Tubies Made Easy...Gluing

As promised, here's the next step in the gluing process after cleaning and stretching(still to come, dont worry).  I would refer to my Disclaimer from the previous post in regards to this.  This is the way I do it, so please again, feel free to add/subtract/multiply how and what you do.  

First thing I do when its time to glue is place the wheel in the truing stand, or other appropriate device.  If you are using a truing stand with adjustable sites, apply just enough pressure to the rim to keep it from moving.  Theres no real reason to do this except it keeps the wheel from moving on me and makes my life easier.

Align the valve hole as a "starting" point for the glue application.  This obviously serves as a reference point for anything wheel oriented, truing, building, tire/tube installation and gluing.

Now its time to get out your brush and glue.  I realize not everyone uses a brush.  Ive gone through a few evolutions in figuring out what works best.  Ive seen different brushes used, fingers(in glove or plastic bag) and various other items.  My reasons for choosing these brushes are that the bristle width is pretty spot on for most rims out there today, and with a little trimming(which i do) I can get the brush to pull and lay the glue in just such a way that works great.  Also, you can reuse these things over and over.  Just take a small cup and put enough paint thinner in to cover the bristles and leave over night.  After some rinsing the next day, its all ready to go again, and again and again.  Then there's cost...THEYRE CHEAP!  A buck or buck and change per brush, so youre not going too break the bank on something thats gonna get used alot.

As for applying the glue to the rim, again different strokes for different folks.  Im not a fan of putting the glue on the rim THEN spreading it around.  I put just enough glue on the brush to spread the distance between valve/spoke holes on the rim.  This comes from gluing over and over and playing with the amount of glue.  Paint the glue on in nice smooth even strokes.  "No Clumps" is the key here.  It uses less glue and also allows the layers to "mate" as you get into the 2nd and Final coat.

Try not to get too clumpy at the spokes holes.  Its super messy, wastes glue and makes for extra cleaning when replacing tires, or truing internal nipples.  Also, DONT be afraid of going all the way to the edge of the rim/tire interface part of the surface.  You want to utilize the entire surface of the rim as there's nothing worse than a tire slowly working itself off the rim then suddenly failing on a tight turn.  If you go over the edge of the rim with glue, just take your finger, or rag, and wipe off the excess immediately.

Once the rim is done, give it a spin.  It probably doesnt really do anything overall but in my mind it helps start the tacking process....just sayin

Now to the tires.  As stated in the previous post(link above on "Disclaimer"), I like to inflate the tire enough so that when laid on a flat surface the base tape is facing up.  Again, start at the valve, that whole point of reference thing.  I take the tube of glue and gently press it until the glue starts flow, and then lay the end of the tube on the tire and let the capillary action continue to pull glue out.  I lay just enough down so that "the run" doesnt happen too fast before I get to it with the brush.  I use short strokes and use the edges of the brush to get the edges of the base tape.  Ive seen too many tires come in where the glue wasnt distributed over the entire surface.  That can lead to the obvious "roll" of a tire which in turn can lead to a bad situation for everyone.

Nice even coating is what youre looking for.

One last point on the tire is to not be shy around the valve stem as well.  This is the one place you dont want and movement as it can lead to tearing of the valve stem from the casing.  Apply the same amount of glue there are you did on the rest of the tire.  

When everything is done, hang the tire on the same hook as the wheel.  I place the valve stem at the top since theres less base tape to have issues with if some air comes out over night and is easily re-glued.  If you only have 1 set of tires/wheels to deal with then it doesnt matter where you hang everything.  This is a good practice if you have multiple tires/wheels and you have to keep track of what tires go on certain wheels.

That concludes this portion of "Tubies Made Easy".  Its looking like Ill be able to do the removing/cleaning/stretching part in the next day or so.  Final Coat and Pulling on will come in a couple days as well.

Thanks for coming by....Boots

Tubies Made Easy...hopefully: Materials/Layout

I'm going to take couple of entries to go over how Ive done my tubular cleaning, stretching and gluing.  Partly comes from me going to the cross race at Xilinx last weekend and see some riders I've done work for, and them asking me what I do to it, and if I could do a few more.  So, I figured Id take a couple posts to make it a bit easier to do than Ive seen some people do it. 

DISCLAIMER: This is how I was taught to do tubies, and how other talented wrenches I've worked with have done it.  There ARE NUMEROUS ways to glue tubies and the opinions stated here are of this blog and its owner.  Feel free to take, or leave, anything you wish.  This will go over a "best case" scenario which means you have 3-4 days to do this.

This post will go over the materials I use for cleaning, stretching and gluing a wheel.  The cleaning aspect will be done when I have a used rim that needs a new tire.  Unfortunately the customer brought me a pair of new ZIPP 303's he's putting old tires on, so the stripping of old glue and removal of tire will have to wait till another time.

