Best tubular for all-around riding.

[occor]

I still say that the best all-around tires are either: Vittoria CG/All-Weather/Pave Evo CG; or, Continental Competition 22s.

You think they're equal as far as puncture resistance?

[peruffo]

I'll repeat my "statistical analysis" concerning Vittoria All Weathers (22 mm width):
2 years, 28.500 km, 5 tires died, only 2 punctures (3 tread or casing worn down to nothing), both slow leaks, never had to repair tubular on the road, bad roads around here, lots of glass and debris...
So I'm on my 7th tire, 3 more still in the closet...

[occor]

I'll repeat my "statistical analysis" concerning Vittoria All Weathers (22 mm width):
2 years, 28.500 km, 5 tires died, only 2 punctures (3 tread or casing worn down to nothing), both slow leaks, never had to repair tubular on the road, bad roads around here, lots of glass and debris...
So I'm on my 7th tire, 3 more still in the closet...

I'm familiar with Vittoria Evo CX (21 and 23mm) and Evo CG (24 and 27mm) tubulars. What are these 22mm wide Vittoria tubulars you refer to as "All Weathers"?

[Geoff]

You think they're equal as far as puncture resistance?

Yup. In 20+ years I have flatted one (1) set of double-flats on each type.

[peruffo]

2006 model, not featured in the catalog, but has "All Weather" and "22 mm" printed on the tread.

[hockinsk]

Wow, some of those choices sound like you guys must all be loaded or have very good roads and weather all year round? 6 months of the year over here the roads are frost damaged, permanently wet and muddy and full of loose grit. Even Pave's wouldn't last. I don't think i've seen anyone ride tubulars outside of racing in UK for years.

[andy2]

Don't know where you picked up the notion that tubulars are something fragile and exclusive??? I'm back to riding tubbies in Sweden after being sick and tired of fixing flats with cold fingers. Have a hard time seeing these roads being much better than UK ones.
Gravel roads, broken up tarmac, debris - bring it on!

[peruffo]

Here in Eastern Europe road infrastructure is far from perfect - tough tubulars and low profile rims provide comfort and durability. Faster (carbon) wheels are for the lucky (and better off) bike riders in Western Europe :-)

[Geoff]

+1 on tubular reliability. One of the good reasons to chose quality tubulars is to save money! I can generally expect to dispose of a good tubular once there is no more tread left (unless it is a 'rider error' and I don't see a giant hole in the road or a pile of tangled metal shards).

I am sure that you guys have some bad roads, we have our share of frost-heaved junk, too. Try riding roads in Československo, the Soviet Union or China in the 1980s on Barum Kriterium PBWs! We sure learned how to look ahead and preserve our tires and glue them well, that's for sure...

[DeLuz]

Clement Criterium Seta Extra or Clement Del Mondo

[occor]

Wow, some of those choices sound like you guys must all be loaded or have very good roads and weather all year round? 6 months of the year over here the roads are frost damaged, permanently wet and muddy and full of loose grit. Even Pave's wouldn't last. I don't think i've seen anyone ride tubulars outside of racing in UK for years.

??? Damaged/rough roads are where tubular tires perform the best particularly because pinch flats are extremely rare.

Road conditions in Southern California are somewhat variable but generally range from good to excellent. There are some remote and lesser used roads (in the mountains and out in the desert) that are sun damaged which haven't been re-oiled or repaved in decades that are exceptionally bad.

The big issue in urban and suburban areas in North America is roads that are littered with broken glass... Sometimes I could swear we have a subculture of people here who have a fetish for breaking glass on roads.

For the filthy road conditions here I haven't found a tire (with reasonably nice performance characteristics) that beats Continental Competition tubulars. The notion that Veloflex or Vittoria make tubulars or open tubulars are as impervious to puncture as Conti Comps seems quite dubious to me.

[occor]

Clement Criterium Seta Extra or Clement Del Mondo

If you're a multimillionaire. I'm sure what the original poster meant by "all-around riding" is the same as everyday riding.

[hockinsk]

Exactly, majority of people here are not quoting 'all round' tubulars. I road race, crit and TT exclusively on tubulars with Veloflex's on the TT bike and CX's on the road bike throughout the racing season and get through a dozen or so from punctures. Even with this steady stream of repaired tubulars they wouldn't last as 'all round' tubulars for training and club runs in winter. I've tried to reuse for economy and performance sake, but the thin sidewalls of high end tubulars simply can't take the roads around here. They would last about 200-300 miles of winter training and club rides before going pop usually.

[legs 11]

I've gotta agree with hockinsk there, I live a little further west than he does but we have similair problems with regards to punctures around here.
The main problem being that in the south of the UK the underlying ground is chalk and flint (think white cliffs of Dover! )
All the shards of flint wash out from the sides of the road and are really bad for causing slashes and regular punctures.
When it gets wet, the problem is even worse as the water lubes the flint and it cuts even worse.
I hate Conti tubulars, but the Sprinters are the only ones I would ride on here, as when they puncture they are cheap enough to just bin and replace.
At this time of the year I just want to move to the South of France.

[KB]

...Try riding roads in Československo, the Soviet Union or China in the 1980s on Barum Kriterium PBWs! We sure learned how to look ahead and preserve our tires and glue them well, that's for sure...

You can say that again. It was the tyre of choice for me out of necessity in the late 60's, early 70's. And it showed. Cheap, but the downside was loads of punctures. Happy days!