Tubular tire recommendations

[FlashUNC]

So I'm building up my first pair of tubular wheels after two solid decades of clincher-dom, and taking the plunge as a secondary wheel set, just to see if I like 'em.

Anyone have any recommendations on their preferred tires?

Any that you happen to know Lance, US Postal, or Johan Bruyneel preferred? (Just to keep this marginally on topic with the buzz of the last few days.)

[firerescuefin]

Conti Sprinters are good overall tire at a very good pricepoint

Vittoria Evo Corsas and Conti Competitions are really good tires, but you're going to have to step up some with your checkbook...but you can feel the difference IMO.

I have no experience with some of the super high end stuff beyond that.

[Joachim]

Any that you happen to know Lance, US Postal, or Johan Bruyneel preferred? (Just to keep this marginally on topic with the buzz of the last few days.)

Hutchinson tubulars (might be rebranded Veloflex carbons, but don't hold me to that)

There is a new high-end Panaracer tubular out that I would really like to try, but can't find them at the usual outlets. They are on the Panaracer website. My everyday tubular is Conti Sprinter. I really like the ride of Veloflex Carbons, but they wear much quicker. I think a good compromise between high-end ride quality and wear is the Conti Competition.

[BCS]

Dont buy crap or you will ask yourself "why did i bother with tubulars?"

Forget those 3 for 50$ tires.

I have yet to ride on my spare Conti Sprinter.

I like vittoria pave'.

Just ordered a pair of veloflex arenbergs that will go on a wheelset built by old potatoe

[oldpotatoe]

So I'm building up my first pair of tubular wheels after two solid decades of clincher-dom, and taking the plunge as a secondary wheel set, just to see if I like 'em.

Anyone have any recommendations on their preferred tires?

Any that you happen to know Lance, US Postal, or Johan Bruyneel preferred? (Just to keep this marginally on topic with the buzz of the last few days.)

Best value, Conti Sprinters. Durable, ride well, not huge $

Best ride/value-Vittoria CX-supple, not as durable as Sprinters.

No real need to go past the 'century' mark for tubies, IMHO. Dugast, FMB, even some Veloflex, Clement-BIG $ for no performance or longevity advantage.

PLUS FMB and Dugast 'cold' vulcanized, meaning the tread is just glued on, 'may' come off with time(seen more than a few of these) whereas Vittoria, etc are 'hot' vulcanized, tread chemically bonded to the casing .

AND..do it right and glue them on, don't use tape, IMHO

AND no tubie needs to be 120 psi..I'm a .1 offa ton and use 95psi

[jonnyBgood]

I have been using Vitorria EVO Corsas for the past few years and love them.

I actually have to replace one that is one the bike I rode to work today as it is as square as a box with all the miles I have on it.

Like BCS said "Dont buy crap or you will ask yourself "why did i bother with tubulars?"". Buy yourself some good quality tires and they will give you some good miles.

[firerescuefin]

If it was me, I would put 25s on there. Even guys in the pro peleton are realizing you're getting a much better ride, and not giving away anything.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/05/news/giro-tech-rise-of-the-25c-tire_218011

[Jaq]

I'll toss in a vote for Tufos. I've been riding the Elite Ride 23s. They ride well, handle the occasional wet pavement well, and don't need to be driven up to 120 psi. They tend to run about 70 bucks per after some googling, though occasionally you'll find an ebay auction.

The good/bad for me is that Tufos can't be repaired like a lot of tubulars; there's no seam to unstitch, and the tubes are bonded inside the casing. I actually did manage to repair one once, but it was a b---h, and not something I'll ever repeat.

I think the next set of tires will be Conti sprinters.

[Andreas]

Getto-Dugast: Continental Stehers (~$50), now with chili compound. Love the ride, used them for the last 8 years. Very supple and quick. Tend to puncture with sharp things (glas, thorns). Since we have neither were I live, they work for me.

Great Value, Great Ride: Vittoria Corsa (~$45-50 from UK). Not quite as supple as the G-Ds, but less puncture prone. 23 and 25, both nice.

Solid, durable, fast: Continental Competition (~$65 from UK). Never flated one. Come in 22/25/27. 27 are special production runs that are not easy to get.

