Yo, so I’m the proud new owner of a set of Zipp 440 Tubulars, with a sexy set of Conti’ Sprinters included. Since I am new to these wonderfully fast machines, I have yet to experience a flat.
So my question for all those riding dopers, is, how exactly am I supposed to recover from a flat? The guy at the shop simply suggested that I carry an extra tire around with me, tear the old one off, and put a new tire on every time that I get a flat, but I don’t have $60 just yearning to be spent on a new bike tire, and it seems to defeat the weight savings of a tubular tire to just lug a spare, 250g tire around with you everywhere.
I’m a little fuzzy here. Is there a tube inside or not?
If not I would assume you may be able to patch a flat like a car tire. Basically some sticky rubber strips you stick in the hole with a special tool but you will need enough air in the tire to insert the tool. If the tire can be pulled off the rim then you can apply a patch.
If there is a tube then you just get a bike patch kit
Haw haw haw!
[wipes eyes. . .]
Oh, you’re in trouble. … but they sure feel nice, don’t they? Corner sooo nicely.
You can’t really patch one on the fly. My husband works with bikes and has patched hundreds of them, but usually at a cost of 15 bucks or so which is considered a pleasant option for most people. It involves a lot of glue and sewing and other trauma. There’s a specific kit designed for it (Velox makes it):
Take off the whole damn thing; put the whole tire in water looking for the puncture, as usual.
Rip out 3 inches of stiches around that area
put it in the water again and find the hole INSIDE the tube
Patch it (latex tube? Good luck-- you need the even MORE special latex patch kit)
Let dry
Stitch it all back together
Reglue the base tape to the tire
Wait 24 hours; inflate to 100 psi or so and see if it holds; and mount
Of course replacing a blow-out with a new tube is a pain in the ass, too. . . ditch the new tire and live dangerously. Think about your hikes as cross-training.
This FAQ entry has more info on tubular tire repair. It’s not something you’d want to do on the road, so I think you’re stuck with carrying a spare. As for weight savings, rotational weight does matter more than static weight for acceleration. But pro racers don’t care about the weight of spares - they have support cars that carry the spares.
Many years ago and many, many stone lighter I ride sew-ups and did see a big difference. Not worth the inconvenience though for a sport rider as there are excellent 25 and 28mm clincher tires for 700c rims. Get a second set of wheels built.
Well, I’m glad I have two parents with cell-phones who I can only assume will simply jump at the chance to give me a ride back to civilization when my tire encounters its first sharp-pointy-hard object.
Hey, I’ve never had a single flat so far in my modern life. (2300+ miles and counting).
The force must be with me.
I’ll never leave the immediate course of civilization with these babies.
Until I get my own team car with a psycho-crazy driver to swerve around behind me and pass me new Clif Shots, water bottles, and Zipp 404 wheelsets when I need them. Sounds like a plan.
Last time I went through a bike shop they had mountain bikes with tubless rims & tires… I drooled, even though I’m broke and have no time for such things…
~
Basically, what you want to do is have a set of clincher wheels for training, so you can patch flats etc. Then you slap on your good wheels for racing (club crits, etc.).
If you intend to road race then you will probably find that you are not allowed to use sprints that have been repaired, but then it is not all that easy to spot one.
It isn’t worth trying to get it past the scrutineers though, you have to think of your safety in a bunch of maybe 40 riders you really don’t want the repair stitching to maybe unwind, and you’d probably get a lengthy ban if you were caught.
The trick is to keep a couple of spares with you, along with some rim tape. When one tyre gets well worn down then strip it off and use that as your spare, old sprints tend to be tough as they season up, and because much of the material is worn away from use, they fold more easily and smaller.
I reckon you need another pair of wheels with conventional tyres but you will still need to ride your best wheels in training from time to time to get the feel for them.