Tubular talk

If you’ve raced cross you have most likely heard about tubulars. The magical ride, that all the pros ride them, crazy stories about gluing techniques (and maybe failures), the exorbitant prices. Do you really need tubulars to race? Absolutely not. But at some point you’ve probably gotten curious about them or maybe you are even ready to make the leap. Let’s talk about why you might want to buy tubulars and some strategies for making the most of your purchase.

What are tubulars and how are they different from clinchers? The primary difference is that, while a clincher is held to the rim by the edges of the tire (the beads) hooking over the edges of the rim, and air pressure holding everything in place, tubulars have no beads. Instead, the two edges of the tire are sewn together around an inner tube (or nothing, in the special case of a tubeless tubular).One ramification of this is that they must be glued onto the rim. All tubulars are attached to the rim via glue instead of using air pressure to hold them to the rims. That means you can run as low a pressure as you want and the tire will not come off, assuming an adequate glue job. Lower pressures are critical in cyclocross, when you want as much traction as possible, and you also want the tire to conform to an uneven surface. Running pressure in the high teens or 20’s allows as much of the tire tread to contact the ground as possible and stay in contact with the ground as the tire rolls forward, while also acting as a mini-suspension. Granted you don’t always need that but wouldn’t you love a little extra help taking corners in the mud or a high speed off camber?

The second issue is a bit more complicated. Most tubulars have a tread that is attached by hand to the tire casing with glue instead of vulcanizing, to a casing that has a high thread count and contains a tube made of latex instead of buytl. Each of these factors contributes to the famed suppleness everyone talks about with tubulars. A high-thread-count, supple casing with a thin rubber tread glued on is simply more flexible than a more rigid, low thread count casing with the rubber tread baked on at high temperature (vulcanizing).These attributes allow the tire to roll faster for less power input and conform to irregularities in the ground better, muddy or dry, especially compared to the tires that came stock on your bike. You can buy a high quality glued tread clincher (such as Challenge) and use a latex tube in it and get roughly 75% of the advantages of tubulars, but you still have to deal with the minimum tire pressure issues inherent in any clincher in order to avoid pinch-flatting. And a clincher setup will always be slightly heavier than an equivalent tubular setup because the clincher rim requires the two extrusions for the tire bead to hook onto — tubular rims do not.

Clement and Tufo tires are their own special case. The tread is vulcanized on like a clincher, not glued. And they do not have a tube in them, instead using an airtightsidewall, much like a tubeless clincher tire. They are still glued on though. So while they do not have the suppleness of most other tubulars, they can still be run at low pressures. And I think the tread of the Clement PDX in particular is great for anything from mud to dry. And their tubeless construction means they are nearly impossible to pinch flat and they work very well with sealant, compared to other tubulars — rendering them much more durable on rough or thorn-strewn courses. I consider the Clement tires a great gateway drug for tubulars and down the road you can decide if you want to move on something nicer like an FMB.

Why doesn’t everyone run these? Why don’t they come stock? They require more labor to install, and expert labor at that. While gluing is something that almost anyone can learn to do, it does require time, patience, and some level of expertise. Or the money to pay someone else for all that, if anyone local to you can adequately glue a tire for cyclocross [link here to the various cx mag articles detailing glue technique]. So make sure you can do it yourself or know of a reputable person who can do it. Ask around, one or two names will immediately pop up as people to trust. Then there’s what I call the $100 flat. If you do puncture one you’re out a lot more money to replace the flatted one. That can be tough on anyone’s budget. Ask me about flatting an FMB on its first ride! Lastly, it requires a dedicated set of wheels instead of pulling clincher road tires off a set and installing cross tires.

Here’s how to make the most of your money. You can know when you’re going to pay for an item or you can know when you’re going to buy an item but it’s hard to control both simultaneously. Set a number in your mind and then start looking around at the myriad places to buy cycling related equipment. You can find a rim brake 10 speed (maybe 11spd convertible) wheelset with a set of tires glued on for around $2–300 used. Typically these are relatively inexpensive aluminum rims with Challenge, Tufo or Clement tires glued on. The hub and spokes don’t matter so much. If you’re looking for disc brake wheels the prices will be a bit higher but you can always find closeouts or gently used stuff. Used items typically go up for sale around August (as riders get new sponsors) and then again just before and after cross nationals in January as people start to need cash flow. Keep in mind you’ll also need to budget a bit for getting tires glued to these rims. Always always check the glue job of a used tire. The number one rule of bike racing is your front wheel is your responsibility. The cross corollary of that is the integrity of your glue job is your responsibility.

What tires to buy? I don’t claim that the advice I am offering here is the only right answer. I’m trying to provide a quick and actionable response to the very common question, but your particulars may vary. I always suggest buying a set of mud tires first. Mud tires will do muddy and dry conditions and the qualities of tubulars really shine on a muddy day. If you have only a dry set of tires you’re out of luck on a muddy or variable day. I would suggest the Clement PDX, which is a wonderful mud tire that also rolls quite well in the dry. You could also purchase the Challenge Baby Limus which is a semi-mud tire (also known as an all around tire). Both of these are a great place to start. The next thing to look for is an all purpose tire. The Challenge Grifo is the standard in this area for many good reasons. It’s always worth asking around to see what’s best for your local conditions or what the trusted local shop stocks.

Typically a glue job will last two years, if stored properly. [link to storage article here] At that point you can think about what to do with your investment. The larger part is spent on buying the wheels. You’ve already done that. You’ll have to pay for another glue job, if you intend to keep the wheels, so that’s another sunk cost. So after two years you can either buy the same tires you’ve been using or make the next step and move up to FMBs, Dugasts, or a team edition Challenge if you want some truly pro level tires. I’ve been giving my wheels to junior teams to have them pull the tires off and clean the rims and letting them keep the tires which works well for everyone.

If you’re reading this magazine you’re probably already pretty interested in cross. With any cycling endeavor equipment is a large part of that. Tubular tires are both a way to indulge the idea that you take the sport seriously and offer the best bang for the buck in adding value to a bike you already own. A Redline with FMB (or even Challenge) tires will have more impact on your performance than a similar bike with Di2 and clinchers. While there are some drawbacks to owning tubulars, primarily cost, there are many benefits to them that may ultimately be worth buying them. Think about what you want, what you can afford and what resources you have available to you to make that purchase an option. And use the time between now and the start of the season to give you some flexibility in that purchase. And enjoy them, they are an absolutely magical ride!