Sew-up riders: Advice please..

I like the Clement CX and CG tire for crits. They have always given me good grip, a good feel and decent wear. I've tried the all-weather or whatever they call the rain rubber compound, but have noticed no appreciable increase in grip in the wet.

Other than one bike that came from the factory with tape, I've only used glue (Continental, Clement, Tubasti, Mastik, etc.) over the years. I've never rolled a tire so no reason to tempt fate. For really secure glue job, I used to use a contact cement type adhesive designed to install body side molding onto cars...'Fastac' IIRC. It set up quickly and once on it was very hard to remove a mounted tire.

I never tried a sealant.

I haven't used sew-ups in years, the convenience and relative performance of modern clinchers have won me over the past few years. But I used to be big fans of the Continental Competition and the Vittoria Corsa CX tubular tires when I was still pounding the local racing circuits. Glad to see guys are still using sew-ups. Sew-ups are superior to any clincher on the market.

Vitt corsa CX 23mm

I prefer cement to tape. I like the viscosity of vitt mastik over the conti compound. Be mindful not to use too much though. If you have never done it before its easy to get carried away. Its nigh impossible to roll a single unless you are really retarded.

Also stretch the barstids (tyres) over the back of an armchair overnight before mounting. Gives that extra bit of wiggle room to get them to 'sit' right when mounting.

I also tape down my braking surface before the final coat of glue and mounting. This lets you get the rim wall messy as you pop the tyre over and then peel away the electrical tape to reveal a perfect clear braking surface!

Enjoy! Singles [censored] on clinchers everyday of the week.

Tech72 said:

Glad to see guys are still using sew-ups. Sew-ups are superior to any clincher on the market.

Yep we sure do.

PeterF said:

I just bought my first set of tubular wheels (Campy Barcelona laced to Record hubs). I am looking for a good tire for crit racing and would appreciate any advice, but also, what do you all use for tire installation? Glue seems to be an popular choice of course, but has anyone used the Tufo tape and do you like it? Also, is anyone using sealant as a preventative measure.

Thank you.

Most supple tires are cotton, like Vittoria, Veloflex, Challenge. Most durable is Conti Sprinter. Use glue, not tape.

I meant to say Clement Criterium and Vitt Cx/CG. The Criterium has been replaced by the Challenge Criterium from another source.

Peter, I had bad luck with Conti Sprinter 250's. I cut them down one after another and gave up on them.

For training tires, I'm running the Thai $20 faux Clements (were 3/$50) from the Yellow Jersey. They ride just like the old San Remo, slow, but smooth.

CAMPYBOB said:

I meant to say Clement Criterium and Vitt Cx/CG. The Criterium has been replaced by the Challenge Criterium from another source.

Peter, I had bad luck with Conti Sprinter 250's. I cut them down one after another and gave up on them.

For training tires, I'm running the Thai $20 faux Clements (were 3/$50) from the Yellow Jersey. They ride just like the old San Remo, slow, but smooth.

I guess, YMMV. I use Conti sprinter almost exclusively and have great luck with them. At .1 offa ton, I don't have any luck with cotton tubies like Vittoria or Challenge unless I use them on the front only.

I guess, YMMV.

Agreed. A lot of what we think about particular tire is based on luck and details often not posted...like, were those miles spent on bumpy, broken up, pot-holed roads or edges packed with road trash and gravel? Pounding railroad tracks hard during races? Rider running 125+ PSI all the time?

I also agree that often I could get away with running a cheaper tire up front with less risk of a failure.

I remember buying four Sprinters because a local shop had them in stock and on sale...thought I'ld try them and the price was right. Unfortunately, my luck must have not been running with me for the next few weeks. IIRC, it was tread and sidewall cuts that they suffered. It's been a few years...

Oddly, I had better luck with those d'Alessandro mid-line tubs...eh?...what were they called? Everyone in the area hated them.

PeterF said:

I just bought my first set of tubular wheels (Campy Barcelona laced to Record hubs). I am looking for a good tire for crit racing and would appreciate any advice, but also, what do you all use for tire installation? Glue seems to be an popular choice of course, but has anyone used the Tufo tape and do you like it? Also, is anyone using sealant as a preventative measure.

Thank you.

Buy a cheap rim and use that just for mounting a spare tire on - it'll keep it the tire stretched and if you apply some glue to that tire before you mount it on your race wheels it'll keep the glued side clean. This'll work if you use regular tubular tire glue but if you use something more like the stuff the track guys use then don't bother with the glue until you mount the tire on your racing wheels. Make sure the tire is stretched and apply glue and observe drying times as per the instructions on the side of the glue tin.

