Hi all, a lovely bike landed on my lap – full immaculate camapag groupset from 1970 etc. Only problem (to me) is that it needs new tyres and the rims are for tubs. Is it worth giving these a go or are they too much of a pain in the arse? I can always salvage the campag hubs and build into a new clincher wheelset if req but just thought I’d guage oppinion.

ta

Tubs are a pain for day-to-day riding as you have to carry two spare tubs and tub tape around with you. Good ones are also pretty expensive. If I were you I would buy a couple of cheap tubs and see how you get on with them. If you don’t like them you can rebuild the hubs as you suggested.

tubs are easy….

glue em on the first time and you wont need tape to get you home 😉

my mate rides tubs , he is **** when im not there as i have to do his puncture repairs for him as he has no clue….and when he did attempt it i couldnt let him ride it as it wasnt safe !

Do practice getting them on(straight) and off before you hit the open road. HAving riddden his bike i can say there is a differnce in the way tubs ride (compared to his old wheels on the same bike)

Give em a shot , a pair of tubs will set you back 50-60 quid (or go to parkers and you may get a bargain) just make sure you get roadie tubs and not track tubs …

more hassle but way better ride than great. I tried them but gave up

Get some Tufo tubs as they’re pretty tough, I use Tufo T32 for riding cross.

Thats exactly what I’m wrestling with – better to ride but a complete arse when something goes wrong. I reckon it would cost me just as much if not more to rebuild with clinchers than to try some tubs so I might give it a shot.

I swear I have never spent so much money until I started getting into old road bikes!

How old are the rims – important question i reckon as tubs are awesome on some nice carbon rims – but if you put on some newer wheels (yours are probably 36h heavy alloy if 1970’s) or rims and some good modern clinchers and you’ll probably be happier – i gave up on tubs – useless for triathlons unless you have support – and too much of a pain for everyday riding, you feel all cool with your retro bike and kit cruising down to the cafe etc – all ruined by the look of 2 tubs stuffed in your back pocket!

Tubs are a PITA, fine if you’re on the track or doing TT’s but not a great idea for a day-to-day/training bike

Tubs are ace. Just stick a spare in your jersey pocket, really doesn’t take up too much more room than a tube.

Tubs are different. Take the time out to learn to fit them properly and you’ll love them.

They can also be pretty tough. In the 70s I toured in Oz on my road bike which was fitted with tubs and in over 200 miles offroad I had no problems. You can cram a spare tub under your saddle rails so it’s no hassle to carry a spare.

There’s probably not such a great difference between tubs and modern clincher tyres but it’s worth giving the tubs a try.

Nice tubs are a joy to ride.
Cheap tubs are like cheap tyres, not so nice.

I reckon, get some nice tubs and fit them to your original wheels. Keep it authentic. Save them for ‘Sunday Best’ rides, when the sun shines and you just want to float along.

Buy some cheaper training clincher wheels for other days. ‘Cos if you ride tubs all the time they become the norm, they don’t feel ‘special’ any more.

SB
PS – did I ever tell ya ’bout when my tub punctured in Wales. I struggled all the way to Mold, stopping to blow the fecker up and shove the thorn in a bit tighter every few miles. I found a bike shop, and the kind owner lent me a wheel to get home on. I was in Liverpool at the time. It was the last time I ever rode tubs. Bloomin pain they are. Though if I could afford them…….that’d be different! 🙂

I did a similar thing last year, bought an old roadie and gave the Tubs a shot. I didn’t like them personally,nice ride an all but a lot of hassle if/when something goes wrong. I still have them up for grabs if anyone’s interested. Not on-line after lunch today though, so will have to catch up next tuesday onwards

As above, nice ones are very nice indeed.
absolute PITA to swap. In the rain. or the dark.
They don’t fall off the rim if you do puncture though, which can be useful

When you guys speak of nice vs. nasty tubs how much do you have to spend to be in the ‘nice’ category? Don’t really want to spunk £200 on a pair of tyres, plus more for a spare, if I can help it. Anyone know of a good reasonably priced compromise?

