Clincher Vs. Tubular Tires
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Clincher VS Tubular Tires and what is the difference?
CLINCHER
The tire that most of us are familiar with is the clincher tire. The clincher tire consists an inner tube and a tire. The tire has a “bead” on each outer edge of the tire. On most tires, the beads consist of hoops of steel wire. The beads are what hold the tire in place on the rim.
TUBULAR
The tubular , or sew up, tire is a one piece system where a tire is sewn together around the inner tube. Tubulars are used on special rims and are held to the rim by glue or two sided tape.
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Clincher Pros
- Easy to change when flatting
- Easy to repair tube when flatting
- Less expensive to replace than tubulars
- Easy to carry spare tube and tools for changing a flat
Clincher Cons
- Heavier than tubulars
- Cannot inflate with as much tire pressure increasing roll resistance – some would debate if higher tire pressure makes a difference.
- Not as comfortable of a ride
- Pinch flat when putting a new tire and tube on wheel or pinch flat while riding
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Tubular Pros
- Lighter
- Better rolling resistance due to higher inflation limit
- Fewer flats because you don’t pinch flat
- Some say they are easy to change but that is the big debate
- More comfortable ride
- Can put a light weight silicon liquid in tire so if you do flat the silicon liquid seals the hole allowing you to ride on
Tubular Cons
- More expensive than clinchers
- Hard to change while on the road
- Hard to repair if punctured. Most people throw them away
- Need to carry a complete spare tubular which adds weight and is bulky
- If you replace a tubular on the road, you need to be careful cornering until you are able to re-glue
- Improperly glued tubulars can roll off the rim causing a crash
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Posted on: June 5th, 2010 By: Tyler Ford In: Cycling 101 - How To
April 15th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
This is one of the age old cycling debates like wool or synthetic, skinny or fat tire in mud, EPO or Testosterone. Ok so maybe not the last one.
I ride clinchers and don’t have any problems with them. I also don’t have a crazy Frenchman aging my tubulars like fine wine (Lance had that). For most that aren’t promechanics and/or don’t have a desire to buy tires that cost an arm and a leg then clinchers are just fine. The technology has gotten better, narrowing the gap.
On a side note….I run Tubeless clinchers on my MTB. Gotta love the Stan’s No-Tubes. I don’t think anyone is running Tubeless on road bike though. At least not that I have heard of.
April 15th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Clinchers. I prefer them over tubulars because they are much easier to replace, more compactable, require little to no tools(glue) and they are much cleaner to work with.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:53 am
I rode tubulars years ago and liked the ride they give. I stopped using them after a few rides, because of fixing flats on the road. They would be great if you had a team car following you to change your wheels.
April 16th, 2008 at 9:24 am
I ride clinchers because of inertia and expense. I started with clinchers and I am continuing with clinchers because of the cost of switching over. I have never ridden tubulars so I have no basis for comparison. However, I am planning to try tubular cyclocross tires when I race in the fall. I’m told they will make a huge difference. I’ll let you know if I find that to be true.
April 24th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
I am curious if anyone has experience, or knows of anyone who does, with the Tufo tubular clincher tire. Seems like a great tire but there is little information about it. Can anyone help?
April 26th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Just wondering how well tubulars are for going downhill on a steep, fast mountain? Does the glue or tire ever break off? Is glueing the tire better than the glue tape? I have been wanting to try them for about a year, but always talk myself out of it for one reason or another.
April 26th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
David B if you have carbon rims use the right brake pads. On long down hills you have to be carfull not to over heat your rims, this will soften the glue causing to tire to roll off. If you don’t use the right brake pads same thing can happen.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Thanks for the info. (People actually use their brakes coming down? I always reward myself for all of the hard grueling work going up by scaring myself silly coming down). That is another good point to consider though. I’ll try out some used ones and if all goes well I’ll plop down the cash for some decent tubulars. Thanks, again.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
You can have a sidewall blowout with your clinchers if you do the same thing. Granted a lot of things have to go wrong, but I’ve seen it happen and it looks nasty.
April 26th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
I ride the Tufo C Elite Jet tubular clinchers on mountain centuries and love them. They ride and handle like a tubular, don’t flat as easily as a regular clincher and are easier to change than a clincher or tubular if they do flat. They do come with the inconvenience of having to carry the entire spare tire with you, but you can load them with the Tufo puncture sealant and pretty much remove any need to ever change a flat on the road. The C Elite Jets wear out pretty quickly on the rear and are expensive so that is why I don’t ride them every day. I haven’t tried the less expensive, longer wearing Tufo tubular clinchers so I can’t comment on them. I believe Vittoria also now makes a tubular clincher.
April 26th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I am looking at the Tufo tubular clincher to use only on my race wheels. I am interested in the added benefits of a tubular, but have no desire to mess with glueing the tire on. I just want to get an idea if it is worth putting the much more expensive tires on to race with. I am also curious if there is any reason to think that a tubular clincher is an less/more reliable.
April 30th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Quite possibly a stupid question. But I am curious if there is a “special” method to inflate tubulars to the about 200 psi mark. I have looked at numerous websites and have yet to find a pump that is capable of going that high. Can someone advise? Thanks.
February 18th, 2010 at 9:58 am
Zefal Husky is good up to 200psi. I expect biggest issue will be keeping the pump attached to on the valve stem as I expect it would want to blow off. However, bigger question is “why”? Even at 130-160 psi, you are hittig limit of what would be needed to ride. Additional psi not likley to provide any benefit. HOwever, if you do triahtlon, sometimes you hear tires popponig out ion the transaition area, esp if a aprking lot and bikes out in full sun. thsi is because tires heat up and pressure builds up over maxc psi for clinchers. With tubulars,(esp tufo) you have that extra psi “room” for that heat induced pressure build up; that is probably the only reaosn you want the tire to be rated to that pressure. Same applies for tires being left in hot car interiors.
