tubular tire question

[Jobst Brandt]

Stefan Pavlik writes:

> Longtime clincher user and curious about tubular(sew-up) tires. Are they worth the extra effort?
> What if you flat on a ride, can you replace the tire or do you need to call for a ride home? Is
> there any sort of information/website available to answer many of these questions?

The benefits of these tires are so minimal that there is no excuse for their existence for road use.
Lower rolling resistance has been achieved with clinchers long ago along with safety. Brake heating
of rims on descents causes all pressure sensitive glues to liquefy, so descending steep grades where
much braking is used is hazardous.

The care and manufacture of these tires is explained in the FAQ:

http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8b.18.html http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8b.19.html
http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8b.22.html http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8b.26.html
http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8b.29.html http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8b.30.html

Jobst Brandt [email protected] Palo Alto CA