what's a clincher?



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Joel Rose

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I am not sure what clincher refers to when talking bikes. I know it relates to the wheelset somehow,
but not exactly how. I am new to the sport of serious cycling and it is a work in progress for me.
Becoming familar with all of the terms related to the sport is another aspect that I would like to
improve on. Thanks

Joel
 
The term "clincher" describes 95% (or more) of the tires used on bikes these days. It refers to just
about any standard tire/tube combination, as opposed to a "tubular" which is a tube that's sewn up
inside a tire casing and glued onto the rim.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"Joel Rose" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I am not sure what clincher refers to when talking bikes. I know it
relates
> to the wheelset somehow, but not exactly how. I am new to the sport of serious cycling and it is a
> work in progress for me. Becoming familar with all of the terms related to the sport is another
> aspect that I would like
to
> improve on. Thanks
>
> Joel
 
Joel Rose wrote:
> I am not sure what clincher refers to when talking bikes. I know it relates to the wheelset
> somehow, but not exactly how.

As well as the tyres (or tires), "clincher" is also used to describe the type of wheel rim that
takes clincher tyres.

To put it simply, clincher tyres and rims are the ordinary regular modern types, not tubular type.
(Also look up "tubular" in SB's glossary).

> Becoming familar with all of the terms related to the sport is another aspect that I would like to
> improve on. Thanks

Sheldon's glossary is a great place to start. Bit difficult to stop once you've started reading
though :) http://www.sheldonbrown.com/glossary.html

~PB
 
Sheldon Brown, one of the regular contributors here, has a bicycling glossary on his web site. Check
out http://www.sheldonbrown.com/glossary.html. It has hundreds of cycling related
definitions/explanations.

Pat Clancy

"Joel Rose" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I am not sure what clincher refers to when talking bikes. I know it relates to the wheelset
> somehow, but not exactly how. I am new to the sport of serious cycling and it is a work in
> progress for me. Becoming familar with all of the terms related to the sport is another aspect
> that I would like to improve on. Thanks
>
> Joel
 
Joel Rose writes:

> I am not sure what clincher refers to when talking bikes. I know it relates to the wheelset
> somehow, but not exactly how. I am new to the sport of serious cycling and it is a work in
> progress for
> me. Becoming familiar with all of the terms related to the sport is another aspect that I would
> like to improve on.

To appreciate what a clincher is, knowing what a non-clincher is may help. Tires on. Before the
invention of the wire bead (as on current car tires and many bicycle tires, tires were held on the
rim by a hooked edge on the rim into which a fat bead of the tire was pressed by air pressure. This
was the way car tires and bicycle tires were held on rims. When a heavy wire bead was developed for
car tires, bicycles did likewise but with the light weight of bicycle tires, these could not hold
high pressure, so the clincher AND wire/Kevlar bead came back.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/tirebead.htm

http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8b.19.html http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8b.29.html

Jobst Brandt [email protected] Palo Alto CA
 
Joel Rose wrote:
> I am not sure what clincher refers to when talking bikes.

A clincher tire has a separate tube and tire. These are by far the most common tires available.

A sewup (aka tubular) tire has the tube "sewn up" inside the tire, and the tube/tire combo goes on
the wheel as one unit. As others have mentioned, see Sheldon's web site for more gory detail.

Dave dvt at psu dot edu
 
Clincher is also a condition that accompanies front end shimmy at 55 mph. Usually right above the
saddle. bp
 
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