Favorite Tubulars?

[rd]

I have but Felice has told me that they did not receive one single tire from Veloflex at all last year.

Well then I won't be calling him for Paves on Monday.

[HammerTime]

Niles and madcow,

How would you compare the 22 mm Conti Competition with Black Chili to the 22 mm Conti GP4000?

[stumpytrunks]

If the chronos are anything like their track tubs they will be very fast but wont last very long at all. I'd be lucky to get 500 km out of my track tubs before the canvas comes through, usign them on outdoor tracks. I realise that the dynamics of track racing are a bit different but I can't see the chronos lasting much over 1000 km.

[Boonen]

I love tubulars and tried many different one's over the years. My favorites I keep coming back to are the Vittoria CX's. The newer 23 mm tubulars ride very nice and so do the 24 mm Pave one's. I ride these pretty much all year around with a little bit of 'joe's no-flat' sealant in them which seems to work very well for me. They do have latex inner tubes so you have to pump them before every ride, and the newer tubulars have longer valve stems which really annoys me visually in combination with their valve extenders and aero wheels
I once had some bad luck with Veloflex clinchers and since my lbs doesn't carry them anymore I never got around (or felt the urge) to try those in tubular. I did try several conti tubs and clinchers. I know they work very well for many people but I never came to like them and to me they feel like a much slower and 'harder' tire. I have raced with some Dugast Silks on occasion as well in the past and liked those a lot, but they are a bit to costly for me to use every day

Are the Ultremo tubulars readily available already? I know my lbs had some of those in backorder ever since they were announced but I haven't seen them yet ... Wouldn't mind giving those a go as well to see what they are all about.

[fred]

I really wonder how the Dugast tubulars behave, but that damn price

[fdegrove]

Hi,

As much as I like the comfy ride qualities of the Veloflex tubulars fact is they do flat too easily. For me this is a Summer tyre, ideal for dry roads.

On the other end of that scale there's the new Conti Competition. This one just refuses to flat, is rather too harsh to my liking but has incredible traction and seems to roll amazingly well.
Said it before and will say it again; if Conti would outfit it with a latex inner tube they'd have an alround winner on their hands.
I heven't tried the GP4000 yet and quite likely won't as it has a vulcanized inner tube a la Tufo and Stelvio which leaves you with only liquid latex solutions to repair it which I definitely do not like. I stitch.

Inbetween there's the venerable Vitto CX which would likely be perfect for most conditions but I'd love to see the Kevlar belt replaced with a lighter and more sturdy Vectran one.

So, there you go. The receipe has been laid out but so far no single tubular seems to combine all the good properties into a single product.
In the meantime that means swapping tubulars according to the season: Summer Veloflex (Servizio Corse, Carbon etc), FMB and for everything less shiny and dry a set of Conti Comps is just the ticket.

Ciao,

[peterpen]

I love tubulars and tried many different one's over the years. My favorites I keep coming back to are the Vittoria CX's. The newer 23 mm tubulars ride very nice and so do the 24 mm Pave one's. I ride these pretty much all year around with a little bit of 'joe's no-flat' sealant in them which seems to work very well for me. ...

Boonen-
Can you explain your sealant set-up?
thx!

[jrennie]

The vittoria cronos evo cs looks to be the best rolling tire on paper but it is a TT tire and not very puncture resistant. If you ride glass roads or track then go for it.

I really like the Veloflex SC for an all around tire. It has very good rolling resistance(not the best but good) I picked up a goat head in one before a race and rolled back to the truck, grabbed a can of vittoria pit stop and raced the rest of the year on it. Good wearing. The only down side was the tan sidewall but nothing a marker couldn't fix.

[marieprince]

I prefer the Vittoria Cronos because it is extremely lightweight.

[pritchet74]

Extreamly lightweight, but uber-fragile.

[Fourthbook]

I've been riding Conti Comps the past few years with no issues: good wear, traction, cornering. I switched to them after years w/ Corsa CX Evos b/c I seem to get a bit better wear on the Contis and I wanted a 22mm tire rather than the 21(.5) for the Vitts. No substantial ride differences between them for me. However I suspect I'll switch back to Vittorias (23mm this time) since I can usually find them for ~$20< less than the Contis (PBK has the Vittorias for $64 ea if you buy 4+).

[dewolf]

My favorites over the years have changed;
For interest sake and going back a long way... Clement of Italy was THE manufacturer, sadly they are no more. They had many different tires and tread patterns in cotton and silk (designated by the term "seta" and "seta extra" on the model label). The cotton fabric construction tires usually had a red label, the seta had a yellow label and the seta extra had a green label.
My favorites then:
Clement Paris-Roubaix Seta
Clement Strada 66 (cotton)
Clement Criterum
Clement Criterium Seta
Clement Criterium Seta Extra

These days:
Vittoria Corsa Evo CX 21mm version
Vittoria Corsa Evo CX 23mm version
Vittoria Pave Evo CG 24mm version
Vittoria Corsa Evo Tech 23mm
Continental Competition 22mm

Not given in any order of overall preference. preferred use depends on the weather conditions and road surface conditions. All are very excellent riding tires and the newer tubulars are very puncture resistant compared with the tubulars of yesteryear. I ride almost exclusively on tubulars all year and I put in a lot of kilometers/miles. I used to get a lot of flats in the old days which I don't miss but I do miss the ride of those silk tires, they were a real nice ride. I do have some clincher wheelsets and ride them every now with the similar clincher versions of the above. But I always want to come back to the tubulars, they just have a little something extra...