoy it, not for any training reason) - and tubulars are ideal for that.

cdr

Bigbananabike

I too have raced on tubulars - NEVER AGAIN:mad: .
For all the reasons stated above.
I can see no good reason you(or I - and I do race) would have for using them.
Clinchers and their rims keep getting better and the difference between the best of them and the best tubs is very small now.

CAMPYBOB

for 34 years i've ridden sew-ups. i've ridden all brands and all price ranges from the old $10 trainers (now cost me $18 bought in quantity) to $80 full-race clements.

sew-ups are just magic.

much the same as a perfectly fitted fine italian steel bike, they just resonate with the feel of the road and the bike responding to your input. this still holds true despite the closing of the so-called 'performance gap' between tire types.

and despite what a trainload of 'experts' will tell you, sew-ups just plain feel faster. maybe the ARE faster and maybe they AREN'T. no matter, your brain WILL tell you they are faster and you WILL be faster. frankly, they just feel fast.

i spent this last summer mostly training on clinchers (mavic open pro rims, vredstein fortezza 175 psi tires, 32-3x dt db spokes on campy chorus hubs) for the first time since i bought my first racing bike way back in '72. i have to admit, no flats in over 3500 miles was damned impressive performance! if this is indicative of the reliability of modern high-performance wired-on tires i am HIGHLY impressed! i remember one particularly unlucky season of 8,000 or so miles of training and racing when i went thru 36 sew-ups! better than 3 a month (don't ride much in the winter) average. dang near one a week. admittedly, most years it was 8 to 12 trashed tires.

recently i bolted on that bikes racing wheelset. a pair of mavic reflex rimes, cheap $18 made-in-thailand copies of the old vittoria club training tire, the same 32-3x dt db spoking and campy record hubs. the difference was...well, like having a brand new bike under me.

again, despite what the 'experts' say, my expirienced hind end says the bike accellerates noticeably quicker, climbs easier, rides smother and dives into a corner with better grip. that matters nore to me than all the charts and graphs.

like mrklein said, it's only money. if you got it to spend, i can't think of a better tire than a clemente criterium seta extra! or maybe a pair of hutchison matte tread track 'pistas' that will have you dropping your training buds like flies on that long, hard climb at the end of the ride!

regards,
campybob

zorly

Sew ups (tubulars) are nice, but with me it comes down to the cash expenditure.
A flat on a sew-up is a nightmare any way you look at it, unless of course you can throw down 80 bucks or so (for a new tire) every time you get a flat, or have the time and patience to fix it. Also, any sealant I have ever tried with a tubular might get you home, but it won't stand up to the high tire pressures we use on the road.
Honestly, I have had 3 flats on a single ride more than once. Generally from the punks watching their beer bottles exploding off of the road signs, leaving shards of invisible glass on the road way.
Sew-ups are neat, but unless you have excess time and/ or money to burn, I'd leave them alone, unless perhaps you'd like a set for use on the race days.