henry said:
Appreciate that both designs are not going to be any use in a downhill blow out but I guess I'm more paranoid about my own user error re gluing tubs as opposed to the failsafe system of a clincher rim where, asside from a puncture, you know for sure the tyre is not going to roll off. Also why is is no manufacturer making tub deep rims with alu braking surface?.. I also wonder how safe it is to ride after a puncture in a race putting opn a spare tyre over old glue..??.. nobody seems to mention this...
Get someone who knows what they are doing to help you the first time you glue your tires. After that, you should have no problems. I've ridden tubies since 1990 and have never rolled one. I typically use about half a tube of glue on the rim,then I pull the tire on, inflate, align, inflate more and leave over night. Just make sure the rim is clean (if new) and the tire has no latex coating on the base (Vittorias? Contis don't have this prob). I don't so the whole 5 coats of glue on rim and tire crap, its not necessary IMHO, at least not with contis.
Also, with tubulars, you won't ever get a pinch flat (nothing to pinch!), so that in itself will mean less 'blowouts' for you since the majority of flat tires on clinchers seem to be pinch flats.
As for pressure, its personal. Sprinters are rated up to something like 200psi. When racing I will use about 130 in the rear and 120 in the front, and I love the ride.
As for braking surface on the rim, you need to look at the manufacturer specs. My 2001 404's (tubular, all carbon) didn't require any special pads. Also, Mavic carbone tubulars (not the all carbon pro) have an aluminum tubular rim, so you can use normal pads there too.
Lastly.......how often are you repairing a tire during a race?!?!! Don't you just get a spare wheel from the race support?? I've never seen someone in a road race pull over a repair a tire. Regardless, I can stretch on a spare tubie faster than I can repair a tube and remount a clincher. And as long as you get the tubie inflated to a decent pressure, it will stick more than good enough to finish your ride on.......just don't fly into any downhill corners at 60km/hr.
Anyway, just bite the bullet and get the tubulars. You will be glad you did. And get a decent tire like a conti sprinter or better. This wheelset will make a bigger difference to your ride than any carbon bits/seatposts/bars/stems could ever do.