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: July 8th, 2008 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.
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.
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.