I've gotten two flats with tubular tires in the past two weeks. This was traumatic enough, but when I pulled the tires off the rim, they came off with almost no resistance. This worries me, for obvious reasons (I've raced on these tires several times). These are not the first tires that I've glued, and the last pair were almost impossible to remove (I needed tire levers). When I glued these, I followed the usual directions, one layer on the rim, one on the tires, mount when glue on rim is tacky and let sit for a while (only one layer on rim because the rim has already been used). Tires are Schwalbe, glue is Continental.
Any ideas? Does rim glue soften when wet? It's been hot, but not glue-melting hot.
I've gotten two flats with tubular tires in the past two weeks. This was traumatic enough, but when I pulled the tires off the rim, they came off with almost no resistance. This worries me, for obvious reasons (I've raced on these tires several times). These are not the first tires that I've glued, and the last pair were almost impossible to remove (I needed tire levers). When I glued these, I followed the usual directions, one layer on the rim, one on the tires, mount when glue on rim is tacky and let sit for a while (only one layer on rim because the rim has already been used). Tires are Schwalbe, glue is Continental.
Quoted message said:
Any ideas? Does rim glue soften when wet? It's been hot, but not glue-melting hot.
You didn't describe the "with almost no resistance" part of the item. Was the glue dry and cracking, soft and stringy, or absorbed by the base tape and no longer n the interface?
you might find answers to your questions in the FAQ:
<< I've gotten two flats with tubular tires in the past two weeks. This was traumatic enough, but when I pulled the tires off the rim, they came off with almost no resistance. This worries me, for obvious reasons (I've raced on these tires several times). These are not the first tires that I've glued, and the last pair were almost impossible to remove (I needed tire levers). When I glued these, I followed the usual directions, one layer on the rim, one on the tires, mount when glue on rim is tacky and let sit for a while (only one layer on rim because the rim has already been used). Tires are Schwalbe, glue is Continental. Any ideas? Does rim glue soften when wet? It's been hot, but not glue-melting hot. >>
Sounds like you just didn't use enough glue. Make sure to spread it all the way to the edge of the tire bed on the rim and coat the entire base tape. Check the bond by pushing against the sidewall of a deflated tubular with your thumbs. It should not lift away from the rim at the edges or show a gap. No free lunch here-you want to the tire to be firmly stuck to the rim, so it's going to take a little effort to break it loose. Using a tire lever to pry off a glued tubular is standard operating procedure. Nothing abnormal about that.