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:16 pm
I had a continental tubular 5 years ago when I was hit by a car. It , and a Mavic rim , saved my life, not to mention the helmet. I now ride with a mavic rim and ulrtremo tires. they are good on the East coast ,and seem to be solid with the thorns of the West, as I road in Az ,and NM, with no problems as of may 08′. That is good news , as I had many flats before with clinchers and thorn proof tubes.
January 10th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
yeh, c’mon pablo explain yourself – HOW did your continental tubular & mavic rim “save your life & helmet”? what a strange statement?
i have no experience w/ tubulars, but i have very few flats/problems w/ my clinchers and don’t see a reason to change (i’m sure my tuffy tire liners help!)
i don’t race, so that kind of performance isn’t as big an issue for me. I don’t sweat any loss in performance because the more rolling resistance and weight i’m pushing just gives me a better workout and improve my strength by handicapping me. The extra $$ i’d spend on tubulars, i’d rather spend elsewhere!
February 1st, 2010 at 9:10 pm
I have been running tubulars for 2 years since I got my bike. The bought the bike used and it came with zipp wheels. The carbon fiber bike including wheels cost me 700 bucks!! I have had one flat with the tubular tires. The tires that came with the bike had some miles on them, then I put 2000 miles on them, before I decided to replace them. The one flat I got, was a pretty bad one, broken glass. Big chunk of glass, big! So, I bought a new tire, and fixed the flat. I now use the tire with fixed flat for a spare. Fixing the spare was time consuming, but not impossible. Sat infront of the tv, watched football, and drank a beer. Fixed the tire in about 30 mins. If you are going to be running tubulars, make sure your spare is not brand new. Take the old tire off the rim, and but on the new one. Ride the new tire until you get a flat, then use the used spare, they go on very quick. I carry a small glue tube on the bike, so put some glue, but the tire on and get your self on a merry way. I have glued the tire on the wheel and gone out for a 45 mile ride with no problems, I would probably wait 24 hours to use it coming down some crazy hill full of sharp curves. But for a general ride, with hills, I have not had a problem at all. I ride my tires with about 160 psi. They are great and make the ride really smooth!
July 14th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Pablo, just curious how a tire and rim saved your life after being hit by a car?
August 19th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
i raced and trained on tubulars for a long time when clinchers were just above an afterthought. now that clinchers have progressed they do not seem that much different to me anymore. i will say i had far less flats with tubulars though.
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I’ve been using the Hutchinson road tubeless stuff and it sort of bridges the gaps in that you get a reasonably easy to repair, remove tire that also has sealant in to prevent flats.
Have you tried tubeless on the road?
October 7th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
i ride tubular, road bike tires “tufo” “victoria” ect.. and one thing i can say is when you get a flat and you will, the goo by tufo, vittoria tire sealant pit stop road racing or even Hutchinson fastAir tire sealant will work only 30% of the time if your lucky.. so if your not rolling in a velodrome or on very very clean road then best stay with clinchers.
February 25th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
I was on two year old sciroccos and decided to try a second hand pair of Bora tubs, within three weeks I’d won for the first time in two years. Combination of great light wheels and Campag record hubs. First race I punctured the front and that was the last I’ve had since August. I will never race clinchers again if I have any choice.
June 6th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
I love running with tubulars and started doing so when I discovered Tufo tape for affixing the tires rather than the messy, time consuming use of glue. I actually think the tape is more secure than the standard gluing method. I have found tubulars to be reliable and long lasting. I am currently running a front Conti Sprinter with over 6000 miles which is still nicely round and looks great. I have only flatted a couple of times over the year and a half I have been running tubulars and in both instances I fixed the flat quicker than a guy running a clincher can fix a flat. I simply used Vittoria Pit stop which in both cases inflated the tire to 120 psi and totally sealed/repaired the tire. I didn’t even have to remove the tire, and I was on my way.
February 18th, 2010 at 10:03 am
That’s what tubulars are all about – dont even need to use tire levers and mess with a tight fitting beaded tire!
July 28th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
I thought clinchers had superior rolling resistance due to the longer clincher sidewall, even if the psi is lower than a tubular
July 9th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Been reading a few forums on this. I’m going to make some people gasp here (probably). I rode on tubulars for years. Loved them. I could (when I was at my riding peak of 300+miles/week) change a clincher in 2-3 minutes yes, I timed it) and I could change a tubular in under 2 mins all the time. Here’s where the gasping will begin. I did not always re-glue my tubulars. There’s usually glue left of the rim that eventually bonds with the tire. Inflating the tire usually keeps it pretty much on the rim. I only say usually because I’m sure that for someone that might not be the case. I’ve ridden Gibraltar (yeah, the ‘rock’) up and down on tubulars and never had a tire roll off the rim. I’ve heard of the IDEA of them coming off, but never heard of it actually happening. Also, if you get a flat on tubular, you can realistically ride a few miles on the flat (done that, too).
July 13th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
Been riding clinchers my entire life. I’ve never had an issue except with Mavic CXP 14 rims. Those rims would tear through tires now matter what they were. Got rid of those rims and never had another real issue.
As for the arguments about rolling and puncture resistance folding clinchers are now better than many much more highly priced tubulars. This is not my “gut” but what was proven in an independent tire test by a magazine. See link.
http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/bicycle/general/downloads/download/tourtest_gp4000s_en.pdf
So if you like tubulars, fine, ride them. Me? I’ll be the guy who sees you at the end of the ride wondering what happened to you.