People switched presumably because the gluing is a pain in the ass.....and and mess. If tape solves biggest hassle with tubulars why not use them?

My biggest problem with clinchers is that they can't take high psi......I got spoiled by the high psi and smoothness of my tufos. Once you experience the speed of 180 psi you just won't go back!

Yeah, but they are still faster than clinchers.

......And only thing interesting about road cycling in my opinion is going fast....If I didn't care about speed, I'd ride a damn hybrid!!!

No, Beloki did not fall because his tire came off the rim. The announcers got it wrong, just like they do a lot of other things. I watched the tape numerous times. Bike is sitting there with a bent rim and tire intact. He slid, the tire hooked up and he high sided, if the tire had come off he would have low sided. Take it from someone who's done both at high rates of speed.

Rolling a tubular would be highly unlikely using the Extreme tape (you really have to work to get the tire broken loose), and mostly happened because of crappy glue jobs. I blew out a POS tubular because of a valve stem failure (20 y/o El Cheapo tire) and it didn't roll. In fact I rode it back, flat, for 15 miles at 15 MPH, even with it being glued "Old School".

hmm...
maybe you don't buy the right tires or something. i don't have any problems with speed on clinchers at 115psi. then again, i don't weigh 210lbs with solid muscle. it's kinda strange, because i've been riding for about 20 years and people have always complimented me on my ability to hold a high pace. yet, i log-on to this forum and all of a sudden my stats just don't stack up to anyone, not even this one highschool kid who says he averages 22-25 mph riding in san diego where i live. trust me, in all my years of riding, i've never been blown into the weeds by someone averaging 6-8mph more than i do in what is anything but a flat part of the world.

is it just me or are a good percentage of teh people here blowing smoke out their arses?

Yep, mostly those dinosaurs riding those old races in France and whatnot. Fossils, one and all. I understand there's a whole series of retro races where guys trot out that old technology. I think it's gonna be called the Pro Tour or something like that. And there's a bunch of guys making wheels for those tires out of simple elements like carbon.

I don't doubt you are fast.....question is I think you would go faster on tubulars. That's what I think.

P.S. Are guys like LA really using clinchers? Is a clincher tire really the choice of riders in the TDF?

Here's what they use for smooth, easy races like Paris Roubaix:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2004...h/?id=classic1

Before Sydney claims marketing hype, here's what Trek's Pro Team manager had to say about the wheels:

"...at this point there are no plans to commercialize this product, but the technology will certainly be used in Bontrager wheels in the future"

Those disc wheels they use in the pure speed event, the TT? All tubular.

Smokin' fast? Heh, try 200mph. Five spokes! Who needs shorts when you've got a mullet?
http://mustangandfords.com/techartic...ee_sb3_a_z.jpg

i think we're basically taking things too seriously at this point...

see..? TUBELESS!!

I can't respect a person who lets their shop floor go like that.

Well, I just checked......hahaha...... No suprise, Lance uses hutchinson tubulars for TDF. Honestly It was just common sense that the best rider in the world would use fastest/lightest wheel system in the world. Lance cares about being fast in climbs.....that why he uses what he uses.

This is a serious thread.....slow is not fun (not my idea of a good time!). Slow is for recreational riders dog.

now that we know lance uses tub's, maybe you should buy a trek now. he uses those, too.

if you're not racing, you're riding recreationally...or you're a bicycle cop.

if you want speed, get a CBR1000RR. they're faster. or a ferrari. if you own one of those, everyone will think you're a race car driver because that's what michael shumacher uses :p

Michael schumacher > juan pablo montoya... :p

f'kng hail. why do i always miss the "c" when i type schumacher?!

It's not just you.

cheap and always ridable: DT swiss 240s hubs, sapim cx-rays, ambrosio crono rims.
less cheap and equally ridable: Chris King, CX-rays, Ambrosio crono

kinda expensive but as strong as carbon gets: corima aero
a bit more expensive but more reliable: buy only the rims, get CX-rays and a good hubset (corimas aren't the best)

expensive: reynolds stratud DV
really expensive: lightweight

USPS train on clinchers. I'm sure he goes faster on his training rides then you will ever go in your life.

I've used the Tufo tape for about 2 months and so far no problems and mounting was pretty easy. Anybody know how often I should remount with new tape?
Thanks

When you swap tires. That's really about it.

I call this Ninear logic, as opposed to Linear. Because you can't use a product as well as the best rider in the world, even though it will make you faster you shouldn't use it.

Guess I'll have to go out and get that Huffy with solid tires.

bottom line: clinchers for training and club rides ...tubulars for race day.

I can't rationalize the extra expense of tubulars for training and club rides. Just like I can't rationalize using spendy tires on my rollers.

my .02

i agree. obviously.

but then again, it's 53-11's money, not mine.

I am another who is smelling burnt butt hairs on this thread.


tomcat