Sew ups

I know that everyone calls them tubulars or tubs these days, but in the early '70s when I first started riding serious bicycles they were called sew ups. They were the only option for high quality tires, and they were then as now a pain in the ass. Back then the best of them ran $10-20, and they could be had for $5, but a full on race bike could be had for $450 brand new. So, in some ways today's $100 tubulars are a bargain relative to the price of a new racing bike. I spent lunchtime today mounting a pair of Conti Force and Attack sew ups to some carbon race wheels. Even though I'd stretched them for a few days they were recalcitrant to mount to say the least. But after much grunting and cussing I finally got them onto the rims. Contis have always been hard to get on. I remember giving up on a pair of Sprinter 250s many years ago and taking them to the shop to mount. The mechanic said he didn't think his thumbs would ever recover. These carbon race wheels will take close to a pound off the rig, and Saturday is the District RR Championships so the pain will be worth it. I still need to mount the carbon specific pads, and a new cassette. Let's just hope it all test rides correctly tomorrow. If not it's back to the normal clincher rims for the day after's race.