I have to admit that I have been on s33 pro,s33 specials and elite ride 23 tires for quite a few years. I know that some can a little rough and such . And they are not the lightest tubie out there. But they last till the threads are showing,rarely flat, come in colors to match your bike or wheels and are otherwise pretty bulletproof.
We went for a ride today, after 3" of snow and ice the other day. Lots of gravel,salt,glass and just plain shitty shoulders.
We were both on tubies. My riding partner was on corsa cx 23 and I was on a TUFO s33 lite 21 on front and a elite ride 23 on the rear. These tufos have about 1500 miles on them.
My buddy flatted twice in a 45 mile ride. His tires have 500 miles on them. One he sealed up and the rear he put on a s33 pro that should of been discarded years ago.
The quality control over the last few years has gotten 100% better.
I just do not get the hatred for these tubulars. I love them and have for years. They are not real expensive either.
Some of the other forums people just bash this brand to no end.
I pay about $60 per pair and can get a whole year out of them. Then I will use it as a spare tucked tight under the seat.
Vittoria pave would be my next in line.
Now granted, I no longer race and just like to ride so for racing there are better tires.

I am just an old guy trying to stay young.

Skiezo

According to Al Morrison's roller data, the S33 will have about 21 watts per pair more rolling resistance than a pair of vittoria CX - (meaning they have nearly double the rolling resistance). Thats equal to the difference of a set of Zipp 404's versus 32 hole box rims or close to what most aero helmets gain you - both of are not to be sneezed at.....as that's worth about .6+ mph during your sprint and about .5 mph during the rest of the ride.

And as many have coined the phrase - they are like riding on garden hose (non compliant).

If you're going to ride tubbies then do it well.

I do not have tons of experience with Tufo's but went through several Elite 23's in a short time.
In order to get them to roll fairly quickly you have to run them @ 150 psi, and glass will cut them fairly easily
at that pressure. The sealant didn't work even at 90 or 100 psi let alone 150.
Meaning I was throwing away barely worn tires. Which in a regular could have been repaired.

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I did not realize that information. That is quite a bit of wasted energy. I may have to try some other brands this year.
I just like not having to worry about flatting far from the house.
Thanks for the information all the same.
I run mine @ 130# most of the time.

I bought a pair a while back, took them out of the box and that was my exact impression after touching the tires; that they felt like garden hose. I promptly sent them back and got a pair of decent tubulars instead.

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You guys are running how much pressure?!

150 psi sounds insane, I can't imagine how harsh that must feel.

I weigh 175 lb, run my Veloflexes @ 100psi, and they roll really fast...

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I read somewhere (probably WW), that inner tubes are glued to the casing and because of this, rolling is worse.

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I've ridden Tufos for something like 10 years. Last two years, I also ride Vittoria tubbulars on my best wheels and use Tufos just for winter training. Tufor are simply different. They do not have latex tubes and inner tubes are part of thread and can not be separated. So they can not be repairead. But puncture resistance is much better than anything else.
They also are quite hard and can not be stretched at all. In my oponion, this is their biggest problem. They are not comfortable and rolling resistance is worse. You can feel it when you install then. When I installed my first tubulars, I was advised to continualy stretch them across rim. With Tufos, I was never able to stretch them even a little bit. So after a few tries I gave up and did not try to stretch them anymore. When I installed my first Vittoria tubular, I was shocked how much stretchier theese tubulars are. I was able to feel how they can be stretched across the rim when I was installing them.
Best Tufos I rode were Elite Pulse triatlon tubulars. Theese are more comfortable than "standard" Tufos, and puncture resistance is still good.

So for me, tufos are great for winter training and If you prefer durable tubulars. If You prefer ride quality and low rolling resistance, there are much better tubulars than Tufos.

Try the Conti Sprinter Gatorskin bulletproof in flats and roll nice and fair for their price

Fave tub for a long time is the conti comp 25mm...100fr 110rr psi...
After years of trying all sorts these have the best balance of; handling
, grip, ride, durability, ease of maintenance ( butyl inner)....

Keeping in mind I ride in the tropics, so the temp is always warm and hence can't vouch for winter condition grip etc...

2nd in line is the scale ultremo ht 25mm... Similar save for lower durability (easier to cut up) and latex inner tube.. These ride a tiny bit smoother, but there's bugger all in it....

I won't run Victoria anymore cos the bloody things flat so easily.... pITA IMO

For keeping flats at bay I find Continental Sprinters to be great. They're really cheap and I've never managed to flat one. I run them at lower pressures 90F/100R and they don't roll so bad.

For my nice wheels and nice days it's Veloflex - no compromise. Veloflex Sprinters are the finest tubs I've ridden and I always have them on my Lightweights.

Why do people hate TUFO tubulars, you ask. Because they're inferior, I'm afraid, that's why. I've worn out a couple of sets of Elite Ride 23´s. The rolling resistance is noticeable and the ride is harsh. If you drop the pressure, the rolling resistance increases... At first I thought they'd beat a more supple tubular in terms of puncture/cut resistance - they don't. Veloflex Carbons I've found to be superior in every way; Challenge Stradas too.

I've used Continental Sprinter tubulars. And they do flat. Maybe not as much as the lightweight latex tubulars. But they do flat. Around 100 psi for me.

At the end of my competitive riding days I run the orange sprinter 250 fornt and rear. They were some of the most flat prone tires that I/we used. That was about 13/14 or so years ago or so. That is the time we started to run Tufo on our bikes for road races. They held up even on the worst chip seal roads we would ride.
Even tho they were not the best back than they would rarely flat and would last for a few races.
For crits we would go with michelin clinchers as they handled and cornered good and were sticky as hell.
I know the technology and compounds has come leaps and bounds in the last decade. I just always stuck with tufo since that time. I have tried a few over the years and seem to always go back to what works for me.
I am gonna they some other tires this year to give them a chance. Conti's and veloflex are at the top of my list so far.

Skiezo