Corima wheelsets, choosing tubs or clincher

In article <[email protected]>, Robert Brown <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm considering going the aero route, for long-distance rides and races (100 - 300 km).
>
> One option I have is to buy the Corima aero wheelset. They are sold in clincher and
> tubular/singles variants. Not too expensive either. So which should I buy?
>
> Have any of you tried them?
>
> Disadvantages I see with the Corima clincher setup:
> - Tyre puncture risks destroying a pretty expensive carbon wheel if I cannot stop the bike before
> the rim contacts the pavement (on singles, the tyre spreads itself on puncturing, protecting
> the rim)
> - Manufacturer-specified max pressure 7,5 bar / 110 psi
> - Each wheel weighs 100 g more (not counting tyre and tube)
>
> A disadvantage I see with the singles setup:
> - Tyres are becoming rarer (what happened to Barum, Clément, Dordoigne, ... ?) and are of worse
> quality, so how many years left before I have to chuck the wheelset?

Roughly never. The last time bikes were produced with 27" wheels in any quantity was probably
sometime in the early 1980s. Nevertheless, you can purchase new 27" rubber from most well-stocked
bike shops and can order new 27" rims (or pre-built wheels) with ease.

Tubulars are still used by many if not most pro riders, virtually all serious track racers, and most
of my traditionalist riding buddies. The high end of the tubie market should persist for longer than
you have these rims.

I use clinchers on my own bike, but that's a combination of me being cheap and the bike having come
with them.

> As background, my current wheels are MA3/Veloce with Veloflex Master rubber. In my previous life
> (in 70's and 80's) I used singles exclusively, racing in Canberra, so I'm very comfortable using
> both tyre types. I am impressed though, after rediscovering cycling this past summer, at the
> advances made in clincher equipment, which is why I am trying a clincher wheelset at the moment
> and I have to admit it's quite good.

If you like clinchers, use them. They're easy to find in almost every price and quality from
$10-60+. The weight and performance savings amount to nothing between either wheel, and Jobst claims
that on descents, glued tubulars respond badly to the heat build-up from braking and tend to roll
off the rim.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
: Tubulars are still used by many if not most pro riders, virtually all

: If you like clinchers, use them.

ryan, it's winter. you can restart the clincher/tubular flamefest if you want -- even tho it just
ended or is possibly ongoing .. doesn't matter.

as for me .. i had tubulars for a while. all i can say is i had to ride all the way to blaine velo
sports from south minneapolis to get a patch kit, some glue and a new tyre. had there been a shop
near me with all of those things i may have kept the wheel longer than 3 months. did ride nice, tho.
--
david reuteler [email protected]

In article <[email protected]>, David Reuteler
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
> : Tubulars are still used by many if not most pro riders, virtually all
>
> : If you like clinchers, use them.
>
> ryan, it's winter. you can restart the clincher/tubular flamefest if you want -- even tho it just
> ended or is possibly ongoing .. doesn't matter.

Forget that. I went riding today, albeit a wussy little 18 km affair down the road and back on my
new fixed gear bike. Very nice, thanks. The weather was a balmy 8C, so I had a fine time getting my
body coated in road spray.

> as for me .. i had tubulars for a while. all i can say is i had to ride all the way to blaine
> velo sports from south minneapolis to get a patch kit, some glue and a new tyre. had there been a
> shop near me with all of those things i may have kept the wheel longer than 3 months. did ride
> nice, tho.

Well, that's an important factor. Though if you had wanted to stay with tubies, you could have just
stocked up. One nice thing about tubulars is that they are falling out of vogue somewhat, so all but
the fanciest super-aero wheelsets tend to be available cheaply on the used market.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

"David Reuteler" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
> : Tubulars are still used by many if not most pro riders, virtually all
>
> : If you like clinchers, use them.
>
> ryan, it's winter. you can restart the clincher/tubular flamefest if you want -- even tho it just
> ended or is possibly ongoing .. doesn't matter.
>
> as for me .. i had tubulars for a while. all i can say is i had to ride
all
> the way to blaine velo sports from south minneapolis to get a patch kit, some glue and a new tyre.
> had there been a shop near me with all of those things i may have kept the wheel longer than 3
> months. did ride nice,
tho.
> --

So, you've never heard of online shopping?

Between www.businesscycles.com and Excel I'm pretty sure you could've found what you were looking
for no further than the comfort of your computer.

Mike

> david reuteler [email protected]

"Mike S." wrote:

> "David Reuteler" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
> > : Tubulars are still used by many if not most pro riders, virtually all
> >
> > : If you like clinchers, use them.
> >
> > ryan, it's winter. you can restart the clincher/tubular flamefest if you want -- even tho it
> > just ended or is possibly ongoing .. doesn't matter.
> >
> > as for me .. i had tubulars for a while. all i can say is i had to ride
> all
> > the way to blaine velo sports from south minneapolis to get a patch kit, some glue and a new
> > tyre. had there been a shop near me with all of those things i may have kept the wheel longer
> > than 3 months. did ride nice,
> tho.
> > --
>
> So, you've never heard of online shopping?
>

---8<---cutting

Oops - looks as if I may have inadvertently fanned the flames on the clincher-singles debate. That's
not what I was after ;-) BTW I'm the OP.

What I'm trying to get feedback on is whether any of you see any disadvantages in using either
variant of the Corima carbon aero wheelset, with a view to the following:

- Clincher variant has a tyre pressure limit 7,5 bar, though for obvious reasons
- has anyone found that to be a real disadvantage?

