Mystery Tubular, help identify

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

Exar
Posts: 352
Joined: Wed Mar 01, 2006 10:28 pm
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

by Exar

Nice find :) Perhaps they were made for Leopard-Trek (or any of its later incarnations) ?
Chains to the right!

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



bm0p700f
in the industry
Posts: 5777
Joined: Sat May 12, 2012 7:25 pm
Location: Glermsford, Suffolk U.K
Contact:

by bm0p700f

I am inclinced to agree that aging is most likely of little benefit if any. In fact if they have stored exposed to ozone or UV the rubber will degrade but that photo show a tyre in good condition.

mrlobber
Posts: 1928
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:36 am
Location: Where the permanent autumn is

by mrlobber

Don't know about any perceivable benefits of ageing but I guess all of my Veloflex are "aged" because they have never been mounted sooner than at least a year after the purchase. That said, I've never punctured a Veloflex tyre directly (might be simple luck), however, I frequently (on average every 1000 km) tear up their sidewalls which usually leads to inner tube damage and consequently, use of sealant...
Minimum bike categories required in the stable:
Aero bike | GC bike | GC rim bike | Climbing bike | Climbing rim bike | Classics bike | Gravel bike | TT bike | Indoors bike

User avatar
Calnago
In Memoriam
Posts: 8612
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:14 pm

by Calnago

Ok... I'm a little tardy but I dug up the last 22mm Veloflex Carbon tubular I have lying around (for a retro maintenance build), and yes, I'd certainly say the tires in question are just rebranded Veloflex...
And for what it's worth, I've run veloflex tubulars in sizes in 22 and 23mm (Carbons), 24mm (older Roubaixs), and 25mm (current Roubaixs and Arrenbergs). I think the sweet spot for road riding is 24mm for me, a great combo of comfort and performance. The 25's are what I use now, mostly due to availability and I love them for stability and comfort but I'm not on board with saying they're actually faster. In fact, I'd say the 23mm on the older Boras are really the fastest. 22mm and smaller tires have no place on my bikes anymore as I'm a heavyweight in the cycling world... 195lbs on a good day, over 200 currently.

From Feb 2011
Image

Image

Image


And on the subject of aging, I gave up searching for evidence of any benefits years ago. Rubber deteriorates with time. There is a lifespan on car tires after which they are not allowed to be sold commercially (I think that is 6 years in the US). My own experience with bicycle tires supports the deterioration aspect. Here's some pics I just took of a well aged Vredestein tire that has never been used and just sitting in a cool dark garage for a number of years.... the velolflex above are going to replace this...

Uninflated so I could pinch it to better show how it's deteriorated... excuse the sorry state of my fingers, I suppose hand modeling is not in my future :)
Image

and inflated... wasn't sure it would even hold up to proper inflation...
Image

So, to those that believe a finely aged tire has any benefit... have at it. I'll stick to as new as I can get.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

Jmdesignz2
Posts: 272
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2015 2:27 am

by Jmdesignz2

calnago - I am guessing you have some ozone deterioration of rubber?

Looks like it

https://www.satra.co.uk/spotlight/artic ... php?id=390

User avatar
Calnago
In Memoriam
Posts: 8612
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:14 pm

by Calnago

Ha, could be... hmmm... should I move to a different planet? Do you know of any with good roads for riding? :lol:
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

mattyNorm
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2015 12:29 pm

by mattyNorm

Thanks for the info about aging, I always figured it wasn't actually a valid thing as it goes against everything I know about material science.

Nefarious86
Moderator
Posts: 3669
Joined: Sun May 25, 2014 4:57 am

by Nefarious86

Cycling is full of "Pro bro science" lol
Using Tapatalk

junchen
Posts: 348
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2015 6:21 pm

by junchen

Tks calnago for taking the effort to find your old veloflex.. :thumbsup

Bike24, you'll have my 1st order soon.... Now I just need some cheap rebranded veloflex to show up in 23/25mm sizes..

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

Post Reply