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  • The Gatorskins aren't for safety. Puncturing with a tub is supposed to be safe because, unlike a clincher, it can't roll off the rim. And a tub deflates slowly, whereas a clincher's inner tube can sometimes go bang.

    The fear of the Gatorskin owner is that if the sealant doesn't work and he can't remove the flat tub or fit his spare tub, he's stranded. People without much experience of tubs develop a mortal fear of that. It takes a while to get proficient and confident with the glueing or the taping. It's a whole new skill which has to be learned, and there's trial and error and mess, and tips to be learned from pro mechanics, and competing claims from the people who swear by tape and the people who insist on glue. So some guys buy the super duper 1kg wheels....and then stick the fucking Gatorskins on them, when they really should be going the whole Instagram hog with silk Dugasts or something. Gatorskin tubs are meant for your cheapo training wheels, not your carbon bling superspecials.

    This pair look quite deep, maybe 40mm, so they'd be billed as all-rounders. The Extralite hubs are so light that with shallow rims you can build a climbing pair for 800 grams. It all sounds absurd, but old school narrow tubular rims for caliper brakes can be made quite a bit lighter than fashionably wide hooked rims for disc brakes. This is how weight weenies can end up with a 5 kg bike.

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