Best Light All Purpose Tubular?

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fdegrove
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by fdegrove

Hi,

I am annoyed at the change to a dual compound with only a very thin upper layer of black rubber on the centerline.


When did this change happen?
I haven't noticed anything different on the thread surface of any of the Veloflex tyres so far. (Not sure when the "youngest" ones I have were manufactured though)
Can't find anything about such change on Vx's website either but then they're not the quickest to update it either...

"Normal"* estimated wear rate (according to Vx) is about 3.000 km for the front and half of that for the rear.
* This is when the tyres are used for competitive purposes. From what I hear and read most users easily get twice and more km out of them.

Ciao, ;)
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LionelB
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by LionelB

Yes I am also curious about this. I do not have any of the new 23 carbon or 25 roubaix as my current stash is still pretty large of the old ones.

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Calnago
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by Calnago

1500-1700 miles would be very good mileage to get for me. Wore the "old" 22mm Carbons out in that time frame and I've been using the "new" 23mm Carbons since. I have not noticed any difference in construction or wear.

I'm also using the 24mm Roubaixs which are nice and have a set of the newer 25mm Arrenbergs (all black Roubaixs) to try out. Construction also seems similar although they are the first Veloflex's I've seen which do not say "Made In Italy" anywhere on the tire.
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ElChaba
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by ElChaba

I still have a pretty decent stash of the older Veloflex Criteriums at the 21-22 mm width. When I run out of those, I plan to start using a Sprinter on the front paired with a criterium on the rear. The Sprinter and Extreme retain the old width while the Criterium/Carbon have joined the annoying trend of tubulars gaining girth. I don't mind an extra mm or two on the rear, but I just don't need it on the front. With a Sprinter on the front and Criterium on the rear, the tread patterns are remarkably similar to the old days of Italian Vittorias when the standard setup was a CX on the front and CG on the rear...

CarpetFibre
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by CarpetFibre

I had some criteriums recently (newer 22mm ones) and they didn't feel great to me. Kind of plasticy.

I have ridden Extremes on my brother's wheels and really like them though.

Still, master clincher 20s with conti supersonic or latex tubes are by far my favourite tyre ever.

dcaspira
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by dcaspira

LionelB wrote:
mca56 wrote:"I got Carbons on the rear and Extremes on the front on three sets of wheels, great light durable combo"

+1

+2


+ 3

jvanv8
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by jvanv8

By "All Purpose" I suppose we can also factor in resistance or propensity to flats. All the tubulars I've used in the last year have great ride qualities, but out of 11 tires in less than a year, only 2 lasted longer than a carton of eggs.

Here's my tally so far...

Veloflex Extreme (7 tires): All flat during first ride. All of 'em
dcaspira wrote:+ 3
so.. -7 for me

Continental Competition (1 rear): Lasted 5 or 6 rides. I didn't want Continental necessarily, but it was the only reasonable choice at the shop that day.

Veloflex Carbon (1 rear): Lasted 6 or 7 rides.

Zipp Tangente (2 tires): Rear lasted 20-30 rides, Front still going. I didn't want Zipp necessarily, but it was the only reasonable choice at the shop that day. Front must be approaching 10,000km by now and the tread is arguably warn and a bit nappy.

I still have one Extreme and one Carbon left. But thinking I should get another set of Zipps try or something else.
Last edited by jvanv8 on Fri Sep 28, 2012 6:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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LionelB
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by LionelB

jvanv8 wrote:By "All Purpose" I suppose we can also factor in resistance or propensity to flats. All the tubulars I've used in the last year have great ride qualities, but out of 11 tires in less than a year, only 2 lasted longer than a carton of eggs.

Here's my tally so far...
Veloflex Extreme (7 tires): All flat during first ride. All of 'em
dcaspira wrote:+ 3
so.. -7 for me
Continental Competition (1 rear): Lasted 5 or 6 rides. I didn't want Continental necessarily, but it was the only reasonable choice at the shop that day.
Veloflex Carbon (1 rear): Lasted 6 or 7 rides.
Zipp Tangente (2 tires): Rear lasted 20-30 rides, Front still going. I didn't want Zipp necessarily, but it was the only reasonable choice at the shop that day. Front must be approaching 10,000km by now and the tread is arguably warn and a bit nappy.

I still have one Extreme and one Carbon left. But thinking I should get another set of Zipps try or something else.


I will take the extreme and carbon off your hands for some money.

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HammerTime2
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by HammerTime2

jvanv8, how often do you flat on clinchers? Maybe you just have a talent for flatting, just as some of us have a talent for not flatting.

LionelB
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by LionelB

flatting 7 times on the first ride with 7 brand new extreme..... please :roll: :roll:

fdegrove
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by fdegrove

Hi,

ElChaba wrote:I still have a pretty decent stash of the older Veloflex Criteriums at the 21-22 mm width. When I run out of those, I plan to start using a Sprinter on the front paired with a criterium on the rear. The Sprinter and Extreme retain the old width while the Criterium/Carbon have joined the annoying trend of tubulars gaining girth. I don't mind an extra mm or two on the rear, but I just don't need it on the front. With a Sprinter on the front and Criterium on the rear, the tread patterns are remarkably similar to the old days of Italian Vittorias when the standard setup was a CX on the front and CG on the rear...


Well, you do realise that Veloflex are the old Vittoria crew, do you?

Ciao, ;)
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jvanv8
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by jvanv8

LionelB wrote:flatting 7 times on the first ride with 7 brand new extreme..... please :roll: :roll:
You are correct, and I'm sorry for not being clear. (I thought it was already well documented on WW so I'll keep it brief)... 3 of them never touched the tarmac as they won't hold air for more than 1 hour. The other 4 wouldn't hold air for more than 4 hours so they didn't survive their inaugural rides. Veloflex sent me two more, but those also failed to hold air. I threw them all in a dumpster not far from Aix. Here's a video hours after mounting an Extreme (Click the Image to see the video)
Image
Last edited by jvanv8 on Fri Sep 28, 2012 11:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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fdegrove
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by fdegrove

Hi,

I threw them all in a dumpster not from from Aix.


Next time you can throw'em in my bin....

Surely those were all warranty cases and should have been replaced no questions asked?
Either way, I've never seen or heard anything like it...... :shock:

Ciao, ;)
Last edited by fdegrove on Sat Sep 29, 2012 12:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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jvanv8
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by jvanv8

It all happened right around the time I was moving. Maybe I could have complained (again) to Veloflex, but there were bigger things going on at the time and really, I just wanted to enjoy riding my bike. I thought about sending them off to Florida but the International shipping was ridiculous. I thought about bringing them on the plane but the weight limits on baggage prevented that.
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upside
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by upside

I just looked at your blog..you have a NICE life. When you get sick of your shoes, I will wear them for you. :beerchug:

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