Tubulars- just make sure not to get glue all over everything
1 Like
Iād love to buy a good tri bike and take the aero bars off my road bike. But with two kids, itās hard to justify the 100,000 NT purchase. As for looking down on people, I must say that Iām bewildered by the low skill level of some triathletes with very, very expensive bikes. I would wait until I got a bit better before riding some of those bicycles. I think I shake my head more than laugh at them, though.
1 Like
It always used to scare me training with triantelopes. Bunch riding skills generally lacking.
As for expensive bikes, yes, Iām with you there. I guess Iām a wee bit envious, not least because (as an aging old fart on a standard road bike) I can beat the vast majority in the local time trials. Would love to know what I could shave off my time with the kit they are using.
1 Like
At the level that we ride, itās all about making yourself happy. I honestly canāt really tell you why I need top of the line Dura Ace group set because I can sure as hell tell you itās not much different than Ultegra, but it looks cool and I like it. 
I genuinely donāt understand why casual/amateur/recreational (i.e. anyone but proā) riders would opt for tubs. The occasions Iāve been on a club or group ride and someone punctures a tub, itās a right royal pain in the arse. Clinchers are so good these days, I doubt that the vast majority of riders could tell the difference.
A couple of months ago I ride home from work in a torrential downpour. Puddles in the road obscured the sharp edge of a new manhole, and I pinch flatted the front tire. Normally thatās a serious and sudden concern, on clinchers. But i still was able to ride home another 20 km in control, not having to change the tire in the dark and in the rain.
My main reason for using tubulars is safety immediately following a flat. Yes, the feel of clinchers has come much closer (i do have a couple of bikes with clincher tires, and ironically one of them is my track bike), but i still prefer the tubs.
and as for changing the tire: about the same time, if you donāt overglue them.
A neatly rolled spare (with old glue, so itās not too sticky while rolled up but still grips the residual glue on the rim after a change, no need for new glue on the road) will do fine for the ride home if you do find yourself puncturing really far from home and would rather enjoy the ride further, instead of turning for home on a flat tireā¦ Which you can actually do, the furthest I have ridden home on a flat was about 45 km, after my second flat of the day.
But maybe Iām just stubborn.
Hardly stubborn. Stick with what you know/like.
PS: Thatās about the most reasoned/reasonable argument I have ever read or heard. 
1 Like
I have never used that fancy technology you guys call tubular, Iām a user of the other one that I canāt spell. @urodacus, you said that itās safer WHEN you get a flat, or AFTER the flat when you want to ride home? if itās the latter, just use some patches!
This reminds me of that descent I was doing somewhere in Taichung I think and some shitty piece of concrete that protuded like 3 or more centimeters in the middle of the road. It made me bump or fly for a few seconds (I was a bit fast). Amazingly enough I just got a flat, it didnāt explode or anything, and also the rim was perfectly fine.
Ermā¦
hmm? youāre going to make me use the dictionaryā¦
Right. Ok, so maybe I didnāt make it clearā¦ what I was trying to say is that IF the ONLY reason for using tubular tyres is that AFTER a flat you can still ride safe home without repairing the flat, then I wouldnāt bother with them, I would use inner tubes and tyres and patch the tyre when you get it flat. Or if you want to go fancy, you can even use a new one 
Not the ONLY reason. A rapid puncture on a clincher (especially on the front) at speed, or even worse when descending, could cause difficulties as the tyre could come off the rim.
I guess you could also argue that there is a risk of rolling a tub.
I personally always carry two spare tubes and may or may not repair the punctured tube when I get home, depending on the size and location of the hole(s).
Must admit, Iām curious about tubeLESS tyres. They seem to be improving from what Iāve seen.
1 Like
Yeah, Iām curious too. Iāve heard good things about them, but again, itās not only about the tyre, but about the sealer liquid that goes inside (which is not exactly new technology, although it might be better than what there used to be out there 15 years ago).
I put these on my wifeās bike after she flatted in a race last year (tubeless would have easily sealed this small puncture). So far so good. My biggest concern was getting sealant everywhere when having to change one out on the road, but this seems to solve that problem (unless you get a large cut): http://www.dynaplug.com/
My next wheels will be tubeless.
Those are on my short listā¦seems their rubber compound has improved quite a bit too.
I have tubeless rims (ultegra) but I guess that my tyres are not (GP3000?). I wouldnāt mind to try it out but I guess itās not cheap.
They are a bit more expensive than clinchers though Iām not sure why, and you need to buy sealant. Assuming the Ultegraās come with tubeless valves, but if not need to buy those too. My wife has these and says theyāre great:
These are similar but a little less grippy and a little lighter so says the shop I got them fromā¦
I think the weights are wrong too, as the heavier ones in the first link weighed around 270 in the shop.
That might be the next thing I try. But I think itās going to take a while to wear out the current tyres. Not riding a lot recently!