As mentioned Tufo tubs are ok, but are not renown for being the fastest runners, I have/do use them though. Look at places like Ribble for some reasonable tubs you are looking at about 40 quid ish each. If you decide to use glue tape over regular glue you need to factor another 6 quid in per wheel and that is quite often a one shot deal so when you puncture that will require new tape. But I would recommend you use glue (buy a big pot it will last an age), its really not hard and a pre glued spare tub makes on the road swaps a lot less hassle.

Tubs are a total pain and nowadays there’s no difference between tubs and clinchers in terms of ride quality.
By all means keep the wheels for authentic value but for all round ease of use and availability of cheap decent tyres, go for clincher every time. A mate is in the process of rebuilding his track wheels at the moment and he’s replacing the tubs with clinchers – even for track use clinchers are more than good enough and SO much easier.

Joe – choose something mid-priced from the Continental range.
But two good uns and a cheap one for spare.

When it comes to fixing a punctured tub, doing it yourself can be a great thing to do on those long winter evenings when there’s nothin’ on telly. Or you can send ’em off for someone else to fix them (address in Cycling Weekly).

Gonna have to disagree with crazy-legs. For indoor track like Manchester, tubs every time. They feel faster to me, but perhaps more importantly, they’ll stay in place if they punture, saving you a slide down the banking.

SB

Admitedly I don’t do thousands of miles a year nowadays but I only rode my first modern narrow tyres about a fortnight ago. Being an old git of 46 tomorrow, when I started timetrials there were really only 2 types of tyres about. Tubs or 27 x1 1/4. The latter were big wide things used for everything but touring. When I bought my sprints and tub I had to choose between them and the only just about arriving Michelin Elans, the first of the light 700c’s. 1980 this was. Ridden the tubs ever since. I get more punctures on my mountain bike than tubs and still use an original for a spare. They seem to be way more thorn resistant than Hp’s. I use the bike round cycle tracks and single track both here and in the Peak district. Not a huge hassle. Don’t use tape, glue them properly and a road side replacement will be great. I do use tape on some wheels but find it come off attached to the tub though. 1 spare is plenty. Do you carry two inner tubes? A good supply can be a traditional bike shop who may have a stack of old wheels and tubs lieing around. Mine does. Good source of screw on hubs for running single/fixed set ups. Striking bikes in Glos even has some very reduced NOS cross tubs. I reckon that bike must be nice steel and with some cross tubs it would make a nice rough stuffer. Don’t break the wheels up, they will not be cassette compatable and a build with new rims, spoke and labour will be more than some new wheels. Just build it as a classic and enjoy the ride.

crazy legs , is there a clincher around that goes to 200psi ?

and i didnt think you were allowed clinchers on the track……

I did like my tub wheels, the ride was excellent, I used Conti Competitions, which I’d recommend, but they went ‘flat’ on top very quickly (1000 miles or so) on the back particularly, and obviously you can’t swap them as quickly as a clincher. I carried a Vittoria tub-specific ‘seal and inflate’ type device, and ran a tiny bit of Stan’s sealant in the tubs. Didn’t puncture in the year I used them, but did start to lose confidence a bit! Spare tub would be easier, and at least you can ride them flat without damaging wheels as much.

Tubs used to be faster rolling, but that’s not been true for years now, though tubs typically have a more aerodynamic profile and can corner slightly faster with more grip. But for weight, durability, ease of use and everything else go clincher.

Search around on the weight weenie tyre threads on the forums over there, they have links to the German TUV approved rolling tests, clicnhers came out on top.

