I repaired a couple of hundred, and would rather clean out our catbox with my tongue that fix another! David Feldman
> You're right about Vittoria Rallys - I use them too, and bought them on
sale
> even cheaper. My point was, who wants to be bothered with a 3 day ritual
of
> gluing on sewups? I usually just spread a good layer on the rim, install
> the tire, inflate to full pressure and let sit overnight. Per the
discussion
> here, I may put a layer of glue on the base tape as well as the rim,
although
> this tends to get more glue on one's hands. Also, if one is going to let
> them sit overnight, may as well inflate to moderate pressure, then fully
> inflate the next day. Anything more complex than this will drive one to
use
> clinchers. As I said, I suspect in the pre-WWII Tour de France, riders
> descended terrifying Alpine passes on spares secured by air pressure and
old
> glue. One of the things I love about the tales and photos of pre-WWII
racing
> is that those guys didn't give a damn about a lot of stuff that modern
riders
> are absolutely anal about. BTW, even when I was young and broke, I didn't
> repair sewups, just threw them away and bought another. The few times I
> tried a repair, the tire had a tumor worthy of the Elephant Man.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
>
> jackieosullivan@worldnet.att.net wrote:
>
> > Jerry,
> >
> > In spite of what apers to be laborious technique, decent tubies (except
> > things like Condors--yech) give one a feel for the road like nothig
else.
> >
> > I cannot speak to performance on bikes made of modern materials, but
> > a classic steel road frame with decent wheels and sew-ups is a dream.
> > Plus, it is very quick and easy to change a flat--faster than a
clincher.
> >
> > And the really weird thing is now they are cheaper. I am presently
riding
> > Vittoria Competition Rally 21mm tires. They only cost 16.95 at my local
> > bike emporium. They DO NOT ride like a cheap tire--they popped on
> > nice and straight, and so far have proved their Kevlar mettle on nasty
> > city streets. They have one piece valves, but at that price they are
> > disposable! (I don't even really mind fixing good tires--it used to be
> > something of a cult badge of honor ;-)) Decent clinchers will run 25.00+
> > for the tire and another 5 for a tube. This is 180 degrees of what the
> > situation was even 10 or 12 years ago.
> >
> > My 2cents, but I'll take sew-ups for my good bike any day. And I have
> > never found gluing to be especially difficuly.
> >
> > Hope this helps,
> > Jackie