Keirin tubulars

[cpg]

Here's a couple of pictures of Soyo tubulars. These are the only NJS tubulars. They are also single race tires. As the riders roll up to the start each tire is stamped in red ink which can be seen on one of the pictures. Once stamped the tire can't be raced again. These tires are amazingly light and supple. The quality is beyond anything I've seen. I haven't ridden them yet...

Curt

[cpg]

Oh yea, I forgot to mention the unusual valve stem. Well, unusual in the US but apparently typical for Keirin. My pal has an adapter somewhere.

Curt

[saab2000]

Cool. Where'd you get them? I wonder why they can't be raced more than once? Seems a bit odd.

I wonder what the 6-day riders use? Track stuff is pretty cool.

Maybe 11.4 can chime in here too.

[Brian Smith]

That's awesome.
Are you mounting them onto something special?
Looks like fun.

[cpg]

I think the one race thing is part of the tight controls and restrictions of the Keirin world. With that said, these tire casings are very thin. I'm sure they wouldn't last long but certainly longer than one race. My friend brought them back from Japan. I think he should try to import them or get Soyo to make tires for the rest of the bike world.

Curt

[Grant McLean]

Cool. Where'd you get them?

The cotton version can be ordered through a bikeshop from the distributor Euro Asia Imports.
There are several Tokyo shops that will sell you this stuff on-line or through email.

http://www.euroasiaimports.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=530&idproduct=1044


My guess as to why they can't be used again is to reduce the likelyhood of getting
a flat during a race where there is betting. The Keirin association is not tolerant
of technical failures messing up the gambling. With hundreds of millions of
dollars in betting, what's a few tires between friends...

http://users.htcomp.net/gladu/'drome/tracks/Keirin.html

"By 1995, more than 1.31 billion people had been admitted to Keirin events. Those people wagered almost 36.1 trillion yen for this period of 47 years since its debut of Keirin. In 1995 alone, 22.2 million people paid admission to the 50 Keirin velodromes now in operation. Together with betting-ticket sales of some 1.61 trillion yen, these figures attest the facts that the Keirin has enjoyed by all sorts of people, supported by a wide variety of people and the Keirin has permeated into the public mind as a mass leisure sport."


-g

[maunahaole]

IIRC, that a dunlop valve.

[classic1]

Cool. Where'd you get them? I wonder why they can't be raced more than once? Seems a bit odd.

I wonder what the 6-day riders use? Track stuff is pretty cool.



I don't know what they are riding now but an acquaintence of mine who rode the sixes in the 80's used to ride Conti Sonderclasses. He also said a few of the riders used Vittorias but he didn't like them.

Years ago, when bike equipment wasn't easy to get in Oz and was always expensive I'd occassionally score some Soyos. I had a track version that had World Champ rainbow stripes right around the edge of the tread. Excellent fast tyre.

[Too Tall]

Thanks for sharing. That's just plain soul food babe :)

[11.4]

I've ridden those Soyos. They have plenty of tread to last a long time, but while I usually don't have a problem with flatting, those tires are like magnets for every concrete chip, shard of glass, bit of sand, or whatever, and anything will puncture them. Despite this problem they work well in the parimutuel keirin circuit because they have a tread that sticks like glue on a wet track. Japanese tracks are painted with a non-slip paint since races are conducted rain or shine (or even snow) and tires need to cope with the weather. They have sweeping machines that incessantly sweep the track for any litter so there's nothing to puncture tires. Nice tires, but they aren't especially light and they puncture regularly even on an indoor track like ADT.

As for six-days it somewhat depends on the venue. Since madison teams are assembled by the track management and not many riders travel with their own mechanics, they tend to rely on local mechanics. So one mechanic loves Conti Olympics, another loves Dugasts, etc. Plus some of the tracks have sponsorship agreements to offer one particular brand. Riders don't have to use them, but if they rely on the track mechanics that's what they get. Someone like Zabel or Risi will have his own mechanic (actually, pay to share one) but many of the riders will use the house talent. The Sonderclasses are nice but a bit heavy for the condition of the tracks these days (fifteen years ago you'd rather race chipseal than some of those wooden six-day tracks, especially Zurich and Dortmund). The mechanics usually have the best understanding of what tire works best on a track -- some tracks like Gent have mostly bare wood while others, like Rotterdam, are covered in one-time-use promotional decals that are like an oil slick to ride on. Some tracks are rather bumpy or have nasty transitions (a common problem with these very small tracks) so larger-section tires are nicer. If absolute speeds aren't that fast because the track is so slow, a larger tire on a rim with less profile is more comfortable to ride. And so on.

[mschol17]

11.4,
I hope my physics Ph.D. thesis sounds as knowledgeable as you...

:beer:

[staggerwing]

For what seems to be a Japanese specific tire, does anyone find a bit odd the branding is in English?

[Fixed]

we set em up
cheers

[Hardlyrob]

Wow 11.4! Keep posting - I want to learn more!

Cheers!

Rob

[saab2000]

Wow 11.4! Keep posting - I want to learn more!

Cheers!

Rob

No $hit! Keep it coming! I used to watch the Zurich 6-day and rode on the Zuri offene Rennbahn in the mid 90s. Of course, that was concrete, but I did not know that the track at the Hallenstadion was a hazard.

I was trained on the track but never pursued it. Too old they said.... :rolleyes: At least that's was Hr. Iten and Hr. Dill-Bundi thought...

Still, tell us about the track. 'tis cool. Especially the Madisons. I can't believe Kappes is still doing it.

[jthurow]

In the top photo, it almost looks to me like the alternating things around the edges of the tread are stiches of thread. Or is it just the pattern on the tread?

jimi

[11.4]

In the top photo, it almost looks to me like the alternating things around the edges of the tread are stiches of thread. Or is it just the pattern on the tread?

jimi

Nope, just rubber pattern. I checked a couple of mine to be sure it wasn't rubber over threading, though I don't know why there would be stitching there anyway.

Edit: Think 1964 Datsun styling.