- [Matt] For high performance riding, there's always been a debate between
tubulars and clinchers. Now, almost all pros use tubulars.
Why? Is there some sort of performance benefit?
- [Si] Yeah. Now, before we go anywhere else, let's just clarify the situation.
What actually is a tubular tire? Well, it's one where the tire gets sewn up,
enclosing an inner tube, then the whole lot gets glued onto a tubular specific
rim. Now, it's a very traditional method and, dare I say it, slightly archaic.
- Perhaps. Now, clinchers we're far more familiar with. It's basically a tire
that's held in place on the rim by pushing the hooked bead on the inside of the rim.
- Yeah. Now, just to throw another little twist into our equation,
we're also going to compare tubeless tires. Now, a tubeless tire is very
similar to a clincher except that it doesn't have a tube in. What it relies on
instead is a slightly different tire with a slightly thicker bead and a little bit
of liquid sealant inside which keeps the whole thing air tight.
- When we were pros, we pretty much exclusively ran tubular tires.
But since we've retired, we've happily run clinchers all the time, leading us to
think why do we really need tubs? So, let's try and answer that question.
- Yeah. So, our little experiment. We've got three pairs of identical Reynolds
Assault SLG wheels. Now, I say identical, obviously one pair are tubular.
So, they don't have any hooks on the rim to hold on to the tire.
- Well, looking at this, quite clearly, Si, this is a disk. So, they're not the
same at all. Why on earth do we have a disk?
- I wanted a shiny pair of wheels to race Cyclocross on this winter.
- So, you're happily going to compromise our experiment just because you want a
shiny pair of wheels for the winter. And of course, Dan's the only one with a disk
brake bike, so I've got to sit on Dan's bike.
- I'm sorry, Matt. I feel like I've let you down.
- Well, you have, but have a little thing. But we better move on with the
experiment, hadn't we?
- Yeah.
♪ [music] ♪
- So, what are the parameters then that affect tire choice? Let's deal with
weight first. So, in this instance, my tubular wheel is 1,365 grams compared to a
clincher, which is 1,515 grams. No less impressive but significantly heavier.
But remember that this is a disk specific wheel and so this is 50 grams heavier just
for the hub. So, if we compared identical clincher tubular wheels in this instance,
then the tubular would be 200 grams lighter. But then what happens when we
add tires in the mix? Well, a tubular tire is about 50 grams normally heavier than a
clincher. But remember again, it's already got the inner tube inside.
So, it comes out lighter again. And when you add tubeless in the mix,
well, tubeless and clinchers tend to be broadly similar at the moment.
So, in that case, there's no weight penalty for running tubeless.
- So, we can see that the tub or tubular as a whole is far lighter.
And a bit of a feather in my cap for that really. And that's the way that the
pros use them. Now, tubeless give away just a few grams over clinchers.
- But arguably, what it feels like on the road is probably the most important thing
of all. So, let's get on our bikes, Matt, and see if we can test it out.
Do you want to go for a tubeless first?
- I'm in Dan's bike, aren't I?
- Yeah, like a monkey on a spoke. I'll go for clinchers.
♪ [music] ♪
- I absolutely love a good tubular tire. Although I expect you don't actually need
them to race, I think if you're serious about performance, then tubs really are
the way to go. Yeah, first off, they are a lot lighter, but to me it's just
the way they feel on the road that makes the difference.
I mean, on smooth tarmac, they almost sing to you. And they're so, so responsive.
Although I must accept that the advantage of pumping them up to 180
PSI is now actually thought of as a disadvantage because tires roll better at
a slightly low pressure. But even with these pumped up to 100 PSI,
they feel absolutely tremendous. I feel like I'm flying.
- Now, it's all very well having a posh set of tubular wheels for racing only.
And don't get me wrong, I think saving 200 grams in weight is important.
But the reality is that gluing tires is incredibly laborious. And if you do get a
puncture, it's also very expensive to replace your tire. If you do try and fix
it, then it's even more laborious than gluing it in the first place.
There's no wonder that pros love them really. I mean they never have to glue
tubular tires, so they probably think of them very fondly indeed.
The reality is that clinchers are just so easy. But more than that,
I think a really, really high performance clincher tire with a latex tube on a
really nice set of carbon wheels is every bit as good. Honestly, I think I could
tell the difference.
- I guess I just...
