gaucho777 

More data points from tires I'm currently using, (adding that I've fattened up by about 20-lbs. to around 220-lbs. over this long covid-hibernation). I'll take off another few psi if the roads are wet. F/R pressure:
22mm.Continental Sprinter 100/105
23mm Vittoria Corsa 100/105
25mm Vittoria Corsa G+ 95/100
27mm Challenge P-R 90/95
28mm Veloflex Vlaanderen 90/95
32mm Dugast Pipistrella 55/60
34mm Tufo Flexus Dry 55/60

AJI125 

EDIT - Already out of stock...
PSA: Vlaanderen back in stock at Merlin: https://www.merlincycles.com/en-us/v...re-102404.html

CV-6 

As of 0900 CDT, not any more.

gaucho777 

I just wrote to Veloflex. I told them how much I love their Vlaanderen model tubular tire, and asked them to consider reissuing it. I encourage others to do so: https://www.veloflex.it/en/contacts

EDIT/UPDATE: I got a super rapid response from Veloflex just a few hours after my initial contact. I've copied their response below. Does anyone have any experience with their ProTour Gum model to share?
https://www.veloflex.it/en/tubular-t...r-gum-sidewall
--
Thank you for contacting us and support our brand!
We’ve upgraded all our tires range, did you already have the opportunity to try the new ProTour 28mm gum? It’s the newer version of Vlaanderen and offers even better characteristics.
We wish you a good day!
Best regards,
Veloflex Team.

woodcraft

Tubular forensics:

For those who haven't dug this deep, this shows common demise of older tires, especially CX ones that have had sealant added.

the latex has rotted at the valve from sealant, pump oil, or other contaminants. There is a 3" long glob of hardened sealant about 3/8" thick. This was a Grifo on older race wheels- it held air 6 or 10 months ago.


Additionally, I'm patching another tire & the puncture happens to be an inch away from a previous puncture repair done several years ago. The base tape was re-glued with Mastik,

& pulling off the re-glued section and the originally glued section felt the same, so I conclude that Mastik rim cement is fine for re-gluing base tape.

obrentharris 

Good to know. Thanks!

How old was the failed Grifo. No race season this year so I assume at least a year and a half old. I'm hoping considerably older since I have 3-year -old tires on my 'cross bike.
Brent

gkamieneski

What's your conclusion about the sealant? Which were you using and how fresh was it? Would you continue to go with sealant after seeing this?

woodcraft

The tires were pretty old- I bought the wheels used I think 4 years ago with the tires on, & have used them occasionally. Prepping them to re-glue.

Don't know what sealant but I've seen the same globs in other tires so whatever they were using years ago. I've used Tufo sealant, which performed poorly,

and Stan's, which is OK, also Pitstop once. I've concluded that using it prophylactically is not the best idea, and have gotten away from using at all, but I get few flats- might be different in a more thorny area.

Butyl tubes make it less sensitive but my experience has been that road tires seal sort of but not really dependably so why bother. Lower pressure tire have a better shot at working.

I ride on the road mostly on Sprinters, which are remarkably durable IME, & worth the trade-off of being a bit less supple.

gkamieneski

My plan is to use Continental Revo Sealant with some new Sprinters. From your experience, can the sealant be refreshed in tubs or do they render the tire useless after say a year? Just wondering if using preventively runs you through sewups before their tread is even gone.

woodcraft

Adding more sealant may eventually make globs inside the tire, but NBD. Most of the issues that I've noted have been on older tires w/ latex tubes that have sat around for periods of time.

Your plan sounds fine- let us know how it goes.

gkamieneski

Yes. The Sprinters (actually using regular and Gatorskin) I know use butyl tubes. Because I will be using other wheelsets I worry that the sealant will glob up or dry out when I don't use them enough. I will spin them quite often.

One reason I am going to try the Continental Revo is that I am hoping Conti tried it with their tires, may have some insight, and if a problem develops, maybe they will address it. Could be wishful thinking though.

smontanaro 

The only issue I've encountered with sealant in tubulars is that the valve core can get gummed up. I've seen this with Stan's and Orange Seal Endurance. If that becomes a significant issue, just remove and clean. If the tube becomes unusable and the tire is worth it, either replace it or pay to have it replaced.

hazetguy 

Thanks for this PSA! It was time for me to order some tires for the spring/summer. I regretted selling the last pair of Vlaanderen I had, and finding them now is difficult/impossible and/or expensive. The day before you posted this, I missed a lot of 3 on eBay (for a good price), so I loaded up my Merlin cart with other Veloflex tires, as well as putting an order in my cart on the Veloflex site. I just couldn't pull the trigger on any of them at the end of the day, so I went to bed to 'sleep on it'. I woke up and saw the psa post, rushed to the computer, and immediately ordered 4. I went back to see if I could order more (for some reason the maximum number of tires you can order at one time is 4?), and they were already marked "Out of stock". They must have had a very limited number available. They arrived last night. Thanks again!

pastorbobnlnh 

hazetguy that is one beautiful sight to behold! Congratulations on a successful cost-effective purchase!

DiabloScott

Those are some fine looking tires, classic style and file treads... I see why you like them!

Classtime 

Those look great. I've got 3 of the 25mm Roubaix waiting in the cupboard.

xiaoman1 

Hi, I need a little help on the sizing of tubulars, I see some marked as 28, which I thought were larger by a 1/2 ", I thought tubulars only came in 700c....am I correct that they will fit on 700c or were there ever 27' in tubulars?
Thanks for the information.
Best, Ben

DiabloScott

Yeah, 28" is just a semi-obsolete way of referring to normal (700c) tubulars.
There were some smaller sizes for like junior racing bikes or front wheels of time trial bikes, but those would be obvious.

xiaoman1 

DiabloScott,
That's what I thought, but I wanted to ask the experts in order to be certain.
Thanks, Ben

jimmuller 

Love tubulars. Now that I have started riding again I will have to order some more bottles of flat-b-gone fluid, a.k.a. Stan's Tire Seal.

AJI125 

Not sure what these normally go for but seems like a pretty good sale.

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...eid=4ee53ad72a

Wildwood 

check Merlin for that same tire. ~$45

squirtdad

FWIW I really like the caffelatex product....

scozim 

I'm typically on Sprinter or Sprinter Gatorskins on our chip seal roads. Noticed a 2 pack sale at Excel Sports last week at a decent price so I ordered a couple of 25's. I have always ridden the Sprinter 22's so I'm curious to see the difference in ride.

waters60

Glad I got my replacements already. After years of budget Vittoria Rally tubulars, which are looked down upon but ride very nicely I wanted an upgrade. My front Vlaanderen will be 2 years old in June with almost 8000 miles! Orange Seal is at least partially credited for this longevity. Paired with Campy Bora One rims it is a nice setup. Gotta love discs; no worries about squeaky rims!