# Roadside tubular repair?



## slegros (Sep 22, 2009)

I'm going back to tubulars this year, and need some advice as to roadside repair. In addition to CO2, should I:

A)carry a cheap tub as a spare?

or 

B)Carry sealant? I like this idea as the sealant bottles are smaller than a complete tire, and I can get more mileage out of the same tire without having to remount a new one. Obviously I may get caught out out by a really bad puncture if I only have sealant, but I figure its a risk thats worth the convenience to me...

Do any of the current crop of sealants work well? (I've never tried any..) If so which ones would be recommended?

Thanks in advance!!


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## Frankie13 (Feb 11, 2007)

Stan's no tube is one of the best on the market. So far I never had to change out a tubular on the road but always have a tubular and Stan's sealant in my saddle bag. Recently I started to ride without the saddle bag and just take the sealant with me in my jerseys pocket. 
Maybe it sound funny, but the bike looks so much cleaner without the bag under the seat.


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## Daren (Jul 25, 2008)

C) Both A) and B)


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## bwhite_4 (Aug 29, 2006)

A. for me. I carry a spare tubular in my bottle cage (in a opened water bottle) and a lezyne pump in my jersey 

I might try sealant though at some point, but I'll always carry a spare tubular with me.


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## jwp3476 (Jun 22, 2010)

Yes on a spare, but not a cheap tubular. Take a used tire with some rubber left on it. It will have glue in the base tape and will stick to what glue is left on the rim.

Yes for sealant. I carry a can of Vitoria Pit Stop. I have used it for a thorn and ridden the tire for another 1,000 miles (front tire).


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## slegros (Sep 22, 2009)

Thanks for the advice!!! For some reason Vittoria pit-stop seems to be unavailable where I live(Japan-maybe doesn't pass environmental regs here or something..). Anyone try the Tufo Extreme sealant? Anyone who has tried both have a preference between Tufo Extreme and Stan's?

Thanks!


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

Been using tubulars since 1980.

First, always care a spare tubular (plus CO2 or pump), unless you have race support.

Second, I've never had a sealant work, Tufo or Vittoria.

Third, (option) carry a sewing and patch kit. Yes, you cut the sewn up thread, pull out the tube, patch it, and stitch it up again.

Fourth, (option) cell phone.





slegros said:


> Thanks for the advice!!! For some reason Vittoria pit-stop seems to be unavailable where I live(Japan-maybe doesn't pass environmental regs here or something..). Anyone try the Tufo Extreme sealant? Anyone who has tried both have a preference between Tufo Extreme and Stan's?
> 
> Thanks!


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## natedg200202 (Sep 2, 2008)

Fixed said:


> Third, (option) carry a sewing and patch kit. Yes, you cut the sewn up thread, pull out the tube, patch it, and stitch it up again.


I have never heard this as an option for roadside repair. In the summertime, I would die of heat exposure before I would be able to repair a tubular by hand.


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*choice?*



natedg200202 said:


> I have never heard this as an option for roadside repair. In the summertime, I would die of heat exposure before I would be able to repair a tubular by hand.


Back in the day before sealants and cell phones, when you generally carried only one spare tire, this was your only option to get home after the second flat. Yup, have done it in California central valley heat. Amazing what you can do when you have no choice. ;-)


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## jmchapple (Feb 8, 2007)

D) ride clinchers.


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## MisterMike (Aug 12, 2004)

e) Hire support car.


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## martinrjensen (Sep 23, 2007)

In the mid to late 70's I ran tubulars (sewups) and only carried a patch kit with a curved needle. I did not have an inordinate amount of flats and remember one time being quite proud of myself for fixing a flat and getting back on the road in about 15 minutes. 
So that was apparently really good time for me to remember it after all these years. Normal was probably closer to half an hour. When I get a flat now(clinchers) it takes me at least 15 minutes but then again I did slow down and kind of take a break at the same time. I don't know if the glue they use is too strong to pull off the tire to get to the stitching now or what. Also I'm curious as to why they changed the name to tubulars instead of sewups. I remember that repairing them seemed like no big deal and I was no where near as careful of the road surface as I am now.


natedg200202 said:


> I have never heard this as an option for roadside repair. In the summertime, I would die of heat exposure before I would be able to repair a tubular by hand.


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## Road Hazard (Feb 5, 2011)

Wait a minute, you can stick a tubular on without a several hour wait for the glue to cure?

I always thought that whether you had a spare or not, the glue needed hours to dry.? 

Granted I learned a lot about cycling from another forum that I won't name, and where I ultimately realized there were a lot of keyboard cowboys who didn't know what they were talking about. So forgive the noob question.

So if you do replace a tubular on the road, do you have to take it easy the rest of the ride (i.e., the glue is sticky but not fully set) or are you set to go?


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## jwp3476 (Jun 22, 2010)

My spare tire is an old tubular with over 1500 miles on it that still has glue in the base tape. It is not even very sticky but when it is pressed into the remaining glue on the rim, it sticks to it. I had a flat a couple of weeks ago and pulled out the old spare that hadn't been looked at for a year or so. After mounting the spare and riding home about 5 miles the tire was well attached to the rim and I had a much harder time removing it than I expected. Now, I wouldn't try to ride a fast decent with switchbacks at speed with that spare but it certainly wasn't going to roll off.


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*yup*



Road Hazard said:


> So if you do replace a tubular on the road, do you have to take it easy the rest of the ride (i.e., the glue is sticky but not fully set) or are you set to go?


I would at least take it easy on corners. Pump it up fully, and the air pressure seats it pretty well. There should be some glue remaining on the rim and you put some on the tire in advance, so that helps. 

Try it out. Mount a tubular that has been pre-glued on a rim and pump it up to 110-120 psi. Then, try to move the tire off the rim. While forces on the road going through a corner hard likely will be higher, you can still see that it's not easy to pull the tire off.


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