Ah, the hump of the cross season- with a little over a month to go, this season has already been full of epic races and 45 minute stints in the pain cave. After races like Granogue and Gloucester, I can tell you that racing tubulars this season has been a huge plus. And from my observations, its also been full of opportunities for people to roll their tubular tires due to shoddy gluing technique!
Gluing a Tubular CX tire is a bit more involved than gluing a road tire. The tire itself is put under higher tortional stress, and sharp turns with pressures as low as 25 psi practically beg the tubie to let go of its wheel.
I figured this would be a great opportunity to educate people who are interested in gluing CX Tubies the right way. However, since the only experience i have with glue is the huffing i did in high school, I reached out to Gabe Lloyd, co-founder of Echappe Equipment. and look at that, Echappe also happens to be one of our proud sponsors for Staten CX! Consider it a pre-emptive gift (now go pre-reg, already!)
-
- Stretch the tires for at least a day. To do this: Get the cotton tape on the tire wet. Then install the tire on the wheel. Inflate to max pressure and let set overnight. and check out those SWEET wheels from our sponsor Revolution Wheelworks!
-
- Prep the rim for the first time: Clean the rim with Goof-Off or another grease/goo cutter. Some rims also require a light sand (440 or 880 grit). Then apply one coat of Mastik One. Let dry for at least one day.
-
- Once the glue on the rim has dried, install the “Belgian tape”. Start at the valve hole and cover the entire rim, back to the valve hole. Use your thumb to squeegee the tape to the rim bed to make sure it has fully adhered. Let sit for at least an hour to make sure it holds.
-
- Apply at least two coats of Vittoria Mastik One
-
- Inflate the tire to 40psi. Hold it like so, or in a figure 8 to apply glue.
-
- You’ve already applied the tape to the rim at this point. Now remove it.
-
- After you have removed the wax paper from the tape, apply a thin coat of glue to the tape.
-
- Immediately after applying glue to the rim tape, install the tubular. ram that sucker in there Peter North Style!
-
- Insert the valve (huh huh…) and push very hard.
-
- Keeping about 10spi in the tire, use both hands to push the tire evenly around the rim.
-
- Using the clean floor as a block, push until you get to this 6 inch point.
-
- Now lift the wheel into your hips. This allows you to push the tire onto the rim with full force while not using the ground as a block. (Note: Flip-flops are not required for this step)
-
- If you have properly stretched the tire and have pushed hard enough before getting to the 6 inch point, you should be able to grab the tire and pop it
-
- Once installed, inflate to about 30-40psi.
-
- Check to make sure the tire is seated evenly on both sides of the rim.
-
- Spin the wheel in your hands to double check the evenness. The tire may never be 100% even, but you should get it pretty close.
-
- Once the tire has sat for 24-36 hrs, check to make sure the tire is adhered edge to edge all the way around the rim. If it is, you’re ready to ride! Hooray!
-
- Eventually you’ll want to get the tire off. You’ll probably need to use a knife to gently cut the edge of the glue portion. After that, have fun pulling at the damn thing for 20 minutes. ah, the joys of bicycle maintenance…
Staten CX 