Hello List,

I have a set of Reynolds Stratus DV UL carbon tubulars. They are awesome wheels, very lightweight, and excellent climbers. Initially, I bought the wheels for race situations, but I am enjoying the ride quality, aerodynamics, and reduced weight so much that I find myself using these wheels in training more often.

What can I do to get the best set up against flatting? I want to avoid carrying a spare tire with me, it just is too bulky. I currently ride Continental Sprinters and they seem like good tires, but am not sure on their defenses against flats. Do I need to start over and do the Tufo sealent deal or do I detach these tires and run sealent in them?

Thanks!

Stupid F**K You don't use tubulars for training. Apart from that, just keep them clean (ie before the race check for grits) I often also give them a wipe with vinegar

First, go ahead and use them for training. I do and several of my teammates do as well. Never heard of magically wiping them with vinegar, must smell nice at the line. I use a couple of squirts of Stan's No Leak in my tubies. You can put it in while they're mounted, just remove the valve stem and squirt. Haven't had a flat this year after 2000+ miles.

chris

Don't use the Tufo sealant as a preventative. It will pool up at the bottom of the tire on cold mornings and through your wheel out of balance. Carry Tufo sealant only as a repair tool (and don't forget the valve tool).

Conti Sprinters are pretty durable, but not invicible. If you want a good, nearly-invincible training tubular, consider a Tufo S33 special-hard as rock rubber, but about as flat-proof as any tubular can get. If $40/tire is too rich for a training tire, then look for a good deal on Tufo S22-almost as durable, but much more pliant. A bit heavier, though....

Whatever you do, stay as far away from cheap Vittoria tubulars-they are cr@p.

What can I do to get the best set up against flatting? I want to avoid carrying a spare tire with me, it just is too bulky. I currently ride Continental Sprinters and they seem like good tires, but am not sure on their defenses against flats. Do I need to start over and do the Tufo sealent deal or do I detach these tires and run sealent in them?

Guaranteed way to get a flat: don't carry a spare. There is NO WAY to prevent flats, as you can get a tire cut or any number of other problems. This is, stated simply, a foolish request. Unless you have 24-7 road service that is not far away, your plan is fatally flawed. Full stop.

Hello List,
What can I do to get the best set up against flatting? I want to avoid carrying a spare tire with me, it just is too bulky.
Thanks!
Please go to the chalk board and write, "I will always carry at least one spare with me at all times, no matter what." That's true with clinchers as well. At least 1 spare tube and a boot is minimal, unless you're only riding crits or time trials.

To prevent tubulars from flatting, ride them only on the rollers or a trainer.

I have never had a puncture related flat with a tubular. I did break a valve stem on a Tufo one day. I do not carry a spare.

No way to prevent them, but I've had good luck with stans and regularly going over my tires to pick out cinders/glass/etc to keep it from working it's way through the casing. One day I took a couple larger chunks of glass to have stans seal up the remaining holes almost immediatley.

I got lucky- I got my first flat w/ tubulars on saturday- fortunately, I was less than a mile from home. It was not like your ordinary tiny cut either- nice gash about an inch- I'd still like to know what I hit. An hour earlier and I would have been in the woods in southwest MA w/ no cell phone service- that would have sucked.
By the way, I use tufo s33 specials WITH the sealant AS A PREVENTATIVE--- never had any problems w/ the sealant pooling.
Three seasons now, 1 flat! Now I carry a spare.

I got my 1st flat with my Conti Comps during a race and of course why would I bother carrying a spare tubular during a race. I learned the hard way being 27 miles out in the middle of now where and my group I was riding with just left me behind. The one good thing was I was doing 35 mph with a flat front and didn't even notice it. If that was a clincher all hell would have broke lose in the pack.

#1 Don't use a cheap Sprinter, Use a Conti Comp 22
#2 Watch the road.

Any tire will flat if you roll over a sharp object
.
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1. Stay inside
2. move to Singapore. By all reports the cleanest roads in the world, being caned 100 times for littering may be a deterrent.
3. specialized airlock sealant. Lets you avoid the torture of riding Tufos and still prevent a lot of flats.
4. Don't ride during the late May early June graduation season bottle breaking festival

If you ride enough flats are unavoidable. Tubulars are generally better than clinchers - in 20+ years on tubulars I have had 2 flats in one ride only once, and that was on a 120 mile ride with Dugasts which got shredded on a freshly broken bottle hiding in the shade.

Avoid riding through water. If you remember high school chemistry where you couldn't cut the rubber tubing with a sharp razor blade and just a drop of water would lubricate the rubber and the razor would cut it as if it was warm butter. That can happen with any tire so when the tire is wet, any somewhat sharp object can penetrate the tire.

For what? Fold a lightweight tire and strap it under your saddle--you can use an old toe clip strap or a length of velcro. If you fold it right, you'll never notice the thing unless you look at it. There are also bags aimed at the tubbie market that should keep things wrapped and protected from the elements (and road stuff) that shouldn't get in your way. You don't have to keep the spare in your jersey pocket if you don't want to.

Independent of general notions about eliminating pinch flats and so forth, I'm under the impression that I flat les often on tubulars than clinchers, but stuff happens sometimes, and anybody might have a run of bad luck--there's just nothing you can do to guarantee zero flat tires ever, short of never riding the bike.

well, you can't pinch-flat a tubular, which accounts for Idon'tknowhowmanypercent of flats with clinchers...

well, you can't pinch-flat a tubular, which accounts for Idon'tknowhowmanypercent of flats with clinchers...

I'll accept that a tubular is less likely to pinch flat than a clincher, but since I've seen several riders pinch flat their tubulars, I don't think you can say that you can't pinch flat a tubular.