adventures in gluing

This year's big change in equipment for me will be tubular tires. I was resistant for a while since I figured then I would have to learn how to glue them myself, and when the hell would I have time for that?!?

Late in July, I just decided that I wanted to try it anyway, even if it meant having someone else do the gluing. I got a sweet little deal on a set of used tubular Ksyriums on craigslist, and when in Portland, purchased a set of Dugasts for myself and a set of FMBs for DD. DD is possibly one of the bigger reasons I finally said "yes" to tubulars - he is a handy kind of guy, excellent with mechanics, and always willing to help me learn. Setting up the tubulars with DD was the perfect balance of DIY and having someone else do it.

And on Thursday night, I spent the evening sniffing glue, I mean, gluing tubulars with DD. He had prepped the tires and the rims, applying five coats of glue to each, and letting it dry between passes. Thursday night I put a fresh coat of glue on the rim and on the tire, and after seriously botching the first one, had DD put the second tire on the rim. Botching is not the end of the world, because you can shift things around a little bit, but it is a major workout for the fingers and abs, lifting the most minute sections off the rim and re-setting it so it is centered. Both tires took quite a bit of fiddling to get them tracking straight or "straight enough".

Next step is to clean the rims and sidewalls properly, and apply some aqua seal to keep water out and keep the cotton casing from rotting out. Still not sure exactly how much/where to apply the aqua seal - a lot of web accounts suggest the entire sidewall. I am not, however, advocating for believing everything you read on the internet!

I may put off using the tubulars another week - it will probably be pretty wet tomorrow, and I'm not sure they'll be sealed and ready by 11.30am....