Mike Schmidt wrote:
> My preference is tubulars for my vintage racing bikes and clinchers for
> touring or randonneuring bicycles. I just like the way they ride.
> Tubulars are a snap to change should they flat, but I will never ride a
> set of vintage setas on the street. Usually a modern tubular such as a
> Vitorria CX works for me for those vintage bikes that venture onto the
> street.
>
> Gabriel, surely you remember the Tom Adams ride when I blew out that ol
> tubular on the Montelatici? We were back on the road in two shakes.
>
we certainly were Mike, and it did not take me long for the subsequent
blow out of my clincher on the same ride- then I had the old tube
patched on the quick stopover at the convenience store and it then
resided in the bag as a spare.
It is not the fixing, but rather the potential of a second blowout that
makes me a bit paranoid as i ride alone most often for quite some
distances. Any tube i can patch quite easily to make it back, I only
have one extra shot with a tubular realistically. However, I have gone
through many more tubes than i have tubulars, to the point that I think
my paranoia is a bit ridiculous. Also, there are the greater chances of
a second blowout on a clincher if the original issue had not been completely resolved (happened once with 3 tubes and multiple glass shards for me). This is what i am trying to ascertain the actual durability of tubulars,
and how one determines the end of life for an old one. some of the old tubulars look terrible that i have and ride, I would not ride a similar looking clincher. -- gabriel l romeu chesterfield nj usa ± http://studiofurniture.com Ø http://journalphoto.org ±