tubulars vs. clinchers

"Jay Beattie" :

Every time we have one of these threads, I think about
resurrecting one of my old sets of sew-up wheels and giving them
a whirl again. Then I remember the hassle of gluing, the expense
of the tires and the hassle of fixing a flat sew-up -- and never
getting the base tape glued on just right or the casing sewn-up
just right

Used to take me under 10 minutes to repair a tub.
I claim the world incision record (2cm of stitching to do).

Cut only one or two stiches. Use long nose pliers to open casing then
pull out inner tube.

snip
track wheels. Pinacle of 70's technology! I'll throw a couple
of my old, rotten Barums on those babies and go for it. -- Jay
Beattie.

Rotten is the word I free-associate with Barum. I can see your babes
now, a bit wonky, no basetape.

In fact rotten is a word that springs to mind for most of yesteryears
tubulars. Given a choice between the racing clinchers of today and
Barums (or the Wolbers, Hutchinsons and quite a few others from the
past) I would take the clincher and suffer the bumpier ride.

I understand people welcoming racing clinchers with open arms if they
have been weaned on the false-ecomomy tubulars, as most were.

A set of arm-and-leg Clement Crits was another matter entirely.


Andrew Bradley

After trying VeloFlex tires with Michelin Latex tubes. .I junked (sold) tow
sets of wheels (Zipp and American Classic) and replaced them with their
clincher equivalents.

-David Jones
"David L. Johnson" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 18:00:53 +0000, Matt O'Toole wrote:

Yes, and the water never gets that cold. It's generally in the high 50s
in winter, and high 60s in summer. Every degree makes a big difference
when you're in the water. 65 and below is cold -- wetsuits required.
Here are the typical temps:

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/spac.html

Notice how it's colder once you get north of Malibu/Zuma.

Just head up to Monterey for cold water.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | It is a scientifically proven fact that a mid life crisis can
_`\(,_ | only be cured by something racy and Italian. Bianchis and
(_)/ (_) | Colnagos are a lot cheaper than Maserattis and Ferraris. --
Glenn Davies

On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 04:33:46 +0000, Andrew Bradley wrote:

A set of arm-and-leg Clement Crits was another matter entirely.

Those were real tubies, not the junk you mentioned earlier. Strange that
I was able to afford them back when I was a college student. Actually,
they were not very expensive at all back then. Cheap tires (Elvisio,
etc.) were $5-$6, and good silks were $15-$20.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored
_`\(,_ | by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. --Ralph Waldo
(_)/ (_) | Emerson

"A Muzi" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 05 Dec 2003 01:36:21 +0000, A Muzi wrote:
An early effort was the Vittoria Record in 1975/6. Alegedly a tubular
casing with a kevlar bead sewn in the rolled-back edges . I put a set
on
my own tandem in 1976.
No way to confuse that experience with a tubular but they did work and
wear just fine.

David L. Johnson wrote:
Odd. So, you claim that with exactly the same casing, you can tell the
difference between the two tires, simply because one is glued to the rim
and the other held on by the bead? Or by the "experience" do you
include
the gluing ritual and flat repair?
snip

Could be more than just the tire at work here. I remember riding some Open
Corsa CXs a few years ago. Felt different than riding the tubular version.

I was riding the tubular version on some GL330s and the clinchers on some
Open SUP CDs (think Open Pro) so that may have had something to do with it
too...

I suspect that if you have similar construction tubular rims and clincher
rims, the difference isn't as big as you'd think. Problem is, most tubular
rims are either light box-section rims, or big ole aero rims. So you can't
compare apples to apples.

Mike