Now, onto the items I use for the whole deal:

• Paint Thinner(not acetone)
• Acid Brush(es)
• Plastic tire lever, or something you can use to work the base tape away from the rim without ripping, or tearing anything...NO METAL
• Glue/Mastik: I prefer Vittoria Mastik, Continental Standard Glue(the "carbon" only stuff I think has a bad consistency)
• Rags(for cleaning)
• Extra wheel/rim for stretching a new tire
• Truing Stand, or something that can be used as such
• Pump
• Broomstick, or something that resembles a broomstick
• Water bottle...one you will never use again
• Hairdryer
• Gloves for cleaning, Nitrile Mechanics gloves are what i use

If you have a new tire and rim Id recommend stretching the tire for at least 24hrs in advance to when you need to start the glue job.  As for the "time frame", I've been asked about for gluing, this is what Ive come to use as my rule of thumb(for perfect conditions meaning in a shop, or you have a few days to do the job)...Carbon rims = 3 days to glue, 1 to set...Alloy rims = 2 days to glue, 1 to set.  Carbon is much for porous than alloy, so when the first coat is applied to the rim, alot of it gets "sucked" up by the rim itself.  Conversely an alloy rim isn't porous at all hence the lack of need for extra glue.  In an ideal world, you would let the glue sit up for about 24hrs between coats.  If you're in a hurry, I try to let the glue get tacky enough that I cant make runs in it by pressing on it with my finger.  Please at least give yourself 24hrs from the time the tire is mounted until the time you intend to race or ride it.  Ive seen it work out with less time, but in general I recommend 24hrs. 

Tomorrow Ill go over how I apply the glue and why I use only glue and NOT tape as some people do.  As for the question of is it ok to reuse an old tubular, the answer is yes...as long as the casing and base tape are in tact and the glue is not too terribly chunky and the chunks that are there can be removed without doing any damage to the tire.  Some customers I have don't have tons of wheel sets laying around, and have me remove and reuse tires for road and cross season.  

Standard Paint Thinner you can buy at any Home Depot, the Acid Brush you can get at a modeling store and glue from your local LBS

to keep the wheel from spinning in the stand, i gently apply pressure with the truing  gauge

This is a new rim.  Depending on the manufacturer some need very little to no buffing with an emory cloth to get the surface slightly rough for the application of glue.

The tire is inflated just enough so that when it sits on a table or this case a bench, that the basetape faces up.  

There aren't too many big chunks on these tires, as I used a hairdryer to heat the glue up to get them off the rim.

Thanks for coming by and letting me ramble...

Shimano PRO PU Tape

I did a bar/stem swap out on Ryan's bike today, and the tape he wanted was the Shimano PRO PU tape.  It had all these fancy marketing bits on the packaging so i was a bit skeptical.  After the job was done, I must say its pretty cool stuff.  Personally, Im a fan of the polyurethane stuff, as I dont wear gloves and I sweat quite a bit.  That being said, this tape is perfect for that as the PU gets tacky when wet.  As for the wrapping aspects, its pretty spot on.  There's plenty of stretch, and length to make the wrap smooth and to do the "double x" around the shifter(which i prefer when possible, I dont like the cheater pieces they send with tape).  It also says its "rewrap friendly" so we'll see if thats true when I switch out the cables/housing in a couple weeks. 

This is what you want to look/ask for at your local LBS

theres a bit of underwrap from the shifter as he sits there mostly and likes extra cushion

the finished product, new bars/stem/wrap. the bar end plugs are nice little bits as well

CX Love

Getting a bike ready for cross is no small task at times, especially when you get into something and find that things havent been done, or they are just plain ole dirty.  After going through my boy, Matt Klick of Frites-en-Mayo, bike, he should be all ready to roll this weekend!  All new Jagwire cables and housing, new bar tape, and a fresh coat of grease in all the right places.

Have fun Matt!

After a good bath, his steed rested peacefully in the stable overnight

cleaning and grease are a must for Cross season

this was the lower bearing in his headset...sad sight and much better now!

after cleaning, its all ready for a fresh thin layer of grease...those "creaks" you hear in your headset, check to make sure its all greased. most shops dont double check it from the factory

clean, inflated wheels make the world go round...literally!

even though they will more than likely fall off, its the little touches that make prepping a bike super fun and rewarding

fizik bar tape is not my favorite, but ive managed to become friendly enough with it so it lets me wrap it nicely

Everything on this frame is toptube run

nice new cable/housing set works pretty good actually, and im not a fan of Teflon coated cable...Jagwire Race Cable/Housing set

I removed the water bottle bolts and replaced with bits of electrical tape...no sticking into the ribs when carrying now!

not the best photo, but heres the finished product

that fizik bar tape, a love/hate relationship

Avid Ultimate Canti's are the choice for Matt

Representin local team love here!