Gary3

Any experience with these? What would you consider the best value in a tubular? No racing, just looking to try tubulars on a vintage build.

gomango

No idea about the Panaracers, but if you want a fantastic tubular, this is it.



$59 at Velomine for the 700x23.

2012 Vittoria Corsa EVO SC Tubular Tire 700x23 320 tpi [641740177302] - $58.00 Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike

The 700x25 are a little bit more.

This might be a bit aggressive of a tire for your purposes, but they are the real deal.

JTTDF

I have them on the Merckx and on the Masi. Great tire, especially at that price. They have been heavily discounted lately maybe because of that weird valve set up where you cant just replace the core, you gotta replace the whole unit if need be at better that $20 a pair. They also lose air really quick, even for a latex tubular. Pump them up to 140 psi and the next day they are at 85.

vonfilm 

I bought a pair of these for my Gitane Super Corsa. They deliver a very supple ride and they are flat in a couple of days. Just plan on filling them up for every ride. I found them much easier to mount then the Continental Sprinter tubulars which are a good value too.

Fred Smedley

Vittoria Corsa Elite Tubular, TUBULARS ROAD/TRACK This in a 25

OldsCOOL

I have a set of these panaracers on my '77 Colnago. As said, very supple ride at 100psi (I weigh 170). As for holding air, no probs with mine, they are no different than any of my Michelin clinchers. Nice tire.

Wileyone 

Pro Bike Kit has the Vittoria Paves in Green and Black on clearance now.

https://www.probikekit.com/clearance...ntrySelected=Y

SJX426 

You guys realize this is a Zombie thread being nearly 3 years old!

Lascauxcaveman 

I'm kinda glad it popped up again though, I've been thinking of picking up some better quality tubulars (a cousin is giving me 4 sets of NOS rims) and those Pave CGs Wiley has linked to look like a no brainer.

Wileyone 

I just wish they came in Gum Walls. I can't use the Green ones and just bought a Black set of Tufo's.

Damn lately it's getting so much harder to accessorize.

SJX426 

Gotcha. Tans are tough.

OldsCOOL

I revived it. You did realize our bikes are old, didnt you?

OldsCOOL

Here is a pic of the Colnago sporting the yellow ones:

[IMG][/IMG]

CliffordK

I realize that I haven't ridden tubulars in 20 years

But, I was actually looking at trying them out again. And, thought I'd look at something other than 20 year old tires.

I was actually looking at 3 different tires:

• Continental Gatorskin (and other similar Conti tires)
• NEW Vittoria Corsa EVO CX II tubular tire
• Tufo S3 Lite 215G

I was also noticing a couple of "carbon" versions that I think were supposed to be similar, but with better traction.

Tufo Hi Composite Carbon

qcpmsame 

Try the tubs Clifford, its been really nice to be back on them for my riding pleasure. Looking at the prices on them right now shows a good number of sales going on for some nice mid-range tubulars. Check on the offerings at Wiggle, Probikekit and Ribble for starters.

Our lBS owners give me some good natured ribbing about returning to them, but it ends up with the reminiscing about how they felt, tricks for glue procedures, and the race stories of course. Its all in good fun, and I pick up a few pointers just listening. The next step to come up for me is refreshing my repair skills, I got a thorn in a front tire Friday and I am going to get it fixed this week, come hell or high water.

Bill

LeicaLad 

Oddly, I just made the decision to build up a set of tubulars for the first time in 40 some years.

The Tufo tires sound good, but, since it's been a long time and I'm still not thrilled about changing entire tires on the roadside, well. . .

I went with the Gatorskins. The puncture protection was the deciding factor.

SO, maybe they have a bit more rolling resistance that the latex tubes in silk casings, but I find them to be wonderful. I may find myself riding more tubulars if the durability proves to be true.

My vote: Gatorskins @ 25mm.

OldsCOOL

I have Tufo S33 Pro 21's on the Trek 760. The tread thickness seems very durable though the bike isnt my main rider.

The Panaracers on the Colnago replaced my "practice" sewups, the 3-fers from yellow jersey. Those were a good tire for putzing but certainly not reliable for any longer rides.

pastorbobnlnh 

Bill, a couple of years ago when I spent a few weeks in NW FL I took 5-6 leaky old tubulars with me just to see if I could repair them. What I found was that the better quality the tubular--- the easier the repair. The biggest challenge I found was with the base tape. Some base tapes would come off with little resistance. Other base tapes could be a real PITA. Part of the problem could have been that these were almost all older tires (and the base tape glue was cured very well) with one exception a newer Gatorskin Sprinter.

I'm guessing the thorn is still in the side to the tire? If so this makes locating the puncture easy and just cut the stitches roughly 1.5-2 inches on both sides of the puncture. Just enough to pull the tube out, apply the patch, let it cure, and then reinsert the tube. Stitch up the open seam, inflate to test, and re-glue the base tape. You can do most of this while watching your favorite TV show.

pastorbobnlnh 

Speaking of tubulars, colors and matches, I bought this repainted Gitane Tour de France frameset from @jonwvara this past December. I'm in the process of building it and have not yet glued the planned gumwall tubulars on the rims yet. As you can see the frame has been repainted and has the wrong decals but is green and white.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/33894143@N06/30401219402/

I'm using the green and brown leather bags I made over the winter along with @rhm saddle No. 110.





Would these Vittoria Green/Black Paves work? At $40 each for $100 tires, the price is tempting. I like the idea that they are 27mm for my rough paved and dirt roads. I appreciate your thoughts.

Wileyone 

I ordered a set of these from PBK in 25mm

https://www.probikekit.com/bicycle-t.../11176493.html

They were Shipped on March 6th. Starting to get a little worried.

qcpmsame 

@pastorbobnlnh, the thorn was in the tread, probably because of too low a pressure resulting in a softer tire. Some of these things are armor piercing strength, for such a small thorn the are like a piece of wire. It was probably from a vine the farm tractors had pulled up and shredded last week when the fields were fertilized and had last season's stubble mown, in preparation for spring planting.

I marked the placement and I'll look at how tough opening up the cloth tape is going to be. Your suggestion is exactly how I was taught to repair a puncture in a sew-up tire, peel open just enough of the tape bed to allow you to pull out the tube so there is enough to work but not too much of the carcass to have to sew back closed.

I remember the small tin kits you could buy with the supplies to repair a sew-up, a sail makers shaped needle, thread, special glue for the cloth strip, patches, and some patch glue in a tiny lead tube. I kept one in my tool box for years, I wish I still had one just for the memories that beings back.

@Wileyone, I saw those Corsa with the graphene, its supposed to be one nice tire from its reviews. That is a good price, and they would be great as a long term tire for my riding needs. Something that can take miles, but still handle decently. Nothing speedy necessary, just a good, well made tire please.

Bill

jimmuller 

By "not reliable" you mean they flatted easily?

Consider fixing them just an overrated part of the cycling experience.

OldsCOOL

The tread is more like a single layer of brushed on rubber...just that thin. I pitched them.

JohnDThompson 

I haven't tried any recent production Panaracer tubulars, but BITD the Panaracer tubulars I tried were, by far, the most difficult tires to stretch onto a rim.

markwesti

I really like the Conti Giro (tan wall) , in the past I have had Vittoria Rally's I liked those too but I had trouble getting them to seat on the rim around the stem prolly just me . I just got a set of Tufo S33's so far so good but I think I saw here that you can not repair them .