I usually leave the old glue in place, unless it is really grundgy. However, I would remove glue if it were more than a couple of years old. The best trick I have found is to use a cone wrench and spin the rim while forcing the curved outside of the wrench to scrape the old glue off. It makes a mess, but it is a lot faster (and safer) than solvents. I think it does a better job, too. You can always use solvent to clean off the remaining residue, if you want to be anal about it.
When reglueing, I put a layer of glue on the rim, put a layer on the tire basetape, then go back and put another layer on the rim, which is usually almost dry by that time (it only takes a few minutes). Then I immediately install the tire, being careful not to get glue on the sidewall. If you stretch the tire first, it shouldn't be too hard. I think the best way to stretch a tire is to mount it on a junk rim and pump it to maximum pressure, leaving it as long as possible. If you can let it age for a year, that's even better. Don't hang it next to a lightbulb, though. I used to stretch tires by pulling them against the foot, but I don't think that was good practice.
Make sure there is glue on the basetape of your spares. If the glue is not too old, it will grip residual glue on the rim just fine if you have to change out a flat on the road. I did one the other day, and when I got home I had to really tug to get the tire back off.
Maybe we should take a poll to see how many listers have quantities of leaky and shot sewups still hanging from the rafters, and compare this to the number of shot but saved clinchers. I have ideas about who would "win."
Steve Barner, Bolton, Vermont. Home of the slow leak. Why do I still keep these things around? Are they fallen friends? I know I'll never take the time to fix them...
> Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 08:44:45 -0700
\r?\n> From: rhawks@lmi.net
\r?\n> To: classics rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
\r?\n> Subject: [CR]new sewups and old memories
\r?\n>
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Having recently reacquired a bike that uses tubulars, I now have
\r?\n> to deal with one task that I never seemed to do all that well
\r?\n> oh so many years ago. So I'm asking for advice and pointers
\r?\n> for mounting new tubular tires on old rims. Do I try and get the
\r?\n> old glue off first? That glue is probably 15 years old. Will
\r?\n> a layer of new glue reactivate the old stuff? I
\r?\n> put the tires on the rims and pumped them up without gluing.
\r?\n> Will they stretch at all doing this? When I go to put the
\r?\n> tires on for good, do I put a layer of glue on both
\r?\n> the rim and the tire? How much glue is enough, how much is too
\r?\n> much?
\r?\n>
\r?\n> rob hawks
\r?\n> richmond, ca