A new coach, new plan, soon a new bike. But Cross season hasnt really begun until the Edge Tubulars shed their larval road tires and emerge, butterfly like, resplendent in Knobby glory.
Last year I kind of geeked out on cross tires, and in my quest to find an aggressive tubular tread, ended racing on some vintage rubber that was mighty skinny. They looked like dirt bike tires from the 60's, im not lying. They grabbed the ground well, but I couldnt run the low pressures that are the whole point of buying pretentious tubular tires, bouncing around on rocky or rooty sections was not too much fun.
This year, after riding D2R2 on road racing tires and doing a good amount of trail riding on my own, Im not nearly as stressed. I was able to climb some nice steep gravel roads in deerfield on slicks, so i dont feel an aggressive tread is as important this year. Fangos were available and decently priced on the last team order, so Fangos are what I got (BTW 34mm fangos are HUGE!) I am currently scouring ebay for a cheap set of campy compatable clincher "B" wheels to give me some more options, but at the moment the Edge 1.38s will get a lot of use so the tires had better work pretty well all the time.
I have been a disciple of taping tires since last season. I know that gluing is delightfully "baroque" as the bikesnob put it. But I like the fact that I can put a new tire on in a half hour, rather than 3 days. And to everyone who says that im playing with fire, I submit the photos below. That small bit of unseated tubular tire is as much as i could get up after 20 minutes and a thumb blister. These tires have been taped on for one road season. So, the tape is plenty sticky enough.
I think that glueing tires must fall in with leg shaving. We do it because that is "how it is done". Now im not saying there is a better option for shaving legs, that technology is still waiting for some daring young inventor to make his fortune. But it seems that tubular tape is much more idiot proof than glueing and, in my experience, just as reliable. I dont tape because I cant glue, I actually CAN glue tire up, and still prefer the tape. Maybe im just an early adopter, sadly its just an advantage when it comes to my sanity, and not performance enhancing. Though if I do win any races maybe i will credit the tape and see if anyone converts...
20 minutes later...the tire remains and my thumbs hurt.
As I stated before, you weigh 135 lbs and don't chuck a bike around way some of us do. If those were my stats, I'd tape too.
ReplyDeleteBut in my case, I can actually feel a taped tire rolling on my first ride. I mean the first ride where you take the bike gingerly through the corners.
Glue forever. Down with tape.
Oh and Fangos should be a good choice. They will definitely help you dig in on the corners.
hey Seth-- if you are looking for cheap clinchers, I am trying to unload my old set of DTSwiss 340 wheels that I raced on last year. They've seen 2 seasons of solid use, but... I weigh a buck-20 and don't chuck a bike around like some clowns do. ;)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, if you're interested, let me know.
wait, you're racing cross on tape-only tubulars?
ReplyDeleteno way those stay on for a whole season.