Easy to fit tubular tires: Vittoria vs Velofex
Moderator: robbosmans
Everybody seems to agree that vittoria corsas are easy to stretch and fit. On the other hand I found conflicting information on veloflex carbons. A lot of complaints about tight fit regarding veloflex tires, but most of these seem to be clinchers and not tubulars. How do they compare to the vittoria corsas regarding easy fit?
Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓ Broad Selection ✓ Worldwide Delivery ✓
www.starbike.com
I was watching a video from GCN for the mechanics in a pro team. Basically their procedure was to do the normal steps to glue the tire (2-3 layers on tire and 2-3 layers on rim). Their trick was that the last layer before you place the tire on the rim you let it dry for like 1hr so when you went to place the tire on the rim you would not get glue all over the place. I've done this with a pair of continental sprinters and was very satisfied with the results. Obviously I had the tire sitting in the rim for a couple of days stretching.
From my experience (Vittoria Corsa SL tubs and Veloflex Extreme/Carbon tubs), they are fairly easy to fit and similar in that regard. Never tried the dreaded Conti tubs .
-
- Posts: 938
- Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 8:09 pm
No issues with either. But prefer Veloflex quality personally over Vittoria. Not sure what has happened to Vittoria tubs the past two years. Quality went way down...so moved to Veloflex. All around great tire.
Every tubular tire needs to rest on a rim (without glue) for a day in order to get stretched. Even the stiffest tubulars become smooth and fit easily then.
I find that Veloflex can be mounted fairly easily without stretching at all if you want to. I still like to stretch them however, habits and all. Continentals on the other hand, at least the Competitions, definitely need to be stretched for as long as you possibly can (weeks, months, years) and even then your thumbs will ache for a couple days afterwards. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration but not by much. However, Conti Comps are my favorite wet weather tire yet ironically I would never take one along as a spare just because they're too damn hard to mount at the best of times let alone if it's cold and wet out and your hands are numb.
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
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ
kgt wrote:Every tubular tire needs to rest on a rim (without glue) for a day in order to get stretched. Even the stiffest tubulars become smooth and fit easily then.
I usually do 2 days at full pressure on continentals and they are still very hard to fit.
About the same, from my experience. I prefer Veloflex, as they give a superior ride. Very buoyant and straight as an arrow. Never understood the appeal of Conti tubs. Thick sidewalls give a harsh ride. Interesting that many pro teams use Conti's, although a special version made specifically for the teams. They probably buy from Veloflex!
Oldbie
As far as I know, the "Pro Limited" version of the Conti Comps that the pros use differ only in that the Pro Limited version have latex inner tubes. I'd really like to get my hands on a set and try them for no other reason than to see just what, if any, a latex tube versus a butyl tube actually makes in ride quality.
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
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ
Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓ Broad Selection ✓ Worldwide Delivery ✓
www.starbike.com
Thank you guys for the comments. I think I will try out the vittoria corsa g+ and see what happens (it's gonna be my first ever tubular tire). I just heard good things about veloflex, so those are on my list if I don't give up with gluing after the first pairs.