On a whim, last week I built up a tubular wheelset out of a DA hubset I had sitting around. I wanted a race wheelset for climbing which was as light as the 30mm aluminum rim set I have now (
ROL Race SL, about 1550g), but with a lighter rim. I went with Mavic Reflex rims and shed some 150g of rim weight while keeping the wheelset just a shade under the ROL wheelset in total weight.
Glued on some Continental Sprinter tires last night and I just got done riding them on their inaugural ride. Again, on a whim, I pumped them up to about 120/125 psi (front/rear), because I had heard from a teammate that the main advantage of road tubulars is their ride quality at high pressures.
My lord, he wasn't lying. At 120/125psi, these tires rode like my clinchers at 105/110 in terms of road feel. But there was a huge difference in handling. These tires, with the high pressure, made the bike handling so much more responsive and precise than before; felt like I could maneuver my bike by the millimeter. And the cornering was spectacular. I am pretty terrible at cornering (I come from road race country; we have very few crits), but these tires, even at 120/125, just railed.
Anyway, I am a fan of tubulars now. Despite the non-aero, boxy rim, these wheels are now probably my go-to race wheelset until I can afford that
HED Stinger 6 wheelset I've been eyeing.