Thinking about getting some new road wheels (mainly for crits) and Tubular wheels seem to be a couple of hundred grams lighter than the equivalent clincher.

The only thing that puts me off is fitting the tyres, so how easy or hard is it to actually fit a tub? Would rather do it myself that pay a shop.

Cheers

Easy to do, but time consuming.

To do well… harder.

I picked up a pair of nice light carbon tub wheels for the same reason a couple of years back.

First set of tubular wheels I’ve had, I’ve used tub tape rather than getting messy with glue and found it all pretty simple. No hassle with getting them on straight, not shifted one while riding, and can get them changed without any tears.

not hard per se, they arent ‘tight’ like some clinchers can be, although they can be messy if you use glue.
i used them (a looong time ago) and found that even cheap tubs, were lighter, and gave a better ride than clinchers ime.
however im not sure that the difference is as noticable these days with more modern clinchers.

i used them (a looong time ago) and found that even cheap tubs, were lighter, and gave a better ride than clinchers ime.

I found the same, and not such a long time ago.

I was always told by the old timers to use glue as it was more secure than tape, and it wasn’t a hassle.

I do remeber a big pile up at Hillngdon circuit caused when someones taped on tub rolled off their front wheeel.

Think I’d go glue just for peace of mind.

Thanks, spending time fitting isn’t something that puts me off and I guess the higher cost of tyres is offset by the fact there’ll do minimal miles if used mainly for racing.

Like anything it needs practice to get perfect. I used TUFO tub tape and this was way easier than glue, which get’s everywhere.

The biggest hassle is that when you are riding, you need to carry a spare tyre which is bigger then an inner tube. Properly glued tubs are hard to get off on the roadside. When they puncture, you can get them repaired but they need to be sent away.

The pros ride them on the road because when they puncture you can keep going for longer, but if you cycle without a team car, then IMHO clinchers are a much real-world option. I have bought some Vittoria Open Corsa CX Evo clinchers which are supposed to be the closest thing to tubs, and on a recent 100 mile ride they were impressive.

I had some tubs for cross. Followed cross junkies advice

http://crossjunkie.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/gluing-cross-tubulars.html

(his video doesn’t seem available anymore)

Despite my first go these are completely true and have stayed on for 2 years now

Not bad when you have done a couple. They do not need to be sent away to be mended, its dead easy. Glue is marginally more fiddly but easier to get straight as you can move the tub when the glue is soft. Also when you puncture you just rip the tub off and bung on the other pre glued one. I have never managed to get one off without leaving half the tape on the rim and half on the tub. That doesn’t leave much stick for the replacement. In days gone by when we all time trialed on tubs it was common practise to leave an inch of less glued rim y the rim sticker. that gave somewhere to strata the removal.
Don’t but cheap tubs though. Not nice

Try some decent race clinchers and latex tubes. The ride is surprisingly similar, and the weight saving is basically the difference in rim weights. A good Schwalbe Ultremo ZX or One and a Michelin inner tube is 300g. The difference in ride quality is striking.

Tired – not sure I agree on that. I’ve got both tubs and decent clinchers with latex tubes and much prefer the feel of tubs, even the cheaper Tufo ones.

regarding glue or tape, I used to glue mine but tape them all now. Worth keeping in mind that it only seems to be tufo that are rated for use with tape. I’ve used conti’s and had no problems, but for peace of mind I only buy tufo now,

For punctures, I just carry a bottle of sealant in my jersey pocket. I’ve had two punctures while out riding and both times the sealant has done the job and I’ve contined to use the tyre until it wore out.

For me, the one downside of tubs is swapping tyres. If I want to swap to a wider/heavier tub for training, its a pain in the rear compared to swapping a clincher. Just means I’m more inclined to race and train on the same tyre.

regarding glue or tape, I used to glue mine but tape them all now. Worth keeping in mind that it only seems to be tufo that are rated for use with tape. I’ve used conti’s and had no problems, but for peace of mind I only buy tufo now,

For road i’d say tape is fine but for cross i’ve always been told not to bother with tape when using for cross