View Full Version : Duffer looking for a consistently decent tubular. Or not.
Duffer looking for a consistently decent tubular. Or not.
Hi all,
I am an ex-racer (very ex; think Strada 66s and Clement Setas in the 70s.) I still ride tubulars
though, if only because my sole set of wheels has tubular rims (Ambrosio Durex Formula 20). I have
this inertia going on here...
Last year I flatted three times, out of the blue, like the valve had failed or something. This never
happens to me, I usually wore tires out rather than puncture them. I ride whatever $20.00-$25.00
tire I can find because I don't race. These usually end up being Vittoria Ralleys. So this year I'm
thinking of making the move to clinchers. I live in Denver and ride in the mountains but haven't
experienced glue creep problems since switching to Vittoria glue.
In any event, I like tubulars. I'd like to think I could tell the difference if I was on clinchers
(if only because the rim would be lighter), but maybe I'm just fooling myself. Is there a good well
performing, middle to upper-middle clincher combo out there? Or perhaps a consistent quality
tubular? (These puncture-less flats I've been getting are unnerving. Two failed valves in one ride
fifty miles out into nowhere is a Bad Thing.)
Sorry to be so broad, but I've been out of the loop for so long I have no relavent data anymore and
have neither the time, inclination or money to experiment. By the by I weigh 147, can still climb
and still stink on downhills.
No flames please, and thanks,
rl
"Reed Loefgren" <rloef@interfold.com> wrote in message
news:d312cd06.0401050716.422e652@posting.google.com...
> Hi all,
>
> I am an ex-racer (very ex; think Strada 66s and Clement Setas in the 70s.) I still ride tubulars
> though, if only because my sole set of wheels has tubular rims (Ambrosio Durex Formula 20). I have
> this inertia going on here...
>
> Last year I flatted three times, out of the blue, like the valve had failed or something. This
> never happens to me, I usually wore tires out rather than puncture them. I ride whatever $20.00-
> $25.00 tire I can find because I don't race. These usually end up being Vittoria Ralleys. So this
> year I'm thinking of making the move to clinchers. I live in Denver and ride in the mountains but
> haven't experienced glue creep problems since switching to Vittoria glue.
>
> In any event, I like tubulars. I'd like to think I could tell the difference if I was on clinchers
> (if only because the rim would be lighter), but maybe I'm just fooling myself. Is there a good
> well performing, middle to upper-middle clincher combo out there? Or perhaps a consistent quality
> tubular? (These puncture-less flats I've been getting are unnerving. Two failed valves in one ride
> fifty miles out into nowhere is a Bad Thing.)
Reed,
Before I switched, I was on Conti Sprinters. Liked them a lot...not quite as nice as the old Clement
Criterium Setas, but pretty consistent.
You do owe it to yourself to try a lightweight wheelset with clinchers. No more sticky glue all
over, no more lumpy ride, reasonably quick tire R&R. I switched after 30 years and *might* get a
light tubular setup for racing...but then again, I might not :)
Lee
Ah, Strada 66s. My Austro-Daimler Ultima came with them in 1978. I can't speak to tubulars today but
I can tell your that a wheelset built with Richey WCS hubs and some nice rims like Mavic CXPs or
Alex will be very light and more than strong enough. I've found that Vredestein and Pariba tires
ride much like tubulars. You won't be disappointed. That said, I almost had a tubular wheelset built
this past year, but the price of decent tubulars just isn't worth it, IMO.
Brian Lafferty
"Reed Loefgren" <rloef@interfold.com> wrote in message
news:d312cd06.0401050716.422e652@posting.google.com...
> Hi all,
>
> I am an ex-racer (very ex; think Strada 66s and Clement Setas in the 70s.) I still ride tubulars
> though, if only because my sole set of wheels has tubular rims (Ambrosio Durex Formula 20). I have
> this inertia going on here...
>
> Last year I flatted three times, out of the blue, like the valve had failed or something. This
> never happens to me, I usually wore tires out rather than puncture them. I ride whatever $20.00-
> $25.00 tire I can find because I don't race. These usually end up being Vittoria Ralleys. So this
> year I'm thinking of making the move to clinchers. I live in Denver and ride in the mountains but
> haven't experienced glue creep problems since switching to Vittoria glue.
>
> In any event, I like tubulars. I'd like to think I could tell the difference if I was on clinchers
> (if only because the rim would be lighter), but maybe I'm just fooling myself. Is there a good
> well performing, middle to upper-middle clincher combo out there? Or perhaps a consistent quality
> tubular? (These puncture-less flats I've been getting are unnerving. Two failed valves in one ride
> fifty miles out into nowhere is a Bad Thing.)
>
> Sorry to be so broad, but I've been out of the loop for so long I have no relavent data anymore
> and have neither the time, inclination or money to experiment. By the by I weigh 147, can still
> climb and still stink on downhills.
>
>
> No flames please, and thanks,
>
> rl
Reed Loefgren wrote:
> Hi all,
>
You'll get more info over on rec.bicycles.tech.
In article <JogKb.26476$IM3.25317@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>,
"B. Lafferty" <Magni@Italia.com> wrote:
> Ah, Strada 66s. My Austro-Daimler Ultima came with them in 1978. I can't speak to tubulars today
> but I can tell your that a wheelset built with Richey WCS hubs and some nice rims like Mavic CXPs
> or Alex will be very light and more than strong enough. I've found that Vredestein and Pariba
> tires ride much like tubulars. You won't be disappointed. That said, I almost had a tubular
> wheelset built this past year, but the price of decent tubulars just isn't worth it, IMO.
