How to Glue Sew-Ups

Sew-ups are a type of bicycle tire that do not need a tube. A regular tire will not hold air without a tube, whereas the sew-up is a tire as well as a tube. This makes sew-ups unique among tires. Sew-up bike tires are a single unit that is glued directly to the rim of the wheel. If you have a flat sew-up tire, you must strip the tire off completely and glue a new one back on. Doing this is a very simple process that was developed many years ago for bike racing, and is still used primarily by serious cyclists and racers. Sew-ups have fallen out of favor with most cyclists but are still used by some people.

Things You'll Need

  • Tubular tire (sew-up)
  • Rubber gloves
  • Tubular tire glue
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Instructions

    • 1

      Strip the damaged sew-up from the wheel. Pull it loose from the glue and then pull hard on the wheel and the tire to separate them from each other.

    • 2

      Put on rubber gloves. Squirt a marble sized blob of glue onto your fingers.

    • 3

      Hold the wheel with one hand as you smear the glue onto the rim, covering the inside of the rim liberally. If you run out of glue before you get all the way around, put some more glue onto your fingers. Wait 30 minutes and apply another coat of glue. The rim should have two coats of glue on it, with 30 minutes of drying time between coats.

    • 4

      Squirt another blob of glue on your fingers. Hold the tire with one hand and smear a light bead of glue along the thin strip on the inside of the tire. The strip is a different consistency from the tire and clearly visible as a glue strip. Wait 30 minutes and apply another coat of glue. Allow the second coat of glue to dry.

    • 5

      Stand the wheel up against your knees with the valve stem hole right on top. Insert the valve stem on the tire through the valve stem hole on the rim. Press the tire down into the glue.

    • 6

      Press the the tire down hard from both sides with both hands as you work it down onto the rim with both hands. When you reach the last few inches of tire that are not yet glued to the rim, pick the wheel up and hold it at shoulder height. Use your thumbs to pop the last few inches of tire onto the rim.