Tubular Tyres and Vittoria Pitstop

Brian Farrell has asked us before about what he can do for a quick repair if he punctures a tubular during a race. He has found Vittoria Pitstop sealant and wants to know if this will sort his problem?

Question:
Hello,

Thanks for your reply to my previous question on fitting tubular tyres.

Just as a follow up on this, I’ve heard of Vittoria Pitstop which I think is some sort of sealant. Is it possible to use this if you get a puncture on a tubular to seal up the hole, then use a CO2 cartridge to pump up the tyre and continue on. Is my understanding correct on that or is it totally off?

I’m trying to find the easiest and quickest way to fix a puncture on a tubular and trying to fit a completely new tyre on the road sounds very difficult.

Regards,
Brian.

Hi Brian.

Glad to be of help with your previous question.

Yes, Pitstop from Vittoria will fix your puncture without having to remove the tubular from the wheel and get you back in the race quickly. The Pitstop tube is pressurized so that it will blow the tyre up at the same time as blocking up the puncture hole, it should take the pressure up to around 100 psi, which should be enough to finish the race.

You can also pre-treat your tyres with the latex foam which can seal the puncture as it happens with only a slight loss of pressure. The gas that is used will dissipate after a time, so once the tyre has been treated you do need to inflate the tyre in the usual way with either a pump or pressure cartridge.

As well as Pitstop there is also Slime; which is a liquid sealant which you put into the tyre before you ride and as it is not pressurized you pump the tyre afterwards and it cures the puncture as you ride. Slime is a non-flammable, non-pressurized and environmentally friendly mix of fibres that bond to make the repair.

Similarly to Slime is Tufo sealant and it works in the same way, the 50ml bottle will pre-treat 3 road tyres or tubulars and will seal any punctures up to 2mm in diameter. The sealant will close the puncture before you realise you have a puncture without air loss and you will be able to re-inflate later.

So, for your race confidence I would try one of the above preparations and good luck Brian.