My tub recommendations would be
cheap- conti sprinters
mid- vittoria evo cx ( very good)
expensive- veloflex crits ( very good and would prob look great on your old skool bike )
As has been said clinchers are so good now that the difference is marginal, it used to be massive, although I do think tubs tend to offer more comfort and perhaps roll better ( maybe). Us conti cement its the best and have a go, putting tubs on is not a pain its just something that needs to be tried, learnt and practised.

Joe1983, I was exactly the same situation (inherited a lovely 70s Mercian) and I can only echo other people’s comments about the hassle involved.

You need to carry a spare with you everywhere, which is almost like lugging round a spare tube and a spare tyre. Changing a flat is a fair bit more hassle than fixing a normal puncture, especially if you’re doing it in the rain by the side of a road. I used cheapo Vittoria tubs and despite being quite heavy and thick they punctured pretty easily. On top of that I didn’t find them very confidence-inspiring, knowing that the only thing holding them on is a slight indentation in your rim, plus a bit of glue.

I really can’t see the problem with tubs, the initial fitting of a new tub can be a bit messy but that’s it.
Use spare tubs that have been glued on already as the adhesive will bond enough to keep you racing or to get you home.
The other downside is puncture repairs, I used to use cheap Wolbers for training that I discarded when I had a puncture. And Clement Criteriums for racing, they would be sent off for repair if they punctured.
Tbh I would’nt bother with tubs these days unless I was testing or riding track, though I do believe they are a superior ride.

…or wanted super light wheels.

Otherwise I wouldn’t bother.

How is carrying a spare tub any more hassle than a spare tube. Its hell of a lot quicker swapping a tub than a tube. Just rip them off, you did leave a touch of unglued rim didn’t you and stuff another on. No checking the tyre for thorns etc. Done countless tubes over 40 years and no where near as many tubs (coz they don’t puncture as much) and I am easily as quick. Thats not using levers which is slower. Agreed you can’t sort the repair out as quick but its 15 mins in front of the telly to rip and stitch a tub. Main reason to avoid is cost as you can get a range of cheap tyres and just a few cheap tubs. Other hassle is it needs a change of rims if like me you use 1 bike with several tyre types.

crazy legs , is there a clincher around that goes to 200psi ?

and i didnt think you were allowed clinchers on the track……
No, but then it’s not particularly useful to do so for most purposes, even on a track. I think the “hire” bikes at Manchester have clinchers.

Done countless tubes over 40 years and no where near as many tubs (coz they don’t puncture as much)

Well either you’ve been using rubbish clinchers, you’re heavy enough and ride through big enough potholes that you pinch flat on a road bike (!) or you simply tend to use clinchers when you’re more likely to puncture (or maybe just use clinchers more, as the vast majority of tub users – who in general don’t train on them – do). The only difference in tendency to puncture between the two is pinch flats – otherwise it just depends on the relative quality of the carcass and the puncture proofing used. On that basis I’d be surprised if any quality* tub could even match the puncture performance of a Michelin Pro 3 Road for instance.

*a Tufo doesn’t meet the criteria of being a quality tub, given it rides and rolls worse than any performance clincher.

WAsn’t clear. Apart from old 27″ ers when I was a teenager, I have never , until last week ridden a clincher apart from mountain bikes which I have ridden since 1984. No I, just reckon tubs are not the hassle people think they are once you get used to them. Not every ones cup of tea and I have just bought a set of clinchers so that I can run several sets of tyres. Even I admit that the 5 mins it takes to swap a set of them is better than tubs if you are doing it once a week.

So the reason you’ve done less tub puncture repairs isn’t because they puncture less but because you use clinchers with tubes on an MTB and tubs on the road?

I’ve always found changing tubs more hassle than changing tubes, but that’s been using tub tape – not changed one since I started using glue instead last time I put new ones on. The tub tape I’ve used is really hard work to get off once it’s stuck fast. It may just be because I’m also not particularly practiced, given I only have tubs on the TT bike, and have only ever punctured a couple of times on that in over 10 years – also doesn’t get used much any more, so don’t even have to change tubs very often.