Duct Taping Tubulars.
I'm world renowned for my skill at making a mess with tubular glue. I pretty much get it everywhere, to the point the season's over before I stop scraping patches of dried glue off my nether regions. Don't ask how it gets there, because I have no idea. By combining mass quantities of tubular glue with WWII carpet-bombing strategies, I get sufficient adhesion to prevent my tires from rolling. So, I have that going for me. A side benefit of my technique is all of the glue on the brake track enhances stopping power, something that carbon wheels are notorious for lacking. Of course, this enhanced power is irregular and unpredictable, which keeps me mentally engaged as I try to avoid losing the ability to chew solid food.
After Saturday's squishy semi-race, I started the process of attaching tubulars. This time, instead of buckets of tubular glue, I'm using the very clean-looking Effetto Mariposa Carogna Tubular Tape. It was suggested to me by Markus Doerry, who generate more power than I ever will on a bike. Lennard Zinn recommended it as well, so I figured it was worth a shot.
Not wanting to roll a tire just for science, I started with a brand new set of carbon rims and new tubulars, because the tape requires very clean surfaces to bond well. I watched a few YouTube videos, read the instructions, and got to mounting. To be honest, it was anti-climatic and uncharacteristically clean. The tubulars went on straight and the brake tracks weren't covered in residue.
People are going to say I stole these wheels, and without my gluey fingerprints all over them, I won't have any way to disprove their accusations.
Since I removed the tubular off of my big, fat, Chinese carbon wheel, I figured I'd strip off the glue with the Effetto Mariposa Carogna Remover. That stuff looks like and goes on like red axle grease, but it seems like a better option than my usual combination of caustic chemicals, heat, and ineffective scraping. Once it's clean, I'll try taping that up too. While I'm risking my life on a wheel of questionable construction, I might as well attach the tire with an untested method. Makes sense to me.
Since the tubular tape's glue is pressure-activated, you pump up the tires as high as you can, wait a day or so, and they should be pretty much cured.
I guess we'll see on Thursday at the Kulis Crit.
Maybe I'll order the soup afterwards.
After Saturday's squishy semi-race, I started the process of attaching tubulars. This time, instead of buckets of tubular glue, I'm using the very clean-looking Effetto Mariposa Carogna Tubular Tape. It was suggested to me by Markus Doerry, who generate more power than I ever will on a bike. Lennard Zinn recommended it as well, so I figured it was worth a shot.
Not wanting to roll a tire just for science, I started with a brand new set of carbon rims and new tubulars, because the tape requires very clean surfaces to bond well. I watched a few YouTube videos, read the instructions, and got to mounting. To be honest, it was anti-climatic and uncharacteristically clean. The tubulars went on straight and the brake tracks weren't covered in residue.
People are going to say I stole these wheels, and without my gluey fingerprints all over them, I won't have any way to disprove their accusations.
Since I removed the tubular off of my big, fat, Chinese carbon wheel, I figured I'd strip off the glue with the Effetto Mariposa Carogna Remover. That stuff looks like and goes on like red axle grease, but it seems like a better option than my usual combination of caustic chemicals, heat, and ineffective scraping. Once it's clean, I'll try taping that up too. While I'm risking my life on a wheel of questionable construction, I might as well attach the tire with an untested method. Makes sense to me.
Since the tubular tape's glue is pressure-activated, you pump up the tires as high as you can, wait a day or so, and they should be pretty much cured.
I guess we'll see on Thursday at the Kulis Crit.
Maybe I'll order the soup afterwards.
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