Hurray for tubular tires!

[Martin in Colorado]

I did another luxury trip: my wife dropped me off 20 miles east of Moab, Utah, on that marvelous canyon road along the Colorado River on Monday.
But after about ten miles my rear tire went flat – yet I was able to continue riding as the tubular tires made it possible. Had to limit my speed to 14mph (ranged between 11 and 17) and be very careful in curves but it worked. The rims are cheap but reliable Chinese carbon so I worried not.
My usual repair kit didn't work, i.e. there was no cell phone reception until I was out of the canyon, and I didn't have the other kind with me.
I'm using Schwalbe One 30mm. The rims are actually not built for this width tire but it's not a problem.

 

[ChaleJake]

Beautiful views for your ride. I will have to check into tubular tires. I had a front wheel flat on my Silvio about 8 miles from home yesterday. I did get it changed and cycled back home. Your scenery is much better.

I did cycle in Moab several years ago. Nice bike.

 

[Martin in Colorado]

Tubulars do have drawbacks and the difficulty of fixing them on the road is one, the other cost. If you're still using rim brakes getting used high end carbon rims on Craigslist is easy. Loads of racers upgrading to disk brakes are selling their wheel sets for around $400 in my area (being close to Boulder, CO, means lots of resident racers and lots of high end used gear). Also try https://www.theproscloset.com
Rim brakes weigh less but braking power when wet is not as good.
If you don't mind waiting for a package from China or Taiwan get custom rims via Ebay or Alibaba Express, in which case you can go with disk hubs at no extra cost.
Aluminum rims also offer very low weight builds and come in cheaper.
Another negative is lower choice in tires, plus the tires you really want according to reviews (say the Conti Competition 28mm, $125) are hard to find, especially when you're hunting for discounts.
Glueing tires is something I've never done. Tufo tape is so much easier and quick whereas glueing requires you the mind of a Zen mechanic https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/tubular-tire-gluing-sew-up
By contrast the Tufo tape is simply centered in the rim, leaving its protective outer plastic tape attached. Then you mount the tire and center it carefully. This is easy because of the protective tape. When all looks right pull out the tape (it will not tear) and start riding to heat up the glue strip and make it bond.

I made the decision to go with tubulars when I built the bike purely to save rotating weight without knowing much about what's involved.

Below another photo from my ride along the Colorado river.