Tubular Tires for ‘Cross – More Than A Placebo Effect!

After pinch flatting my clincher tires in four ‘cross races this season, including a double flat at DCCX and flats during two different laps of the Tacchino, I finally took the plunge and bought a set of tubular wheels. I went the inexpensive route and bought a set of hand-built “Nimbus Cross” wheels from Excel Sports in Boulder, CO. The wheels are a solid combination of 14/15 gauge spokes, Mavic Reflex rims, and Ultegra hubs. Not the lightest wheels in the world, but quite strong and completely serviceable. Because Cyclocrossworld was completely sold out of 32cm Dugasts, I went with the excellent Challenge Grifo 32cm tires, front and rear.

One of the things that has kept me from joining the tubular camp is the dread of gluing on the tires. After Peter rolled a tubular at Charm City and after hearing multiple stories of rolled tubulars, I wanted to do it right. I did some searching on the glorious Interweb and turned up a variety of sites with advice on gluing tubulars for cyclocross. Unlike road tubulars, which are held onto the rim (in part) by tire pressure, ‘cross tubies rely almost entirely upon the glue.

One of the best sites I found for advice was the Park Tool site. It offered very similar advice to Cyclocrossworld.com. I basically followed their recommendations: 2 complete coats of Vittoria Mastik One, spread evenly on the base tape and rim with an acid brush, each left to dry overnight. Then a final coat on both the tire and rim before mounting the tire.

I took care to spread the glue to the edges of the rim using my truing stand to hold the rim. I partially inflated the tire to make spreading the glue easier. Don’t let any of the web sites fool you – mounting the tire is difficult. The key to doing it successfully is to pre-stretch the tire, either on a spare rim or with your knees, before attempting to mount it. I tried mounting it while wearing latex gloves, but the gloves stuck to the glue leaving pieces of latex stuck between the tire and rim. After removing the gloves (and the latex shreds) I used my bare hands. Finally, after applying some brute strength and using a twisting motion, I was able to seat the tire on the rim. After getting the tire seated on the rim, I found it difficult to center the tire on the rim because the glue had already started to set up and bond. I’m not sure how to avoid this problem, but I was able to move the tire slightly using a lot of hand strength.

I found the gluing process quite Zen-like and relaxing. I felt like I was participating in some timeless ritual steeped in the hoary old tradition of years of European cyclocross. Or maybe I was just getting high from the glue fumes . . . .

After letting the tires set overnight, I did my first race on them at the VA Cyclocross Champs at Mt. Trashmore in Virginia Beach. The tubulars were fantastic. At 40lbs pressure they hooked up in the dry grass and let me carry more speed into the turns that I’d been able to on my clinchers in similar conditions. I found that riding anything less than 30 lbs of pressure caused the sidewalls to collapse, making the tires too squirmy for most situations. In muddy conditions, like this past weekend, I ran them between 35 and 40lbs. I could have used a few less pounds in the front perhaps, but I still managed to stay upright. The bottom line is that, for me, tubulars are worth the extra time and effort.