Hey folks

As a tubular newbie I rolled a brand new Tufo Flexus last season (not enough glue), and ripped out the valve stem. Other than that, the tire is brand new (2 warm up laps).

I contacted Tire Alert who fixes tubies to ask if they could repair it. Their response was "look and see if there is a seam by pulling the base tape back, if there is we can retube them." I don't really know what this means - can anyone who knows the construction of the Flexus help me out?

Is it worth having a Flexus "retubed" if it is even possible?

Thanks
Jay

I think that flexus is like previous Tufos. They use a "vulcanised tube/caseing", meaning the tube is part of, or at least stuck to, the inside of the tire. Being one unit they should be inseparable. Bummer for you.

Since the tire is cashed anyway, peal off the base tape and check to make sure. If you peal the base tape (the part of the tire that takes the glue) and there is a stiched or sewn seam there, you may be in luck. Send it to tirealert.

The entire valve stem or just the valve core? How does glue have anything to do with holding the stem in place since the rim is the first surface to oppose the pressure when pulling on the stem. Very interesting......

The whole stem. When the tire rolled (due to insufficient glue), the valve stem ripped out, as it was through the whole in the rim, and the lateral force of the roll-off ripped it out.

Jay

I did one race on mine this year.
5 laps in, i cut the front on shale rock, two turns of the rim and it was flat.
These were brand new tires!! 100 bucks each!!!
Went back to clinchers after that race.

Anyone need Reflex rims and one good tire and one with a hole in it?

I did one race on mine this year.
5 laps in, i cut the front on shale rock, two turns of the rim and it was flat.
These were brand new tires!! 100 bucks each!!!
Went back to clinchers after that race.

Anyone need Reflex rims and one good tire and one with a hole in it?

Don't give up so easily! Did you put some sealant in the punctured tire to see if it might be possible to repair?

Keep the tubulars for courses that don't have nasty shale sections.

Jay, I think you're out of luck. The Tufo tires do not use inner tubes like most tubulars, if you tore the valve stem out, you're hosed.

there is an article on bikeman.com that discusses tubulars, gluing, and their repair (which is what you'd be interested in). There is mention of a company that will re-tube a tubular for something like $20.

Can't re-tube a Tufo. The problem's not getting the tube in, but sew it up. The opening doesn't have to be more than an inch, but as mentioned. Where would one put the stitches? I don't know. The sides could be strong enough. Worth a try :)