On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 10:50 AM, Angel Garcia <veronaman@gmail.com> wrote:
> What happened to wrapping them around the shoulders? You know, I've never
> seen that done outside of one of those special rides like l'eroica...
>
Don't ride tubulars very often anymore, but one of the issues is how the spare tub can get worn at edges where a toe strap might hold it to the saddle rails. If all goes well--meaning you seldom flat--that tub will be cinched in that one spot for miles and miles, maybe months, and wear through the latex finish and start to wear the threads unless you frequently remove it and refold it. That's why I use a wrap (densly woven canvas, from Rivendell but any dense canvas has the same waterproofness of the Riv wrap) to protect the tub not just from a strap but from sunshine and oxidation. This method (strap on a naked tub) works best when the tub is likely to be used very soon. Angel probably has tongue in cheek but the same applies to a tub around the shoulders--sweat and abrasion with do for the tub sooner than later so only really applies to racing where it'll be used soon by someone or for the proper L'eroica look.
As for not being able to fit two tubs in the bag designed for two, I found there's a range of compressability for tubs, cheaper vulcanized ones of course being bigger and not able to fold as small. But even a nice Vittoria CX once it's been inflated, glued, ridden, patched, will be difficult (for me) to empty fully and flatten down to that svelt folded tub that fits two to a small bag.
BTW, this used to matter a lot for style points--how well you rolled folded and carried your spare tub--and the ideal seemed to be a perfect compact roll naked with no wrap or bag, Clement label showing, no tread wear, one leather strap around the rails. There was a way of rolling a tub I never mastered that gave it two rows as though it was two smaller tubs.
Mitch Harris
Little Rock Canyon, Utah, USA