>
> Brian Lafferty
I had some Paribas about 8-10 years ago and had horrible luck with them. As in 25 miles max
between flats, many of which ended up as case cuts. (Granted, that may have had something to do
with the roads I was on regularly at that time, but after I changed brands, I had far less
punctures and no cuts on the same rides.) But they're made by Vredestein now, so the quality
should be much better. I really like the Vredestein Tri-Comps: nice rolling feel, great grip and
predictability in turns and they last a fairly long time.
--
tanx, Howard
"Girls won't touch me 'cuz I got a misdirection..."
Pere Ubu
remove YOUR SHOES to reply, ok?
A few years back there were some defective Paribas that made it into the market here in the US. The
ones I've been riding this past year were bought through Performance. I've had one puncture flat
from a metal thing that would have punctured any tire. I'm getting 3000+ miles on a rear EvoPro.
BTW, Nashbar has Paribas on sale--ProCourse for <20 dollars.
"Howard Kveck" <YOURhoward@h-SHOESbomb.com> wrote in message news:YOURhoward-
F48985.21464705012004@netnews.attbi.com...
> In article <JogKb.26476$IM3.25317@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>, "B. Lafferty"
> <Magni@Italia.com> wrote:
>
> > Ah, Strada 66s. My Austro-Daimler Ultima came with them in 1978. I
can't
> > speak to tubulars today but I can tell your that a wheelset built with Richey WCS hubs and some
> > nice rims like Mavic CXPs or Alex will be very light and more than strong enough. I've found
> > that Vredestein and
Pariba
> > tires ride much like tubulars. You won't be disappointed. That said, I almost had a tubular
> > wheelset built this past year, but the price of
decent
> > tubulars just isn't worth it, IMO.
> >
> > Brian Lafferty
>
>
> I had some Paribas about 8-10 years ago and had horrible luck with
them.
> As in 25 miles max between flats, many of which ended up as case cuts. (Granted, that may have had
> something to do with the roads I was on regularly at that time, but after I changed brands, I had
> far less punctures and no cuts on the same rides.) But they're made by Vredestein now, so the
> quality should be much better. I really like the Vredestein Tri-Comps: nice rolling feel, great
> grip and predictability in turns and they last a fairly long time.
>
> --
> tanx, Howard
>
> "Girls won't touch me 'cuz I got a misdirection..."
> Pere Ubu
>
>
> remove YOUR SHOES to reply, ok?
In article <tIxKb.28218$IM3.16929@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>,
"B. Lafferty" <Magni@Italia.com> wrote:
> A few years back there were some defective Paribas that made it into the market here in the US.
I must have gotten three of them.
--
tanx, Howard
"Girls won't touch me 'cuz I got a misdirection..."
Pere Ubu
remove YOUR SHOES to reply, ok?
"Howard Kveck" <YOURhoward@h-SHOESbomb.com> wrote in message
news:YOURhoward-A4DFEC.19461106012004@netnews.comcast.net...
> In article <tIxKb.28218$IM3.16929@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>, "B. Lafferty"
> <Magni@Italia.com> wrote:
>
> > A few years back there were some defective Paribas that made it into the market here in the US.
>
> I must have gotten three of them.
Very likely. I heard that somehow a guy brought in a container of them and was initially unloading
them with LBSs. Once that fell apart due to the problem with the tires, he started selling them on
r.b.marketplace.
I commute over 5000 miles per year on sew-ups. Of the tires still available, I've tried Vittoria
Rallye, Continental Competition, Veloflex Record, Tufo S3 lite (without slime) and Vittoria Corsa CX
TT. I quickly got tired of the low time flats with everything except the Conti Comp's and Vittoria
Corsa's, so I didn't get statistically samples. The Conti's average over 2500 miles per tire and no
flats, Corsa CX TT flatted at 1000 miles while all else flatted in the 200 to 500 mile range on the
rear wheel. I've always found front tires last longer.YMMV, I weigh 170 pounds. Bike tires have no
US import duty and the Conti's are reasonably priced in the UK shops on the web. That combination
gives best miles per dollar and fewest flats per mile. At 25.5 pounds Sterling (after removing the
value added tax) and 10 pounds to get 4 shipped airmail, which takes less than a week, the total
cost, even at $1.77 per pound Sterling (ugh), is $49.50 per tire. Phoenix, AZ roads are not known to
have potholes (we hit 32 deg F this winter for the first time since 1997 or there abouts) so I run
160 psi. These days, I use Zipp carbon rims (less than 285 grams each) on both bikes to get durable
wheel and tire combos that are really light. Neither the tires, rims or glue suffer from the summer
heat (including commute on our record 122 deg F day in the late 1980's), but then, I park the bikes
in the shade at work and inside at home.
good luck,
Edd Brady
rloef@interfold.com (Reed Loefgren) wrote in message news:<d312cd06.0401050716.422e652@posting.google.com>...
> Hi all,
>
> I am an ex-racer (very ex; think Strada 66s and Clement Setas in the 70s.) I still ride tubulars
> though, if only because my sole set of wheels has tubular rims (Ambrosio Durex Formula 20). I have
> this inertia going on here...
> > . Is there a good well
> performing, middle to upper-middle clincher combo out there? Or perhaps a consistent quality
> tubular? (These puncture-less flats I've been getting are unnerving. Two failed valves in one ride
> fifty miles out into nowhere is a Bad Thing.)
>
> No flames please, and thanks,
>
> rl
............................................. There are still some people out riding tubies, me
included. I am still riding tufos with and without goop and have had very good luck with them not
flatting. I have used the lower end and the middle range ones with good success. I haven't tried
their tape instead of glue and would like a report on that myself. I have never owned clichers and
will ride tubies till they quit making them...or they get too expensive<grin>
islandtime
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