# Tubular wheels: glue vs Tufo tape



## [email protected] (Sep 29, 2008)

Hello everyone,
I'm looking to buy a ''almost new'' set of 2008 Zipp tubular 404 which have tire glued on them for a very good price. The thing is I was interested in using the Tufo gluing tape which is easier to use then the old fashion glue.

My question is: is it easy to remove all the glue risidue when you remove your old tire to use tufo tape afterwards to fix your new tire?

Thank you for your answers!!


----------



## Rubber Lizard (May 10, 2007)

Learning to glue tubulars is part of having tubulars. Tufo tape won't make stretching the tubular over the rim any easier. That's the hardest part of dealing with tubbies, the glue is only slightly messy. 

Tufo tape may be somewhat easier to use than glue but it is unbelievably difficult to remove the tape from the rim when you need to mount a new tire. 

Tufo tape also doesn't seem to be as secure in terms of holding the tire although I've never heard of a tire coming off with Tufo. Once set up the Tufo tape/tire combo seems to wiggle more when you try and manipulate the tire with your hand. A traditionally glued tire won't have that feel. I personally don't trust the Tufo.


----------



## epicxt (Apr 26, 2005)

*Newb glue-ups!*

I just finished gluing up (no tape) my first 2 sets of tubies for 'cross a week or 2 ago. It wasn't bad at all. I've since raced both sets of wheels with no problems.
Probably the single best tip I gleaned from this forum was to mask off the braking surface of the rim with electricians tape before beginning the glue-up process. This made the 3 layers of glue on the rim go much quicker since I didn't have to be quite as anal about getting glue on the machined surface, and the little bit of mess that happens while mounting the tires is no big deal since when you're done you just peel off the tape.:thumbsup: 

Lovin' them!


----------



## Guest (Oct 17, 2008)

stay away from the tape


----------



## [email protected] (Sep 29, 2008)

*ok.. lets say that I stay with glue..*

lets say that I stay with glue.. If I get a flat tire during a ride, is it possible to remount a new tire on the rim without adding glue to end the ride?

Are tubular more resistant to flat that clinchers?

Thank you for your answers!!


----------



## NealH (May 2, 2004)

The Tufo tape is the way to go. It makes tire changes easy and, it is every bit as secure as glue - imho. And, you don't need to remove any left over tape residue when you change tires. Just stick the new tape on. 

Here is some interesting info on cincher/tubular tires and how they perform. Take it with the usual grain of salt.


----------



## BeeCharmer (Apr 30, 2003)

Do a search for folks who've had their Zipp base delaminate after using tape. Interesting pictures. If you have a flat and put on a brand new tire with no glue, you'll be fine as long as you don't do hard cornering. Glue it properly when you get home. I've always thought that Tufo tape was solving a problem that didn't really exist.

Re: masking tape, just let the glue dry to tacky before putting the tire on, no muss, no fuss. If you do get a little glue on your rims, just rub it off with your finger.


----------

