How To: Gluing CX Tubulars / Not tonight honey, I've got a Mastik 1 headache

[JitteryJoe]

Thanks for sharing ... cool process.
Photos, description and observations
much appreciated!

[Mshue]

Great stuff, Mike. Goes a long way toward demystifying the process of gluing tubulars for those of us who've never done it (or even seen it done).

Question: when you flat out on the road, what's the process for removing the tubular?

[Too Tall]

Great stuff, Mike. Goes a long way toward demystifying the process of gluing tubulars for those of us who've never done it (or even seen it done).

Question: when you flat out on the road, what's the process for removing the tubular?

haha two options and more questions.

If the tyre is race glued and you are on the road might as well cut it off with a fresh painters razor OR be prepared to take your time. Use a small blunted screwdriver working the tool under basetape and across the rim, now use both ends to rock / pull the basetape up off the rim glue surface. Work like a charm.

FWIIW the tubulars I ride to work each day are not race glued, I put enough on to ride safely...not much...and they come off with a few well placed thumb shoves.

[coloclimber]

This post should be a level above sticky- like Gospel or something.

Thank you for taking the time and pics. You are a hero.

[zank]

all, it's really my pleasure. I hate "black box" things and mysteries. I hope to someday demystify another really cool thing I'm working on, but it's too early to tell at the moment.

None of this is that hard, but I know it can be intimidating. Good materials, good preparation and good techniques go a long way to producing a high quality job.

Mike, as Josh pointed out, there are many ways to skin this cat. I don't use the tape for road tubulars. Cross tubulars don't have the luxury of 100 psi helping to hold the tub on the rim. They need all the help they can get. They are subjected to constant contact with water and mud, massive side-loads when cornering on choppy off-camber, and again, they don't have nearly the air pressure pushing the base tape into the rim. But even still, it can be pretty tough getting a road tub off with a good glue job. If I lived in an area with lots of really long descents, I'd probably use the tape. I know where you live though, and coming down Holy Hill doesn't count. :)

[rwsaunders]

Thanks Mike....I appreciate the time that you took to document your process.

[Hammertime]

Do you have a secret for getting the electrical tape on the rim easily? Is there a pre-made circular shaped tape of the correct diameter? Otherwise, is there a better way than cutting the tape into segments and then placing them around the rim, because that can take a long time to do? Thanks.

[SpeedyChix]

Do you have a secret for getting the electrical tape on the rim easily? Is there a pre-made circular shaped tape of the correct diameter? Otherwise, is there a better way than cutting the tape into segments and then placing them around the rim, because that can take a long time to do? Thanks.

Just stretch the electrical tape slightly as you pull it around. It'll conform/curve as you tack it down along the way. You can do it right from the roll and then tear or cut it when you've made it all the way around.

[curtisvill]

Can I buy a cheap pair of rims to stretch the tires or is there one that is better than another? Being new to tubulars I do not have any "old" tires to use as a spare, should I just buy a new one and use it? Why use Aquaseal and should it be used on road and cross tubulars? Thanks for this thread, the information is priceless.

John

[bellman]

Giant Bump for the perhaps the stickiest Wiki ever, this is to remind folks that this is here and has saved yet another pilgrim!

[Too Tall]

Hammertime, start the bluetape than use your thumb to press it on and with the roll in your freehand angle it to match the rim. The process is fast and easy esp. if you have ever painted a large room or pinstriped hotrods ;)

FWIIW I've got a stack of old junk rims I use for stretching tyres. You can buy them very inexpensive or get for free from folks who hang them in dark recesses of their houses. Man of the rims from the 70s / 80s are nice for "period correct" bikes. These days modern tubular rims are way way better with stronger extrusions for the weight and MUCH better brake tracks.

ALL HAIL MIKE Z. for the best wiki thread evah.

[WayneJ]

Mike,

I replaced a cross sewup yesterday using your methods - worked superb! One thing I've done that extends the life of the acid brushes - use sharp scissors to cut off the length of bristles that have glue on 'em. I get three glue spreading sessions with each brush.

Thanks again for this wonderful resource!

[zank]

My pleasure! Glad it helped.

[jscott]

I was glue-curious so I recently did my first set of tubies using these instructions. Some observations:

1. The bore on the 10cc syringes is pretty small and I found that it would glue itself shut when I set it aside to spread the glue. The 30cc jobs didn't have that problem. The bigger ones are easily available on Amazon.
2. I had a problem with the bead of glue drying out on the base tape when I went all the way around before spreading. I was in my garage on a hot (80F+) day, so maybe that had something to do with it. For the 2nd tire I went 25% of the way around and spread that, just like the wheel. That worked better.
3. Get that electrical tape right on the top of the rim sidewall. I have Reflexes, which have a short sidewall, so even a little dab of glue got into the brake track. That said, it was easy to push it out of the way once I noticed.
4. The rim glue will run into the spoke holes and drip off the rim. I was able to control that a little bit by just putting short, fat beads between the spoke holes with plenty of margin on either side, and trying to keep the unspread glue high on the rim. Still, it dripped.
5. The glue seems to melt the tape. I went pretty fast with the final steps before I put the tire on, so things were pretty wet, but I ended up with some tape gunk on the sidewall.
6. "Straight" is relative, or at least i hope it is. The tire was pretty easy to move around once mounted, but figuring out how to get everything straight and centered was beyond my ability.

Man, those tires are on there, though. That tape contains some kind of magic adhesive. I raced that wheelset yesterday, they didn't burst into flames when the whistle blew, and didn't once worry about rolling a tire. All praise to Zank for the detailed instructions, they definitely saved me some heartbreak.

[msurch]

Just a couple things to add from my limited experience:

1) To apply electrical tape to the sidewall, mount the wheel in the stand and stretch it on as you go around. When its all the way round, slide a fresh/sharp razor blade along the top of the sidewall to remove the excess. This is easy and effective. Don't skip this step, I've found that trying to remove Mastik with acetone is a massive waste of time. Glue on the rim does, however, seem to improve braking power.

2) To remove a tubular that is on there like a somanabitch, I tried a tire lever (plastic) on either side of the sidewall pinched with a set of vise-grips. Boingo, it was a cinch to wrangle the tire off with all the added leverage. I'll never put my thumbs to work on a cross tubular again.

[roseyscot]

TO THE TOP! It's CX time.

[e-RICHIE]

TO THE TOP! It's CX time.

i am gluing about 28 wheels this week atmo.

[zetroc]

Great writeup. It makes me want to go buy new wheels just so I can try out the Zanconato Method™.

[zank]

Love you, man.

[gearguywb]

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