Gopher Cycling Blog

I just glued up the tires on my track bike to get ready for nationals. It takes a little while, but it's not as bad as you might think. There are pretty good instructions on how to glue a tubular on the Zipp website, check them out if you want to glue your own tires but have never done so before.

"What are tubular tires?" you may ask. Tubular tires are tires that do not need an inner tube because they are tubular. Usually they are glued directly onto the tire, as opposed to clincher tires that require an inner tube and clinch onto the normal rims that you are probably all familiar with. Tubular tires have a reputation for providing a better ride and being more durable, even though they are a bit of a pain to change when they do flat. Additionally, they can usually be inflated to much higher pressures than clincher tires and are much lighter. Of course, you need a tubular wheelset if you want to use tubular tires.

Actually, Tufo makes excellent tubular tires, including a special kind that can be mounted on clincher rims, dispensing with the need for tubular wheelsets. They also provide our team with discounted tires. Thanks, Tufo.