Road Bike Racing - Help me find a tubular tire.

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View Full Version : Help me find a tubular tire.

brianappleby
07-24-07, 11:56 PM
My first tubular wheels are on the way and I need advice on tires. These things are expensive, and I don't want to waste time, money, and glue finding the right tires.

My specifics:
I weigh 180
Race day only. 70-ish mile road races.
My favorite clinchers are the Conti GP 4000

Things that are important to me (in approximate order of importance)
Grip on dry roads
Low Rolling Resistance
Puncture resistance
Weight



Im looking at the Conti Competitions because they have the new (black chili) rubber. Are their tubulars as good as their clinchers? I also see that they make a GP 4000 in a tubular version too.

Why are tubular tires narrower than clinchers?
What other brands are decent? Tufo? Veloflex (damn expensive!)


Thanks for any info.

B.

redtires
07-25-07, 12:25 AM
Both Conti and Vittoria make wonderful sew-ups. I rode Conti sprinters for years and sometimes even the Giro tires as well. The sprinters were a little stiffer, but they were damn fast. I've never run Veloflex, so I can't say anything about them. The Vittoria Corsa's were the best riding tire I used personally, fast and responsive for sure. But one thing you'll find out is that race tires really do wear out pretty fast. A few long, hard road races and you'll be buying some new ones.
Vinokurtov
07-25-07, 12:26 AM
Brian,

The new Conti Comp with Vectran is a top notch tire for what you're looking for. The Veloflex Carbon is also very good in this regard. And the Tufo S3 sticks quite well when new.

cslone
07-25-07, 05:15 AM
Vittoria Corso Evo CX.

/thread
audiojan
07-25-07, 05:25 AM
The 4000s are fantastic clinchers, I have the same ones. For tubbies, I would stick with Conti.. The Sprinter is a great allround tubbie and wears really nicely. If you are going to do nothing but racing, I would go with the Competition's. I do think that the 4000s tubulars are being released later on this year though... if you can wait!
wfrogge
07-25-07, 07:49 AM
Conti comp w/black chilli

or

Veloflex carbon



probikekit.com has the best prices that I have seen on the tires.
merlinextraligh
07-25-07, 07:51 AM
Vittoria Corso Evo CX.

/thread

+1 I race on these and really like them.
San Rensho
07-25-07, 07:52 AM
The basic wisdom, and others may disagree, is that the thinner tires have the least rolling resistance, so for example pursuit track racers use 21mm tires pumped up to 170+ psi. The thinner the tire and the higher the psi, however, the less grip the tire has in corners. When I used to race criteriums, I used 25mm conti's because corner grip was usually the biggest consideration.

For road racing, I would go with a 23mm tire, 25mm tire if you have a lot of fast twisty downhill descents.

Dugast is probably the best tire out there, but I can't say that from experience, only from testimonials. The silks are $200+, but the cotton tires are about $125, a bit more than good Contis or Vittorias.