All this talk about gluing technique, particularly applying multiple coats to the rim, plus at least a layer to the base tape, curing overnight, inflating tire to medium pressure, waiting again, then finally inflating to pressure, makes it obvious why, as Mike points out, clinchers are so popular. My understanding of why tubulars were developed to start with, or at least why they dominated in Europe for so long, is that they were easy to change on the road without tools. However, this would be no advantage if one had to follow this elaborate gluing technique when changing a flat. In pre-WWII photos one sees even big stars with spare tubulars wound around their shoulders - no team cars with spare wheels in those days. I assume when they had a flat, they changed the tire themselves, with the tire held on only by air pressure and the old glue on the rim. Yet they no doubt often made steep Alpine and Pyreenean descents on the spares. Doesn't this call into doubt the need for the elaborate gluing rituals we use today?
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Bicycle Classics inc wrote:
> I noticed that there are some fans of Clement red. My understanding is
> that Clement red is usually quite good - but we've had some over the years
> that was simply evil.
>
> We would to the glue on base tape, bunch of glue on rim thing. And then a
> final thin coat and quickly put the tire on. The tire would then, for a
> couple of days, feel as well glued as anyone could imagine. Seemed like a
> job well done!
>
> Wrong - another couple of days later, give the tire a hard tug, and the
> tire would pull cleanly off the base tape! Very little if any would stick
> to the tire base tape at all!
>
> The culprit our wise guru Paul LeMaire told us, was that the batch of
> Clement tires we were using had the base tape impregnated with something
> that repelled the glue! Other glues worked fine on these tires, but not
> Clement. (Vittoria red or clear worked like a charm). Also, the Clement
> glue, if I recall, might have worked OK with other brands of tires, but I'm
> not sure.
>
> Now, one is supposed to prep the tire base tape prior to gluing, but in
> practice this seems to be rarely necessary (we tend to get our tires glued
> on too hard if anything so we're doing something right).
>
> The upshot is that at least the batch of Clement red we were using would
> not stick like other glues. We couldn't sell the stuff when we discovered
> that, and we simply put the remaining inventory in the trash.
>
> To make a long story short, if you use Clement red test the tire really
> hard everyday for quite a few days (before each ride is a good idea) to
> make sure you don't have some of the evil red.
>
> These days we simply use Vittoria clear (the Mastik one stuff) and are very
> happy. And yes, tires can creep. The best we can advise is to be sure to
> use both front and rear brakes evenly and try, if posible, to work on
> cornering technique so you need less braking (a big deal here in Boulder
> with the mountains).
>
> If it all seems like too much of a hassle, try some of the sweet clinchers
> on the market. We're using them more and more and are even feeling less
> guilty about admitting it.
>
> Mike Kone