- Then the unpredictable behaviour of a clincher when puncturing - rim hitting the ground, possibly
shredding the carbon in the process - anyone have bad experiences in that area?

/Robert

Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
: Forget that. I went riding today, albeit a wussy little 18 km affair down the road and back on my
: new fixed gear bike. Very nice, thanks. The weather was a balmy 8C, so I had a fine time getting
: my body coated in road spray.

yea, me too. today is my birthday (yea, born on pearl harbour day!) and i'm indulging in the annual
sport of feeling sorry for myself -- i'm nursing a wicked hangover that i chose to bring into the
new year as well. but it's a balmy 8C here as well and i think birthday rides should be 80km
minimum. and they should increase with age.

the, uh, fixed hasn't pitched ya yet, eh?

: Well, that's an important factor. Though if you had wanted to stay with tubies, you could have
: just stocked up.

i should have mentioned that it was back in 1996 when i was a constantly broke college student. it
probably wouldn't stop me now. then i ripped out the hubs (a nice pair of high-flange suntour
superbe pro track hubs) and built 'em up with some campy atlanta 96 clincher rims. messengers love
my wheels. huh, the UCI deemed those rims non-standard but in compliance. lucky me! wouldn't want to
be DQ'd on the way in to work.

: One nice thing about tubulars is that they are falling out of vogue somewhat, so all but the
: fanciest super-aero wheelsets tend to be available cheaply on the used market.

& that may be the best reason yet to go with tubulars.
--
david reuteler [email protected]

Robert Brown <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
> What I'm trying to get feedback on is whether any of you see any disadvantages in using either
> variant of the Corima carbon aero wheelset, with a view to the following:
>
> - Clincher variant has a tyre pressure limit 7,5 bar, though for obvious reasons
> - has anyone found that to be a real disadvantage?

On an aero wheel you don't want a 25mm clincher which is what I'd need if I were only going to put
7.5 bar in it.

Maybe they are being conservative and the rim will take that impressive 9 bar in which case a slim
clincher will be OK. But I wouldn't want to risk it without speaking to some body who'd done it.

You'll have more pressure options with tubs, thats for sure. E.G 7 bar is a useful option to have in
the wet (ask the Cofidis team).

> - Then the unpredictable behaviour of a clincher when puncturing - rim hitting the ground,
> possibly shredding the carbon in the process - anyone have bad experiences in that area?

Is the clincher rim all carbon then? Sounds like madness to me.

Go for the tubs - with a pair of wheels like that, come on.

Andrew Bradley

In article <[email protected]>, David Reuteler
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
> : Forget that. I went riding today, albeit a wussy little 18 km affair down the road and back on
> : my new fixed gear bike. Very nice, thanks. The weather was a balmy 8C, so I had a fine time
> : getting my body coated in road spray.
>
> yea, me too. today is my birthday (yea, born on pearl harbour day!) and i'm indulging in the
> annual sport of feeling sorry for myself -- i'm nursing a wicked hangover that i chose to bring
> into the new year as well. but it's a balmy 8C here as well and i think birthday rides should be
> 80km minimum. and they should increase with age.

I'm bad: it's hard for me to find the time or the patience (especially in this weather) for a
3-hour ride.

> the, uh, fixed hasn't pitched ya yet, eh?

No. I had a fixed-geared psycho hybrid a few years back that I rode as a fixie for about a week, but
after an accident unrounded the rear rim, I de-converted it, ended up giving the bike to my dad as a
commuter, and carried on. So this is not my first experience with fixies.

The ride Saturday was very flat and involved little traffic. I think I did one slightly lumpy stroke
(where you try to stop pedalling, and the bike does not), but nothing serious.

The ride was surprisingly normal. I used the big ring from the converted bike along with what I
think is a 16T fixed cog, but the gearing was not too high for the relatively flat route I rode.
There is no reasonable fixed ratio that will take me up many of the nearby climbs, and down is
even worse. I guess phase II should involve respacing the rear end and setting up a fixed/free
two-sided wheel.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Robert Brown <[email protected]> wrote:

> One option I have is to buy the Corima aero wheelset. They are sold in clincher and
> tubular/singles variants. Not too expensive either. So which should I buy?

I am told that clinchers with carbon rim sidewalls must be deflated between uses. If this is so, it
seems like it would become a nuisance rather quickly. Add in the tire pressure limitations, spoke
tension limitations, and brake track wear, and it looks to me like carbon rims are a lousy idea,
especially for clinchers.

Chalo Colina

Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
: I'm bad: it's hard for me to find the time or the patience (especially in this weather) for a
: 3-hour ride.

well, i've often heard it said in your area that if you don't ride in the wet, you don't ride. for
minnesota if you don't ride in the cold, you don't ride. i think you must learn to love (or at least
adapt to) what you have. i've done a good job of convincing myself that i like riding down to -10C.

besides, as a minnesotan even if i was freezing my ass off i wouldn't tell ya. ;-)
--
david reuteler [email protected]

On 09 Dec 2003 05:41:14 GMT, David Reuteler <[email protected]> wrote:

>Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
>: I'm bad: it's hard for me to find the time or the patience (especially in this weather) for a 3-
>: hour ride.
>
>well, i've often heard it said in your area that if you don't ride in the wet, you don't ride.
>for minnesota if you don't ride in the cold, you don't ride. i think you must learn to love (or
>at least adapt to) what you have. i've done a good job of convincing myself that i like riding
>down to -10C.

Same here in Norway. I regularily ride in -20C on my morning commute during the winter. No problems
keeping warm, just dress properly

The next day it can be +1C and raining.