Saunier Duval - Prodir........No Punctures??

[jhcakilmer]

I find it hard to believe that the Saunier Duval - Prodir did not have a single puncture during the entire Giro. That's 3442km per bike, which comes to 30978 km total, for 9 bikes, without a single puncture......that just seems unreal.

What tires did they use? Would the mechanics really have much to do with the durability of the tires?

[Fivethumbs]

Maybe they're using those self-sealing Slime tubes.

[Avispa]

Were they the ONLY team without punctures?

I rather puncture BUT win the race! :p ;) :D

[frenk]

Keep in mind that before giro stages they usually clean the roads and put a fresh layer of asphalt when the pavement is not in perfect condition.

[benb]

I'd believe they may have swept the roads but you really think they repave?

I saw lots of cracked & worn roads in the TV coverage, and even little brief bits of cobble & brick in some of the city centers.

Cleaning, let alone paving & repairing that much road just for a bike race would be a monumental task. Heck in the US I bet it would cost a billion dollars to pave/patch that much road!

[Bill Bove]

they do try to fix any major defects in the road and sweep before a stage but with all those people along the route debris does get on the road. a bigger factor in not having flats is that the mechanics do go over each of the tires before they are ridden looking for any embedded foriegn objects and defects BUT the biggest factor is just plain good luck.

[kestrel]

It says Hutchinson in the sidewall of the tire, but I didn't think Hutchinson made tubulars. Maybe they're re-branded...

[Hardlyrob]

Hutchinson does make tubulars - I rode them on my winter bike this year. Not great, but they're only $35 each for the Tempo vs. $89 for the Veloflex on the main bike.

Whether the tubulars in the Giro are really made by Hutchinson is a completely different question.

Cheers!

Rob

[Dave B]

That is what Postal/Disco has used for years. Probably only for the pros.

[Tom]

When we were riding around Tuscany, many times we saw a guy with one of those three wheeled Cushman carts parked somewhere, a barrel in the back with a bunch of twig brooms (real, actual twig brooms. The kind you make from a stick and a bunch of dead twigs tied in a bunch, costs thirty cents for the string and the rest of the materials are free) and one in his hands as he industriously swept off the shoulder of the road somewhere. Note, he was not driving around and around, he was stopped working somewhere just about every time we saw one of those guys. Note, too, he wasn't driving some quarter of a million dollar piece of equipment, he had a three wheel cart and a bunch of thirty cent brooms.

Those were the cleanest roads I have ever seen anywhere.

[J.Greene]

I did not have a flat during this years Giro either.

JG

[BdaGhisallo]

I would venture to say that all of the Hutchinson labeled tubulars seen on ProTour bikes are relabeled Veloflexes. I would think that the only manufacturer that doesn't relabel tubs is Continental since their constructions are so distinctive and they are not reliant on traditional methods of construction that are dying out.

[torquer]

I would venture to say that all of the Hutchinson labeled tubulars seen on ProTour bikes are relabeled Veloflexes. I would think that the only manufacturer that doesn't relabel tubs is Continental since their constructions are so distinctive and they are not reliant on traditional methods of construction that are dying out.

I'm not sure they still sponsor a ProTour team (they used to supply Gerolsteiner, as I recall) but it would be hard to pass off another brand as Schwalbe tubulars, which feature the tread/casing bonded to the tube.

I agree with BdaGhisallo about the Hutchinsons really being Veloflexes, at least on the Bosses' bike.

[sevencyclist]

Maybe they're using those self-sealing Slime tubes.

Those slimy guys. :)

They did win stages and also won the King of the Mountain. I would say that's pretty good results.