Oops, I meant to say: "Continentals are very well made and, etc." Sorry. Hutchinsons are ok, but Contis, as we know, are bulletproof for a long time.
Charles
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Charles Andrews
> Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2000 7:17 PM
> To: 'Larry Strung'
> Cc: 'classicrendezvous@bikelist.org'
> Subject: RE: [Classicrendezvous] Tubular Tire Question
>
>
> My two cents:
>
> Seems to me, even with older, better-made tires (I'm thinking
> mostly the italian tires like Clement, Vittoria, Gommitalia;
> Hutchinsons seem to be extremely well-made and if well-glued,
> make few problems until the casings fail or the treads wear
> out), the problem with well-used tires that have been on rims
> for years does not seem to be that the glue holding them to
> the rim will fail, but that the base tape will fail. Over
> time, that latex adhesive dries out pretty badly. The recent
> Taiwan/indonesian Clements are terrible in this respect, but
> otherwise well-made.
>
> I just test older tires by shoving them around with my thumbs
> very thoroughly to see if the base-tape or the rim/glue joint
> is failing. I won't discuss casing failures. Usually those
> are obvious before a tire blows up, or so has been my
> experience. I did pop a Clement silk many years ago, in the
> rain-storm, but I deserved it: riding silks in the rain is
> transcendentally stupid... ;>
>
> I haven't rolled a tire yet, for whatever that's worth, and
> I've ridden tubies for nearly 30 years now. Either dumb
> luck, or the method works.
>
> Your mileage will vary, of course.
>
> Charles Andrews
> nippy So. Cal.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Larry Strung [mailto:strungl@pathcom.com]
> > Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2000 7:09 PM
> > To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> > Subject: [Classicrendezvous] Tubular Tire Question
> >
> >
> > Hi Gang,
> >
> > Here is one for the group to debate, as I'm sure opinions
> > would be varied.
> >
> > How does one judge the safety of a tubular tire? I am
> > thinking in terms of bikes we own that may be ridden only on
> > occasion that have old tubulars on them. When does the glue
> > dry out and the tires become a danger to rider (or followers)
> > by potentially rolling off the rim? Some of my bikes only
> > get exercise on special sunny days. Tubulars on such bikes
> > may have been mounted 2 or 3 years ago. The tires are
> > otherwise in fine shape, but what is the risk?
> >
> > It certainly would take away the spontaneity if the safe
> > routine would be to re-glue the tires on these machines 24
> > hours prior to riding. Then there is the additional problem
> > (I've experienced with the Clement Paris-Roubaix tires made
> > in the far east in particular) where the base tape can
> > separate from the tire when removing it from the rim.
> > Presumably that indicates that the tire was still adequately
> > adhered to the rim, but by then it is too late.
> >
> > I have a vested interest in this discussion, as last summer I
> > was taken down in a track bike race when the rider whose
> > wheel I was following rolled a tub of his rear wheel. The
> > resulting crash left me with a fractured hip. You may
> > imagine that I am a little gun-shy regarding tubulars at the
> > moment. I dearly love the ride of tubulars, and even like
> > the ritual of mounting them. However, with the winter
> > maintenance season upon us, my thoughts are towards
> > converting some bikes from tubs to clinchers. Advice from
> > the experts on our list would be appreciated.
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Larry Strung