Conti tires are harder to mount than Vittorias.
You need a spare tubie.
If this is for road, just use tufo tape.

[laupsi]

Conti Competition, just be prepared for a work out getting them on. you should definatley "prepare" them first.

[FlashUNC]

Conti Competition, just be prepared for a work out getting them on. you should definatley "prepare" them first.

I'm having my local shop excavate a basement where he can properly age the tires.

All good suggestions folks. Definitely thinking the 25c or above range, since my frame has clearance for up to 28's, and I like the comfier ride without any real hit to performance.

These wouldn't be everyday wheels, just something to dip my toe into the tubular world. So durability of an everyday tire isn't a must, but I also don't want to blow out a tire on a Sunday ride.

[saab2000]

Veloflex.

End of discussion.

At the very least, don't buy cheap ones.

[Joachim]

These wouldn't be everyday wheels, just something to dip my toe into the tubular world. So durability of an everyday tire isn't a must, but I also don't want to blow out a tire on a Sunday ride.

Veloflex then.

[TMB]

I'll toss in a vote for Tufos. I've been riding the Elite Ride 23s. They ride well, handle the occasional wet pavement well, and don't need to be driven up to 120 psi. They tend to run about 70 bucks per after some googling, though occasionally you'll find an ebay auction.

The good/bad for me is that Tufos can't be repaired like a lot of tubulars; there's no seam to unstitch, and the tubes are bonded inside the casing. I actually did manage to repair one once, but it was a b---h, and not something I'll ever repeat.

I think the next set of tires will be Conti sprinters.

The tires that I do the most miles on are Elite Ride 25's. At around 90 or 95 PSI they ride just fine thank you.

There are a large number of sealed tubulars now, including the Continental GP4000 and i also have a set of Schwalbe somethings in a 25 width which ride very nicely indeed ( I cannot remember what they are called since thye have done what everyone seems to do - wait until I find something I like - then change the name)

[oldguy00]

What rims are your wheels being built with?

[FlashUNC]

What rims are your wheels being built with?

Likely going with HED Belgiums or Velocity Major Toms. Maybe the Velocity Escapes.

Not going carbon or deep dish, if that helps.

[oldguy00]

Likely going with HED Belgiums or Velocity Major Toms. Maybe the Velocity Escapes.

Not going carbon or deep dish, if that helps.

I'd go Hed Belgiums (in fact, I am!).
I currently ride HED Stingers which have the same wide profile.
I am using Vittoria Corsa 25mm tubulars, and the ride is amazing. So much nicer than 22mm tires I've used in the past (Conti Comps and Veloflex Carbons).

[ultraman6970]

I been using those 3x50 bucks and for what I paid and for the riding i do are perfect. So far maybe 2 years using those ones (have 2 pairs) and no problems so far. For training work, for racing I wouldnt used them but is true too that when the rider has no dough he uses whatever he can afford.

With tubies in general i never get flats, with clinchers always cr@p going on until i put schwalbee clinchers. Flats is just have some luck :)

OP, in general whatever you can afford probably will do just fine. The other secret is just take care of the tubulars and do not put excessive air pressure (80 to 120). The other thing I do is to take the air out when Im hanging the bike for the day, probably that's why they last me that long. Learn this way back in the day because tubulars before were super expensive and were made with natural fibers that stretched way more than modern tubulars (from what I noticed). Again, probably that's the reason because they last me long time and I have to basicaly retire them because are simply old, not because of punctures. No flats in tubulars for the last 3 or 4 years here.

[Germany_chris]

buy anything BUT Tufo..:no:

[gearguywb]

Veloflex are the cat's a$%

Conti competitions wear very well and are puncture resistant.....but they do not ride anything like Veloflex

Vittoria Pave's (24's) are a pretty good middle ground. Wish they were easier to find in all black.

[djg]

My go-to road tire these days is the Vittoria Corsa CX -- the "new" (not that new anymore) 320 tpi version -- really good, supple, grippy, consistent tires that, while not cheap, are not a fortune. You can get them in 23c or 25c.

