On Wed, 18 Jan 2017 10:29:17 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

On Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 8:10:41 PM UTC-6, John B. wrote:
I have a set of wheels with sew ups somewhere. I last used them maybe
40 years ago. I've never raced, so sew ups offer no benefits to me. I
wonder if they still will hold air?


When you have a flat they are much faster to fix. Just rip the flat
off the rim and stick on another from the collection you have strapped
under the seat :-)

John B.

Have you ever fixed a tubular on the side of the road? Or even in the shop at home? No one just rips off the flat tubular and quickly sticks the new one on the rim. Does not happen that way in the real world. Maybe in fantasy land. Tubulars are glued on very well. It takes a lot of pulling and prying to get a little bit of the tire off the rim. Then a lot of strength to slowly pull the rest of the tire off the rim. Several minutes of work or more. Then to put the new one on, you better pray it is well stretched on an old rim. You start at one side and slowly work it onto the rim with old glue. Slowly pulling it on. Then the last few inches you strain and stress until maybe hopefully you get it on. Then you spend several more minutes trying to get the tire somewhat straight on the rim. The old glue does not allow the tire to be moved very easily. Keep living in your fantasy world.

I was using "fix" as a "fix" of the situation, i.e. flat tire on the
bike.

But your assertion that tubulars are glued on so well that you can't
pull them off is, based on some ten years of riding tubulars, just not
so. In fact once the tires were stretched - put them on a rim, pump
them up to 120 psi and leave them there for a week or so - I never had
any problem putting them on the wheels. And I might add that my record
was 4 flats in a 15 Km ride and pushed the bike the last kilometer
home.

(Which is why I no longer ride tubulars :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.