Originally Posted by Louman
I've ridden the Tufo C Elites for a year and changed back to conventional clincher tires and tubes. They ride just fine as I've had no performance issues. I've had 2 flats, the first was close enough to home so I just rode the flat, no problem there. The flat I had on the road required a stop and a tire change, I had a spare so that was fine too. The problem lies in having to carry an entire spare. I finally decided that it's just more convenient to carry a spare tube which takes up much less room. It's an innovative design which I like, I'm just not convinced it's a better mousetrap. I've used them on my training wheels, the race wheels are tubular.
The reasons I continue using the Tufo tubular clinchers are:
1 - Puncture resistance - they seem to do better at a higher pressure than regular clinchers. I can run these at 120 psi and have a very comfortable ride. Regular clincher/tire pairs offer a harsher ride at near max rim rating.
2 - Blow-out protection - If I'm riding down a hill at 40 mph, I want to be sure that the tire will not have a catastrophic blowout and peel off the rim.
3 - Ability to ride a flat - When I do get a puncture, I can place sealant in it and pump it up to about 40-60 psi and continue to ride (or, usually, just ride it home). I've ridden a punctured tire filled at low pressure for 30 miles reaching speeds of 20 mph at times--no problem.