Veloflex makes very good tires, but they've gotten a little spendy over the past few years. There's a "Roubaix" model at 24c -- maybe not many more offerings (any?) past 22c.

Conti comps and sprinters wear a little harder -- the sprinters are less expensive, but are still decent tires (and not the sort of cheap tubular tires that you might just as well stay away from).

[rbtmcardle]

Veloflex Carbon.. 95 psi.. = smooth like butter sublime

[false_Aest]

brah,

Vittoria Evo Corsa CX are dope but the compound in em makes em not so great when it gets wet out. I've had more than a few wheel slips on em.

During the dry th3yre the tits.

Been hearing some decent things about Kenda's top tubular. Volare or something liek that. I just orderd up a set in 24mm. Made my challenge IIRC.

Veloflex Arenbergs (Roubaix) are pretty well respected too (roughly same cost of Evo Corsa CX)

Vittoria Pave get decent reviews too.

The last 2 are avail in 24/25mm.

Incidentally, if you're using a valve extender with the Vittorias and a cheapy tubular for a spare, make sure that your valve extender works on the spare. I found out the hard way that vittoria's threading doesn't work the way you want it to.

[uber]

Veloflex carbon tubulars are very supple. I recommend 25mm tires if you are considering the wider Zipp 303 or 404 Firecrests.

[Jason E]

Schwalbe.... I have been on the Durano for a few years and they were great. Ergott and I recently got a bunch of Ultremo HT's and they are even better. I had some 25's on my ENVE's and they were amazing. When I start riding again, I will be right back on ultremo's..

[fogrider]

most people put the same tire in front as they do in the rear. but 60 to 70 percent of your weight is on the rear tire. Conti used to make a set of clinchers with front and rear specific tires. many mountain bike tires also have front/rear specific tires. I like veloflex in the front and conti competition in the rear. I also agree that 100 psi is good.

edit: vittoria used to be made in italy, but they moved to thialand. when they moved the old workers started veloflex.

[wooly]

. Veloflex.

End of discussion.

At the very least, don't buy cheap ones.

Agreed. I've ridden Conti Comps which were pretty nice and durable. Just switched to veloflex roubaixs in 25mm and they are fantastic. I think I'll be sticking with them for a long time.

[mister]

i just got a vittoria pave 24mm a while back
didn't like it at all, straight up scary in the rain, doesn't ride that great, didn't fit my gp4 well at the valve stem (think it might ahve something to do with the screw on valve stem)
also it flatted about 100 miles after i put it on so atleast i didn't have to ride it for very long

sprinters are the best inexpensive tub
i'd ride vittoria evo corsa cx if i really wanted a 25mm tub
if i didn't mind spending more i'd get veloflex or FMB, i rode some fmb 25mm PR tubs for a while, they rode well and lasted a long time

the latex glue on the basetape also annoys me with the vittoria's

i'll probably be riding steher's mostly from here on out...

[earlfoss]

I have to say that my luck with the Tufo S33PRO tires has been excellent. I use these tires for training and will get an entire season out of a rear and even more out of the front.

I don't use them for racing because they just don't ride as nicely as a good race tire. For racing I have been on some super cheap tubies (after my "deal" they're just too good to pass up). Bontrager Race Lite Tubulars. They actually ride pretty good for what they are and until the well runs dry, they're my go-to.

[FlashUNC]

Thanks all for the advice. Found a deal on some Challenge Stradas, which seem to get good reviews online. Taking them out for a first ride tomorrow.

[oldpotatoe]

i just got a vittoria pave 24mm a while back
didn't like it at all, straight up scary in the rain, doesn't ride that great, didn't fit my gp4 well at the valve stem (think it might ahve something to do with the screw on valve stem)
also it flatted about 100 miles after i put it on so atleast i didn't have to ride it for very long

sprinters are the best inexpensive tub
i'd ride vittoria evo corsa cx if i really wanted a 25mm tub
if i didn't mind spending more i'd get veloflex or FMB, i rode some fmb 25mm PR tubs for a while, they rode well and lasted a long time

the latex glue on the basetape also annoys me with the vittoria's

i'll probably be riding steher's mostly from here on out...

Ya know the Conti Steher is a track tire, yes?