Personally, with the way that clinchers are these days I'd save the tubs for the important races. It's not like it's 1985 where there'd be a 1/4lb difference per wheel between a set of 700x25C non-folding Vittoria clinchers with "insta-slip" tread that weighed 350g per tire on a Mavic MA2 rim compared to a GL330 or GEL280 with something nice like a Clement Criterium tub.

swampy1970 said:

Buy a cheap rim and use that just for mounting a spare tire on ...

You can stretch your new tubulars on a 700c rim.

Peter@vecchios said:

I guess, YMMV. I use Conti sprinter almost exclusively and have great luck with them. At .1 offa ton, I don't have any luck with cotton tubies like Vittoria or Challenge unless I use them on the front only.

Peter what size(s) do the sprints come in? Also, sew up sizes seem to differ a bit from clinchers. I would normally race on a 23mm clincher, but would consider something a little large as well. Do tubies measure a little differently or is a 23 tubie the same width as a 23 clincher of the same make?

alfeng said:

You can stretch your new tubulars on a 700c rim.

That you can - but I liked to put some glue on the base tape first. Couldn't do that on a clincher and for the cost of a cheap sprint rim or two (pick some up used from the local craigslist or ebay ads or from local club members) you can stetch and "pre-glue" in one step.

I thought the glueing thing on a spare rim was a bit odd - but I got that advice from one of the best wheel builders in England and my coach, so I wasn't going to argue with their combined 50 years of racing experience and dealing with riders of Tour and national squad caliber...

PeterF said:

Peter what size(s) do the sprints come in? Also, sew up sizes seem to differ a bit from clinchers. I would normally race on a 23mm clincher, but would consider something a little large as well. Do tubies measure a little differently or is a 23 tubie the same width as a 23 clincher of the same make?

22mm is the only size for the Sprinter. I think Comps come in 19mm but skinny tires of any design doesn't make sense to me. There are fatter tubies out there, Roubaix types that get into the 25/28mm sizes. Vittoria.

CAMPYBOB said:

Other than one bike that came from the factory with tape, I've only used glue (Continental, Clement, Tubasti, Mastik, etc.) over the years. I've never rolled a tire so no reason to tempt fate. For really secure glue job, I used to use a contact cement type adhesive designed to install body side molding onto cars...'Fastac' IIRC. It set up quickly and once on it was very hard to remove a mounted tire.

Mastic arguably is the most heat resistant cement, Tubasti the least, and Continental and Clement are probably somewhere in the middle, although they have never given me a problem. I've used Tubasti, and I've never rolled a tire, but after seeing how easily I can pull off a flat tire on a hot day I'd only use it in an emergency.

Heat resistance is the ability to not liquefy and lose adhesion under heat.

I used tape for about a year and had no issues at all. People really seem to hate on the Tufo tape, but I've had great luck with it (Note: I was doing 90% crits...probably about 30 of them that year). The tape was used on some team wheels that I was racing. Tape is really easy to install and usually doesn't leave too much of a mess.

The one bad thing I have seen happen with tape is sometimes a layer of carbon will start to peel up off the inside of the rim when you remove the tape.

rudycyclist said:

I used tape for about a year and had no issues at all. People really seem to hate on the Tufo tape, but I've had great luck with it (Note: I was doing 90% crits...probably about 30 of them that year). The tape was used on some team wheels that I was racing. Tape is really easy to install and usually doesn't leave too much of a mess.

The one bad thing I have seen happen with tape is sometimes a layer of carbon will start to peel up off the inside of the rim when you remove the tape.

And for those who ride on them daily, with a spare tire, unable to put your spare on after a flat. The tape doesn't stay on the rim. Cannot repair a taped sewup tire either unless you get all the tape off, sometimes not possible. There are some advantages, like being able to ride it immediately but generally speaking, I think glue is a better idea. Gluing a tire properly, with a little solvent brush, etc, is not messy at all.

Good point ^^. I was using them for racing only, not for every day use.

Peter@vecchios said:

I guess, YMMV. I use Conti sprinter almost exclusively and have great luck with them. At .1 offa ton, I don't have any luck with cotton tubies like Vittoria or Challenge unless I use them on the front only.

I ordered a set of the Conti Sprinters. The wheels came last week. I can't wait to try them out.

Peter@vecchios said:

And for those who ride on them daily, with a spare tire, unable to put your spare on after a flat. The tape doesn't stay on the rim. Cannot repair a taped sewup tire either unless you get all the tape off, sometimes not possible. There are some advantages, like being able to ride it immediately but generally speaking, I think glue is a better idea. Gluing a tire properly, with a little solvent brush, etc, is not messy at all.

I use a little brush to put the initial coats on the wheel and the single; but the final coat, seeing as the Vittoria Mastik One dries very quickly, i typically paint on with my finger onto the rim bed. I find this method the best for getting those even base layers and then getting enough on quickly to mount the tyre.