- I'm not entirely sure this is a good idea, Matt.
- Can you see?
- No.
- Good. That's what matter here.
- No. I'm completely sure. I don't think I could tell the difference except possibly
if I'm accelerating really hard.
No, even then I don't think I could tell the difference.
♪ [music] ♪
Now, there's no denying, that when I made a video for GCN before about tubeless
tires, I was a little bit underwhelmed by their performance. They felt a little bit
unresponsive out on the road, a little bit dead. But it's got to be said,
since putting a different pair of tires on a posh pair of carbon wheels,
I'm starting to feel a little bit differently. There's still no denying the
amazing puncture resistance both from get rid of an inner tube and therefore
eliminating pinch flats, and also the sealant filling small holes as well, but
it's the fact of the ride quality is significantly better.
I'm not entirely sure they're on a par with tubulars, still the gold standard,
but I think these are great. Also, these are a heck of a lot easier to put on than
before. I could do without the tire levers, no stress, no mess.
- Does this mean the time for tubulars is nigh? I don't think so.
They still feel fantastic despite the rolling resistance result and they're the
only tire to choose if you're doing Cyclocross, without a shadow of a doubt.
And, of course, if you're racing on the road, you've got the ability to ride on
them before your team car get up to you. And also, they'll get you to that key
final 3 kilometers.
- Yeah. And what about tubeless then? Well, if you suffering punctures a lot,
then they're an absolute no brainer, just a brilliant idea. My personal stance on
them is actually softening as well, particularly with the new trend of wider
tires. If you run something like a 27 mil or bigger, then tubeless are brilliant.
A bigger tire at less pressure rolls really well and is also incredibly
comfortable. But more than that, they also open up new riding opportunities.
So, whether you've got a gravel epic all-road sportive endurance bike,
or just a normal road bike, having a bigger tubeless tire allows you to take
the road less travelled, whatever that might be for you.
- Well, there you go. But tubs, I think they're here to stay, there's no doubt
about that. And tubeless are going to get even more popular as people gravitate to
wider tires and wider rims. But I think still the tire of choice is going to be a
solid clincher wheel and a tube in a decent tire.
- I think it is. So go on, Matt, out of this selection of wheels,
which are you going to take?
- Well, let's assume I was going to go back into racing, and without a shadow
of a doubt, I'd use tubs. I've used them before, they feel fast, and for practical
reasons that we've just described, they help you in some difficult situations
regarding mechanicals.
- I think even if I was racing, I'd use a clincher. I don't think anyone's going to
glue my tires on for me anymore. And a high performance clincher we've seen has
the measure of a tub. Tubeless? I really, really want to go there, but for me at the
minute there just isn't the quantity of manufactures getting on board the tubeless
bandwagon. I don't have the choice that I would want to have in order to select the
tires I'd want to ride. But eventually I will ride tubeless tires.
Yeah. Now, if you want to know how to fit tubeless tires, because it is slightly
fiddly, or it can be, then we've got a video showing you exactly how to do that
up there. Or, if you want to know how to glue tubular tires on like a pro,
that one was like me I'm afraid, like a pro, you can click and get through to it
just down there.
- And to subscribe to GCN how about clicking on Dan's disk brake bike?
- With a saddle.
- It's bit low.
- Are you going to leave that down.
- And the wheels that you ordered basically for yourself for the
Cyclocross season.
- Yeah. You know how much that's going to annoy him now that you've moved his
seat and didn't mark it.
- I know, I didn't mark it either, did I? Don't tell him, just leave it like that.
- Oh, yeah.
- It'll be fine.
- That's quite brilliant.
- Will he watch this?
- Yeah, he will.
- He probably will, won't he?
- But we'll film his reaction when he gets back on it.
- Yeah, definitely.
- That's going to be genius. Gold. It'll be a whole video in itself.
- I know.
- Dan Lloyd throws his toys out the pram, like a pro.
- Now here we are on the tubeless tires. Now, I'm going to let you in to a
little bit of a secret, I've actually been riding these for the last couple of months
and the other little secret I'm going to let you in on is the fact that, initially,
I didn't even realize I was riding on them. I thought I was riding on
traditional clinchers. It wasn't until I undid the locking ring because I thought
it looked a bit useless and not very pro and all the milk started to leak out that
I realized something was amiss and the fact that I was actually riding these and
not clinchers.