GuitarWizard

As some of you may know, back in early August during a post wisdom tooth removal, vicodin-induced shopping spree, in addition to the Power Tap I bought, I also picked up a set of Bonty Race X Lite Carbon Aeros, 44mm rim depth and 1400 grams for the set - not super light, but not real heavy. After a few weeks of putzing around with tires and stuff, I finally settled on some Continental Competitions....I almost **** a brick when I first saw the retail price of 'em ($140), but the owner gave them to me for $84/tire. Pricey, but much more manageable.

So, after waiting 24 hours for the glue to dry, I mounted 'em up to the 'ol 2500. Didn't notice any real weight loss versus my Niobium 30 wheels....then again, there's only about 150 gram difference between the two wheelsets, so I wasn't expecting anything huge. Definitely noticeable over the Power Tap setup though .

I also learned today that the SRAM brakes hold their pads in the brake shoes much differently than Shimano, so I need to replace them in order to use the cork pads. I only did 16 miles today, so I decided to live life on the edge and use my normal pads.

A few random thoughts and notations during the ride:

First 8 minutes.....hmmmm......well, I'm not really noticing much of a difference, but at least my bike looks cooler, and I can say I have carbon tubular wheels.....

Why do people rave about the ride quality of tubulars....my clinchers "feel" better....

Man, rough roads kinda suck...

Hey....whaddaya know, sprinting up hills seems a bit easier - bike seems more eager to jump forward with each pedal stroke. Maybe these weren't a total waste of money after all....

First time above 27-28 mph....wow.....maintaining speeds up near 30 mph seems a bit easier. Might be onto something here....

And, for the test....a fairly flat and fast section coming off a hill, that I NEVER get above 30.5 mph on unless I put in some actual effort. Same amount of effort as "usual"....almost 33 mph. Ok, maybe these do work.

Towards the end, a 4-5% grade that I hammered up put the final nail in the coffin that I may enjoy racing with these wheels after all.

And there you have it - Clif Notes of my 16 mile ride. To be honest, I was pretty skeptical at first, but now I decided I like 'em. Do I wish I had pdiddy's infamous Zipp 404's? Sure....14mm more rim depth, and a couple hundred grams lighter would've been great....but, I got a pretty good deal on them, and when they crack, I have someone to go to.

Still debating on whether I like the 19mm tires though....I think I'd rather have 22mm. Oh well...next set will be Vittorias.

Now...if I can only figure out how to inflate the ****ers, I'll be good to go.

Duke of Kent

https://www.probikekit.com/display.ph...flex%20Tubular

Note that second to last word in that address. Veloflex. Black, Record or Carbon. Still cheaper than $84 a tire for Conti's, of all things...

GuitarWizard

I dislike ProBikeKit after a $200 return I sent back was "lost"....I knew I should've just kept the parts and eBay'ed 'em.

I refuse to order from them after that.

bbp

Get some dugasts.

within

IMO, sew up tires can make or break a wheel. I went through a rash of cuts and flats a while back and decided to save some money on tires. I noticed right away I had made a mistake. No PT data to back up what I felt, but I'd explain it as riding on a tire that's too flat. Anyway, if you are ever in the same position, resist the temptation to buy cheap tires. You'll pay more in the end. While I don't have the money for Dugast, the Conti Comp, Vitt Corsa Evo cx and Veloflex Carbon's have my vote.

LowCel 

I can't wait to get a decent set of tires on my Zipps. Right now they are completely miserable to ride. The Zipp tires (made by Vitotria) I have came with flat spots in them, according to the guy that mounted them they look like "$15 tires" even though they are the worst tubulars he has ever seen.

I'm planning on getting some 22mm continental competitions as soon as QBP gets them back in stock.

GuitarWizard

They make 22mm Competitions? Dammit....the shop only had the 19mm ones. They're not horrible, but I'm wondering if the 22's would be slightly more "comfy". I still think I need to play around a bit with tire pressures (had around 145 psi).

But....end result is, even though I wasn't night-and-day faster with the wheels, I did notice real improvements, particularly once you get up to 25-26 mph and beyond, and climbing on steeper grades. I'm curious to see what Zipp 808's feel like at 28-30 mph.

LowCel 

Ughhh, you got my hopes up. I was just about to order the Veloflex Carbon 22's then I noticed they were out of stock. Back to the drawing board.....

DrPete 

I picked up a Conti Competition with the Black Chili compound and had the base tape peel off the freakin' tire while I was mounting them. NOT happy.

UT_Dude

Heeeello, Placebo. Nice wheels, they'll make you somewhat faster, but yeah.

Congrats, either way!

UT_Dude

DrPete is back! ...or something. I miss his near-constant posting.

DrPete 

Yeah, I'm no longer sitting behind a computer all day--back to the OR for me... The 1-year research fellowship was a nice vacation, though...

UT_Dude

Eh, saving lives has to be at least a little fulfilling, huh?

CCFISH81

You would think so.... but then after a while, you get used to it.

GuitarWizard

Ehh....not really....under speeds of say, 25 mph, I didn't notice/feel much of a difference at all....well, other than rough roads suck, and crosswinds got my attention a bit more. For the first 10 minutes or so, I was like "um, ok....so I spent a grand for nothing....awesome".....

Actually....climbing, I did notice a difference at the lower speeds....the bike "jumped forward" a lot more with each pedal stroke than with the Bonty Race X Lite Aeros (which aren't exactly the lightest rim going). Oh, and the freewheel is pretty friggin' loud.

But....once over 25-26 mph or so...yeah, they're nice. And anything steeper than a 4% grade or so, they seem to help too. Not a HUGE difference, but enough that I'm content for now. Still want something deeper and lighter, but these will do.

UT_Dude

Haha, hey, whatever works! Congrats on the wheels!