Tubs

How long did it take for you to change?

Seems like the veloflex tyres are quite puncture prone.

All the time is in stripping it off, and once you've got it started it takes maybe 30 seconds.

The getting it started part is a couple of minutes- getting a tyre lever under the tub speeds things along nicely.

Putting the spare on (as long as it's stretched) is simplicity itself, couple of tweaks to make sure it's straight and pump it up and go.

My verdict on the Veloflex is to change them at 1,500 miles, both of mine had hit ~1,700 miles, and on detailed inspection looked it.

The general concensus is that Veloflex need a fair bit of maturing before use. Then they are far more resiliant.

This is personal knowledge, not just stuff I stole off the internet, while deciding what tubs to buy.

LOL. Totally stolen from web.

Tire maturing...does that mean 20 year old NOS tubs are the boss?

I associate old rubber with cracks but...I may have missed something.

Raced, road, on tubs this weekend. Can report how much nicer they are then racing on clinchers.
Tubs>Clinchers.

Placebo or not, as even if it's placebo it makes me feel better, which is beneficial.

JWest - I belive that proper tubs, with cotton and what, so veloflex, FMB, benefit from being left to mature for ~6 months or so before being fitted. Improves puncture resistance and things.

From WW tubs expert
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=75432&start=30

Hi,

+1.
A little better at protecting you from the typical urban junk.
All in all the Veloflex Carbon keep on amazing me at how well their pretty basic puncture protection belt (callicott) works once the tyres have been matured for at least six months.
I know, this is controversial but my experience suggests this is very important for such handmade tyres using natural rubber etc.

IME you should pick tubs according to where you ride. I wouldn't dream of using Carbons just to tour around a big city...

Ciao, ;)

Tire maturing...does that mean 20 year old NOS tubs are the boss?

I associate old rubber with cracks but...I may have missed something.

6 months or so I read.

As a polymer chemist it makes sense to me.

What about the time the tyres have spent on the shelf of some warehouse, doesn't that count?

They have a coating for storage, which is why you rub down new tubs with alcohol or spirit vinegar before using them on steep banked wooden tracks.

High-end tubs will typically benefit from age and easily keep up to 10 years providing you store them correctly i.e. in a cool, dry and dark room. Ideally store them stretched/mounted on a spare rim and keep them lightly inflated. This is not strictly necessary, but do avoid keeping them folded up for long periods of time.

I'm tempted to start buying Conti Comps instead of my usual Sprinter/Sprinter Gatorskins. Around £50 seems to be the usual price here in the UK, is this the 'right price', or can they be got cheaper elsewhere ?

Also tempted to move from 22/23 to 25mm, should they be a bit comfier (as with clinchers) ?

Depends on rim width. If you've 23mm rims get 25c. If you 19mm rims, get 23c.

And sprinters are meant to be a faster tyre than comps. Cheaper too.

Wouldn't it be more aero to get the same width as the rim?

See how much you like riding around on 19c tyres and report back :)

But seriously, no idea. You'll be able to find some here;
http://www.aeroweenie.com/data.html

I'm just going by the whole 23mm rim + 23mm clincher tyre thing everyone keeps going on about.

Aeroweenie, lol.

And sprinters are meant to be a faster tyre than comps. Cheaper too.

Really? not saying it isent so just bit suprised if it is.

Bold figure is rolling resistance

Continental Competition (22) Tubular X 22** 0.00340** 0.00006 16.7 2 1 New Tire - Lightly Glued

Continental Sprinter (22) Tubular X 23 0.00327 0.00001 16.1 2 1 New Tire - Shop Glued

So sprinter should be a little faster. The comp was lightly glued, so figure might improve with better gluing, but then the sprinter was shop glued, so that probably means lighter too.
Given the sprinter is a lot cheaper, I'd get them.

Source: http://www.biketechreview.com/tires_old/images/AFM_tire_testing_rev9.pdf

I'm just going by the whole 23mm rim + 23mm clincher tyre thing everyone keeps going on about.

That's also because the shape that a clincher takes up is determined by the width of the rim (among other things), whereas a tub is always a good approximation of round.

Wouldn't it be more aero to get the same width as the rim?

Zipp brought out 22mm tubs to match the 27mm wide (middle of rim) firecrests. The profile looks pretty similar on both the tyre, and the spoke sides of the rim. Which is cool.

I kinda copied this buy running a Veloflex Extreme 22mm on the front of my Chinacrest rims.

I havent had a chance to windtunnel test this yet.

[/aeroweenie]

That's also because the shape that a clincher takes up is determined by the width of the rim (among other things), whereas a tub is always a good approximation of round.

This^

The clincher tyre rides better, and is less prone to snakebite punctures. The difference on a MTB tyre is really noticeable when you hike the rim width up.

Depends on rim width. If you've 23mm rims get 25c. If you 19mm rims, get 23c.

And sprinters are meant to be a faster tyre than comps. Cheaper too.

I'm not too bothered about which is the faster. After something that rides a bit nicer, whilst still not going to explode in a shower of rubber at the sight of a shard of glass.

Actually, looking at the tubs, the Sprinter, Gatorskin and Competition are all 180 tpi (in Conti's fudging way of doing tpi). I wonder if they all have the same carcass ? In which case, I'm sticking with Sprinters...

How much does sealant slow tubs tyres down?

You're making the tyre heavier, which is probably a good and bad thing, depending on the scenario.

I don't think a useful evaluation can be made without serious scientific testing in controlled/measured environments. To the testing lab! >>>>>>

I think if you were to keep at least one set of wheels sealant-free for racing, you could use sealant in your other wheels without worrying about the effects much.

Continuing in the outside(r) track, I had fun speeding along loose/hard-mix gravel roads in the mountains this past week: up front I just managed to squeeze in a Tufo Diamond D28 cross-tyre (1 mm clearance), but sadly the rear brake bridge would not allow for this, so mounted the trusted Specialized Espoir on the back. The Tufo did amazingly on the gravel, plenty of control, soaked up pretty much anything (rocks and washboards, had it at around 70-80 psi), and allowed for quite hard breaking on loose gravel before skidding. The rear did not fare so well, developing a very localized but highly pronounced bulge (looked like the casing had torn inside the rubber thread, allowing the tube to push out) which started to rub on the brake. Had to drop pressure to maybe 20-30 psi just to let the wheel spin freely -- worked as long as i was on gravel, killed my legs when I continued on asphalt. Considering switching back to clincher on the rear, looking for something with a little thread that will just fit to continue gravel adventures.

tl;dr: the Tufo D28 is an awsome gravel tub for road bikes! (and it's seriously cheap from cyclecomponents.se)

^ that reminds me...some of the local CX swear by tubs.

Take two layers of tape and 5 layers of glue to stay on if I may believe the tales. But low pressure deformation on a tub will be more even I imagine as theres no rim edge involved in deformation. I guess that means better handling / ride quality?

As a tub n00b I'm still surprised how comfy a 22 mm tub is on shite city roads. If thread invent a self healing tub that'd be quite awesome :)

Lump of tub cement rattling around in my front rim- how best to get it out?

At low speeds this is annoying as it rattles around.