Please Help With Tire and Wheel Questions

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

Moderator: robbosmans

Post Reply
Scrench
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2011 3:02 am

by Scrench

Hi All,

I was hoping some of you would share your experiences with me. I'm just coming off of riding/racing Reynolds DV46T UL wheels with Conti Sprinters because a friend told me they had great longevity and I could use them daily. I never really liked the Sprinters (or the Reynolds) because they feel hard, stiff, and slow, even with only 100 psi, but I ride a lot by myself in the middle of nowhere and carry a can of Pitstop with me, so I wanted some reliability. They felt like as soon as I stopped pedaling they would start to slow down, and I actually had to pedal downhill to hold my position in the pack, whereas I remember a set of 202's with Vittoria Corsa CX Evo's I rented one Senior Olympics, had me braking to not run into anyone when going downhill. They were on different bikes though, a Cannondale CAAD 10 and a Cervelo S3 respectively. I weigh 150lb. kitted out. I also had Vittoria Corsa CX Evo's on my Reynolds before the Conti's (because of the rental set), but crashed my brains out on a wet day when they lost traction, and never looked back at them, although as I remember, they seemed to roll OK, just felt a little squirrley. The Sprinters have much better traction.

Today, I bought a new (used) set of Zipp 303 Firecrest wheels off of ebay which are coming with Schwalbe 1's taped on with the new French tape (forgot the name), which is part of the reason I'm willing to stick with tubulars. The new tape makes changing them look easy, without the resistance penalty previous tapes incurred, they say. I've always glued, but don't ever want that hassle again. I was getting ready to buy Zipp 202 Firecrest clinchers for their convenience, better tire selection with lower rolling resistance, and lower rim weight, but changed my mind because I figured I could get less weight and better aero from the 303's if I stayed with tubulars. The rims weigh about the same. I love to climb/attack the short rolling hills we have here in Louisiana. (BTW, I can still return the 303's for the 202's if you have an opinion on that, or the whole tubular vs clincher debate.)

Sorry to ramble, but I have a lot to consider right now. I currently ride the Cannondale CAAD 10, sold my Cervelo S3 because the CAAD just seems to put every watt to the ground with no flex (better then the EVO's IMHO), although the S3 slipped the air better. Of course I'm looking for the Nirvana combination of attributes for a tubular, but for reference I have to say that I really enjoy riding Michelin Pro 4 Service Course (@ 87psi) and Conti 4000S (@100PSI) clinchers which both feel way better then the Sprinters. I would have loved to try the new Conti 4000S II, the Specialized Turbo Cotton, and the Michelin Power Competition.

Gaaa... just writing about it makes me wish I had gone with the clinchers, which shows you how confused I am at the moment. I still believe less rotating weight at the rims is going to get me up hills faster, and better aero will help everywhere.

Anyway, sorry to bore you with my decisions, but if you can shed any light on any of this, your experiences and advice will be much appreciated.

Thank You,
Richard Harris
Baton Rouge, LA

by Weenie


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

www.starbike.com



Scrench
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2011 3:02 am

by Scrench

Admin, please remove, reposted under Everything Wheels.

Thank You.

Post Reply