Tubes are great for most. I run both, tubulars are good, but a pain to repair on the road, especially when it gets cold, and I don't know any tubies with studs. Plus, most tubies are expensive (I run a mix of Tufo's and Dugasts as of late - the silk dugs are getting outrageous, and the tufos are now more than 70 bucks a pop) - anyone got a decent line on veloflex crits?

I got your tube right here.

I love tubulars and have a couple of retro classics that use them. There's a lot of misinformation and mythology about tubulars in circulation. I wouldn't dream of using them in the winter, but I do in the summer and don't really have a plan for what I'd do if I flatted. I think I could peel off the flat tire and slap on the spare, and there'd be enough glue left to get home safely, but I've never tried it. They're glued on with good old "Barge Cement" so who knows.

If you look under the seat of many bikes, you will see a spare tire (tubular). If you just flat, you can ride a tubular (slower, but you'll be fine - they stay on the rim - I have ridden more than 20 miles on a flat without problems - tire repaired well too). You can change one to a spare without glue, but you must be careful in corners or they will roll off the rim. I like the tubular tape (tufo/Jantex stuff) now - it makes it VERY easy to change tires. I like it on a clean rim, though, but the stuff will come off with a bit of solvent, so I carry a little bottle with me.

If you have a bunch of glue on your rims, clean it off with goof off, and some elbow grease, and you can run tape instead of Mastic/Tubasti or whatever kind of glue you usually use. Tape is quick, easy, and I have not had any problems with roll offs in the few years I have been using it.

Tubies are easy to use, and are like sneakers for bikes - much nicer to roll around on than clinchers. Plus, you can pump them up to insane levels (190+psi) and they weigh less than a clincher and tube and clincher rim (I have a set of Gel 280's that I ride that weigh less than 350g each - with a 200g tire, I have much less rotaional inertia than any clincher rim/tire/tube combo ever invented). Tubies are great, but everything is a double edged sword - clinchers are easy to change in the cold, and you can usually find someone who has spares.

I was wondering about that Tufo tape - I was afraid it would bond so firmly that the tire couldn't be peeled off. Riding home on a flat tubular is no doubt doable, but I fear damaging the rims on my 70s classic without an inflated tire to take up the shocks of cracks and potholes.

Tufo isn't the only tubular tape around, but it's by far the easiest to find. That said, make sure you don't have a coated tubular, because they recommend a bare cotton casing to bond to, otherwise it may not stick as well, and then they aren't liable if it fails (then again, they don't even suggest using it with any tires but their own... but who's surprised at that?).

I don't use the extreme tape - just the regular stuff. I have used both, but the extreme is hard to get off. The regular stuff just needs a good shot of "goof off" - leave it sit on a paper towel and go away for about 20 minutes, it comes off pretty easy. I have used it (have a set of wheels done right now that I rode many times last year) over Mastic (Vitt stuff) on the tire and some on the rim (not much - I scrub), and did not have a problem. I've also used the Jantex stuff a couple of times - seems about the same sh**.

If you flat a tubie and ride it just avoid bumps as best you can - I rode a Nisi Sludi ( 280g classic rim) with a flat home from downtown - front wheel, but I made it and rim is fine still. I would avoid it if possible, but if you don't carry a spare you may be forced to. The moral of the story is..... why the old guys carry a spare tubie. A tire inflated to 180psi is not a good shock absorber anyway.

Never in my wildest fantasies would I be at 180psi.

I've usually carried a spare and if I flatted I would have tried to swap. I have kevlar-belted tubulars, and while I don't place irrational faith on them, they do reduce the anxiety associated with tubulars.

Besides being light weight, tubular tires and rims have a smooth, silky feel on the road. I'm surprised they're still around after all these years and hope they don't go away anytime soon. I am not aware though of any local shop that has any real interest in them.

When I rode a flat tubular on my racing frame (25c is tight in it), the squished out tire rubbed paint off my chainstays.

There is that Tufo goop that you're supposed to be able to pour into the tire to heal small punctures. Never tried it.

I run it - seems to work - I had a piece of glass in one tire that made a clicking noise - went through the tread and out the sidewall, tire did not flat and made it home (Lake Harriet bandshell to River Road) - but since it was a tufo, there is no repair possible. I like the stuff personally, and my daughter has a can of vittoria pitstop on each bike. The tufo stuff is a green goop (sort of like slime) that you pull the valve core and squeeze in. The pitstop is a post flat inflator and sealant, she has used it once and it worked (she still has the same tire on her Rollo).

I tried the Pitstop on a tubular 'cross tire, but the hole was just too big to seal. One of those "PSSHHHT-flat" kinda punctures. Made me sad, and I just wasn't up to pulling the casing apart and patching the tube.

I like this Penn. My kid LOVES this Penn.