Tubular Tyres are the Best :) 3500 miles on this bad boy

[Too Tall]

Has it been a few days since I've babbled about tubular tyres ? ;)

The wait is over! Below is the rear tyre. These are Continental Competition 25's which are used for daily commuting into DC. NO FLATS, not a problem. They are worn out :) Myths busted here. How did I do that? Buy the best tyre you can afford, don't dynamite your tyres and don't save them for sunday rides...RIDE THEM :)

[PBWrench]

Wow. I hear Guinness calling. That tire has earned you a beer.

[stevep]

tt singlehandedly puts the bike industry out of business.

next thing you know you'll be riding the same bike 2 years in a row.

jaysssus. be careful what you tell these guys. ill be living in a box in sachs' yard... with cold arms.

[Xyzzy]

Ride them till they pop. How many more miles can you milk out of them?

Think of Kramer and the car salesman. How far can we drive on a tank of gas?

[michael white]

that's almost like seeing the Virgin Mary's face traced in frost on a barn, or maybe in pancake syrup after the last bite of pancake . . . yes sir, quite astonishing, surely worth a pilgrimage . . .

but how do we know it's not a big con job??

[rwsaunders]

Too Tall....have you put the tires on Ebay yet, or are you offering them first to Forumites?

[Too Tall]

In the words of Mr. "TCB" Thin-kew thing-yew very much :) Kramer did pop into my head. That guy thing was working me but it is my commuting rig and nothing skrews up a nice commute like having to change a FXXT (oh man can't bear to say it). Am prepping a new set of conti's for monday. Somehow I can't imagine having this much luck again. Krikey, those tyres have been on since Deerfield...yeesh. Want to know what's really F'd up? I peeled the rear off and kind of squeezed / asessed how much rubber remained and it give new meaning to well made tyre, the casing was solid. These Competitions are very substantial.

...as a freakin' Nor'easter rages outside my window. arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrg.

[Grant McLean]

These Competitions are very substantial.


dang. I've got a photo somewhere of my comps in the same conditon,
but can't for the life of me find it. I've worn out at least 6 sets,
it's no fluke to get that kind of miles on comps with no flats.

g

[Too Tall]

Grant, it was you who put me onto these wonderful tyres bub. I was thinking about a post you put up last yr. saying something similar. The casing is magic. Too bad I was gun shy about buying an armload from Bike Trashbar when they had the ugly orange jobs on sale DOH!!!

[A.L.Breguet]

.

[AgilisMerlin]

I ride my michelins till the threads show all the way around.

usually throw out rear and replace with my front tire, and put new tire on front wheel. Been doing this for years.

I am a 95 psi type o' guy....................


goog luck

[chrisroph]

It looks like you've been doing brodies.

[Grant McLean]

Grant, it was you who put me onto these wonderful tyres bub. I was thinking about a post you put up last yr. saying something similar. The casing is magic. Too bad I was gun shy about buying an armload from Bike Trashbar when they had the ugly orange jobs on sale DOH!!!

wha? youz guys are actually listening to this stuff i'm typin'?
oh dear! i better be more careful! :)

g

[jthurow]

Runnin' a tire down to the threads always gives me a sense of accomplishment. Congrats! I'm always worried about runnin' tubulars b/c of flat issues but seeing this, I might have to reconsider. How'd that tread work for Deerfield?

jimi

[terrytnt]

I ditto your experience but with the Veloflex Criteriums. In fact, I now have 3000 miles and only the rear shows wear AND NO FLATS (all I rider are tubulars). Now, I must say I just order 2 more Criteriums for the upcoming season and will probably transfer these tubies to my trainer bike (and or keep as spares).

Love those Veloflex...

[Louis]

I ride my michelins till the threads show all the way around.

A few years ago I found out the hard way (i.e. about 25 miles from home) that once you get down to the threads things can go pretty fast. I started out with an area of threads showing that seemed quite similar to what I'd been tracking for quite a while. Well, on that day things must have worn a lot faster than usual. I was nearly as far from home as I could have been when POW. I patched the tube with my glue-on, but that wasn't enough to keep a hernia from squeezing out of the tire. I rode at super-low pressure for a few miles to road where there was more traffic and hitched a ride home. I was able to do it with just two separate cars (pick-ups actually) and interestingly, at each spot the first truck I flagged stopped, and consented to give me a lift. Who said MO drivers were all idiots?

I now carry those huge Park tire boots so hopefully that particular type of failure won't be as big of a deal anymore.

Louis

[Kevan]

funny you should start this thread TT...

I know I'm risking r2d2 censure for suggesting clinchers might be every bit as good, but I've been sharing similar thoughts over the past couple months about how well these tires have performed and held up. Can't be precise, but I think I have had them for better than 1 1/2 seasons, without any visible sign of the threads underneath showing. In fact, even the flattening wear of the rear hasn't really become that noticable yet. Granted they've lost their polish (filthy as all hell in fact, the camera is being extra kind), but I'm pretty sure these things have better than 6000 miles on them. I'm not racing them, I'll grant you that, but I'm not slouching either.

[Too Tall]

NICE :) It is pretty neat to hear about folks with sim. experiances.
Nah, these are no good for Deerfield. The tread is too smooth. You could get away with it if you picked your lines and were careful standing but you'd by toast if it were wet. Last yr. on every climb there were skid marks uphill from the riders with smooth or filetooth treads. That TUFO D28 is about the perfect tyre.

PS - Just stretched and glued the new Conti's onto my commuting wheels....threw a little ceremonial salt...spit and had a swig of fremented mares milk for good luck ;)

[Kevan]

NICE :) Nah, these are no good for Deerfield. The tread is too smooth. You could get away with it if you picked your lines and were careful standing but you'd by toast if it were wet.

Never entered my thought. I liked Manet's recommendation using Ritchey cross rubbers. Get all the protection I can get.