tub rims for a track bike

[pq]

You say nothing about how heavy you are, how powerful you are and whether you tend to trash wheels or not. However I rode the track for more than 20 years, and the nicest wheels I had were Record on Mavic GEL280, 32 spokes tied and soldered. I think those rims are quite rare now, but if you can find a pair they're superb track rims. Too flimsy for the road and don't work well with brakes though.

[mattsccm]

Tubasti? Nah,Conti nowadays but it used to be that "lovely" red Wolber stuff.

[mig]

hmm i'm beginning to think that this is a bad idea. ho hum.

i'm 13st 1 lb at my fighting weight but don't trash equipment at all. broken one spoke in maybe 30 years of adult bike riding and that includes a fair few miles as a tandem stoker.

#anecdote warning

re. tubasti. i was given one of the first lot of mavic cosmic wheels some years ago to try in a '25' and was sticking my tub to it in preparation during the preceeding week. mrs mig found my new tube of tubasti just as i went upstairs to remove the tub from a spare rim and asked what it was. 'hand cream' i replied as i went through the door. yup you guessed right. she must have read the tube as she called me 'tubasti' (i think) as i returned downstairs. she didn't want hairy hands anyway. shouldn't have bothered with the wheel either. the thing filled with water in a deluge during the race. made a hell of a racket in use too.

[fastpedaller]

Tubasti? Nah,Conti nowadays but it used to be that "lovely" red Wolber stuff.

Maybe my memory failed me ..... was it a Clement cement? whatever it was it set hard and red, and the tyre wouldn't budge in use. On a very hot day once when using the contact type adhesive I ended up riding the last 10 miles of 100 mile TT mostly on the rim tape as the tube kept rotating!

[mattsccm]

Quite possibly it was. Most definitely not my first choice as it was too visible when you made a mess.

[pq]

When I rode the track I used a layer of shellac on the rims and then tub tape. It stuck them on pretty much as well as doing the whole thing with shellac but without the faff and the mess. Definitely more secure and less messy than any rim cement. Also once you've shellaced the rims, they never need doing again, you just use a fresh roll of tape when you fit a new tub.

[ANTONISH]

At one time all my riding was done on tubs - even touring.
I used tub cement on the rim and when it had dried used the brown double sided adhesive tape - Jantex?
If I had to change a tub the surface was still tacky.
+1 for X's when stitching up. With a bit of practice repairs weren't very lengthy.
Modern tyres with tubes have improved a great deal since the old HP's.