Road Cycling - High Quality Tubular Tires: Recommendations?

Hi: I'm a recreational rider and just purchased a pair of Bontrager wheels for tubular tires. Any recommendations for high quality tires? I'm mostly a weekend rider and particularly enjoy climbing.

No one's replied, so.......

Do you know what a pain in the ass it is with a puncture? :)

Most of the tire companies make very good tubulars, so, in my opinion, it's a matter of saving as much money as you can because they can be rediculously expensive.

If you're gunna be out on the open road with them, just choose a durable model, because they will probably still be expensive.


http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/bicycle/general/home/index_en.html
http://www.vittoria.com/index3.asp?lingua=en
http://www.vredesteinusa.com/roadtyres/index.html
http://www.veloflextires.com/
http://www.schwalbetires.com/racing_tubular.php
http://tires.hutchinson.fr/accueil.html

I'm going to disagree with Fat Hack and say that tubulars really are not
that much of a pain in the butt. Changing a flat is pretty easy, peel off the old tire
mount new one, air it up and your good to go (albeit I'd take it easy until you can
properly glue on new tire).
Without a doubt some of the best tubulars I've ridden are the OLD clement Paris Roubaix
tires. They don't make em anymore although someone has revived the clement name they
are just not the same tires. Veloflex are about as close to Clement as you are gonna get.
I've used Conti Sprinters as my all round tire, and to be honest while they ride very
well I'm not impressed with durability. One suffered a sidewall cut which doesn't reflect
on the tire, but about 50% of the others seem to lose air at a more rapid rate than
I'd expect.
I've just started to ride Tufos (elite roads). I like them, they are not a super skinny
track or TT tire, they are a beefy 23mm tire and soak up the bumps nicely. I find them
to be a plush, cushy ride. Not a race tire, but that isn't what I was looking for when
I bought them. The one thing that concerned me was that they are not repairable
(other than Tufo sealant which works for small cuts in tire etc.), but they are
holding up very well. Couple that with the tufo gluing tape and its an easy entry
into the world of tubulars. One caveat, the gluing tape is strong enough to pull the
base tape off a regular tubular, use with caution!
more info at: http://www.tufonorthamerica.com/

Marty

Thumbs up on the tufos here!

If you really want to "fred out" get the tubular that most of the pro's race on, even the teams like Postal and Cofidis, who are actually sponsored by other manufactures.

Vittoria Open Corsa CX's

I ride exclusively Vittoria Corsa CX tubulars, which are about $60 to $80 a piece. I've always used sew-ups, since 1975. They don't puncture easily, and ride nicely. I also like the Vittoria glue, not as messy as Tubasto.
You can also get the Vittoria Pave CX's also, they're 23mm wide and ride so well you won't believe it. They're $90 a piece.
Let the glue sit on the rim for 15 to 30 min. and pre-stretch tyres to make them easier to mount, although I don't. Use your toes to hold the spokes at the opposite end of the wheel as you pull the last section of tyre onto the rim.

Vittoria Competition Rally tubular tires can be found for < $20 and are excellent tubulars.

the rally is an good tire, but I would not say it's an excellent tire. the ride is harder than a cx. the cx is what I would call an excellent tire, even at 130psi, the ride is smooth and fast. I've been riding conti competition tires lately and it too is a nice ride, more durable than the cx but the ride is not as smooth. I've been on the tufos, and its a good tire.

Thanks for all the feedback! The brands mentioned include:

Tufos
Vittoria Corsa CX
Veloflex Criteriums

Which model of Tufos? Which of these gives the best ride? most durable? best street price? your #1 choice?
Which tires were the Posties using during the TDF?
Any thoughts on Dugast tubulars? Would you carry a 3 matching tire as a spare or a basic pre-glued tire just for emergencies?

You can carry a cheaper spare tyre for a spare-it doesn't matter as you will be re-glueing a good tyre on when you get home. But if you get another flat, then you will be dropping a dime for a ride home. Sometimes if you have a slow leak you can keep adding air and make it home. And make sure the spare is good-you should leave it open and with some air so it won't wear from the folds-then fold it the opposite way before your ride.

That's why most riders use clinchers; you can carry a couple of tubes, a patch kit, and they don't require glue to stay on and ride almost as nice (which you won't notice if you've never ridden tubs). With tubs, you have to be cleaning your tyres off with your hands often while riding through glass, metal, etc.

Hi,

I had a really bad experience with vittoria rally (4 flats in 2 month that I learned to
fix myself) after asking almost the same question on this forum I decide to
switch for continental sprinter. At this time a put 2000 km on them with no flat.
Thanks to the guy who recomended them to me.

Yellow Jersey sells the new made in Thailand Clements 3 for $50. They aren't bad but don't wear very well & I had some sidewall cuts. Don

I've been riding the Tufo Hi-Comp Carbon (tubular/clinchers) for almost a year now and I love 'em.

I did have one fail at the valve stem, though... But when I sent it back to Tufo N. America (after first emailing them), they checked it out, said it was a manufacturing defect, and sent me a brand new one right away!

It was very apparent that they wanted to take care of their customers, so I not only feel good about riding the tire, but I feel good about recommending them.

I use the Conti Sprinters and they are pretty good. They sell new for about $60 but I bought three new ones on the web from one of these bike news groups for $30 each. With the Euro to dollar exchange rate, it's difficult to find quality tubulars for much less than $60 each.

Some one mentioned the Tufo tubular tape. Would you advocate this over Conti rim glue?