Fist Attempt At Gluing Tubular Tires

I knew Jen would be out all day caving with her uncle in Rock Canyon so I decided to go about my virgin entry into the world of gluing tubular tires. You see, years ago (I'd need to check for sure, but my guess is around 100 years ago) the only option for pneumatic tires on a bicycle was a tubular tire. These tires are also called sew-ups, because the tire case and glued on tread are sewn up with the tube inside. No one had come up with the clincher tire and the tire bead, and mating lip on the rim, so gluing tires to the rim was the only option.

The main problem people had with tubular tires were flats. If you got a flat you had to peel off one tire and put on another, much more cumbersome than simply fixing a tube. If you look at old pictures from the Tour De France, and other cycling pictures, you'll see cyclists climbing nasty gravel roads with several tubular tires hung over their shoulders. Today, flats are still a problem, though less so with the advent of sealant.

It just so happens that with modern advances in tire technology tubular tires still offer the best ride, especially in cyclocross where low pressure is king. The pros for tubular tires are lighter tire, less rolling resistance due to the high thread count tire casing that conforms to the ground, and lighter wheels because they don't need the extra material forming the lip for the tire bead. The cons are tire prep and gluing, has to be done a minimum of 24 hours in advance, flats, and cost. Where a quality clincher tire costs ~$50 - $75, a tubular tire costs $100 - $175, or more for ultra premium tires. I managed to stock up on tires when bonktown.com had them on sale for $35.

I started out the day outside, with the kids riding their bikes on the sidewalk, I sat down in a chair with my new tubular wheels, some rags, rubber gloves and mineral spirits. The wheels needed to be cleaned before I could get to gluing. Once the wheels were clean I set up shop in my still unfinished addition where I have our old kitchen table set up. I got my glue, acid brushes (thank you Harbor Freight, 36 for $3.00), and my tires and wheels.

I found the gluing to go along fairly well, though the extremely dry Utah air seemed to suck the moisture out of the glue even before I got it spread out on the cotton tape covering the tire stitches. This resulted in a little thicker coat than I wanted, but it looks like it will be alright. While working on the second coat of glue on the tire I started to have this feeling like I was participating in a rite of passage. That thousands of people had gone before me and done the exact same thing. That the formula of gluing the tires had been refined over the years until it was distilled down to the process in which I was now engaged. I suddenly felt this connection with all of the men(and women) that had gone before me. I was gluing a sew-up tire, something that was both legendary and ordinary all at once.

Later this evening I got to work on the final stages. I had coated my tires with two coats of glue and now had to, somewhat quickly:

put a second coat of glue on the wheel,

put a strip of "Belgian Tape" on the rim over the tacky glue,

put a final coat of glue on the tire,

finally, stretch the tire onto the wheel.

It is on this final step that all romance was lost from the process. Everything went well at first, placing the tire in a basically strait line down the rim, lining up the base tape so it was showing even on both sides of the tire. Then I got to the final third of the tire and it stopped going onto the rim. If you've ever struggled getting a really tight clincher tire onto the rim without tire levers then you've experienced about 25% of the difficulty that I was faced with. Not only did I still have a large amount of the tire still no seated on the rim, but it was also covered in rubber cement that I was supposed to try not to touch or all my work would be for naught. I tried standing on the rim and pulling the tire up and over. I tried holding the tire and wheel against my stomach and pushing the remaining tire up onto the rim, everything I tried failed. I fought with this tire for about 15-20 minutes struggling with all my might. I gave up on trying to save anything, braced the rim on a chair and pushed and pushed, with my now bruised hands, until I had it. I had to quickly get to work straitening the tire out on the rim. With all the pushing, pulling and other ways I man-handled the tire it was really crooked. The glue was setting, or maybe set I'll find out tomorrow, so I got the tire straitened out the best I could and called it good. I used what I had learned to make the second tire go on much quicker. It still wasn't easy but I got it on in 3 minutes instead of 20.

I can look over and see my two wheels leaning against the wall now and I'm glad that no one had to watch fight the mighty battle in which I had been embroiled. I'm glad I took on this new task. I learned something new. I always enjoy learning a new skill, even if it's not pretty or easy the first time through. I don't know if these new tires and wheels will make me any faster, my time may have been better spent doing intervals on the trainer. I don't have a killer competitor instinct that makes me chase down anyone that dares to pass me. I don't expect I'll ever be one of the really fast guys that others admire. I enjoy the technical things I can work on, better equipment, better technique, or even just better lines chosen on the course.

I was going to submit this post to Cyclocross Magazine, but I let it get a bit maudlin and self indulgent. This ended up being more about me than tubular tires. I hope you enjoyed it, I know Hamish did.