Conti sprinter tubular comments

[athletic91]

Even at 110 psi, they ride like a rock, its not supple at all, compared to my old vittorias corsa elite.

I have riddden tufo S3 lite too, and they felt better than the sprinters..

Anyone else here feels that conti sprinters ride like crap?

[Johnnysmooth]

And to think, I thought everyone knew that conti sprinters rode rough! Guess not.

Yup, they are not a comfortable tire but they do wear well if you can stand it. Not sure what weight you are but I use to ride mine at 7-8 bars

[runner999]

I've used the Sprinter black chili tubs and they wear well and are pretty rugged tires but they don't compare to the ride quality of the Vittoria CX 320tpi tires I’m using now. The sprinters are tougher and you pay for it with ride quality.

[jipperd]

Funny you compare them the Tufo's tothe Sprinters and come up with that conclusion. I had a set of tufo's and both Frankie - B and I threw them out of the window to glue the sprinters on. After that we changed to FMB tires, but that's a whole different story.

We rode the Tufo's even up to 11bar of pressure, but it kept feeling like riding a flat tire. Ok the sprinter isn't as good compared with the vittoria's but they offer a nice ride, without exessivelyrolling resistance and plenty of puncture resistance.

[12x23]

I've had good luck with Sprinter's, maybe 'cause I ride them at about 7 bar, but do agree Veloflex/Vittoria are a smoother ride. Bought a stash of Sprinters with the chili compound cheap last year and just tapped into the first pair. I taped them on 404's and the ride was better than I remembered. They look pretty good too now with the slick tread and black basetape .... if that matters.

[fdegrove]

Hi,

We rode the Tufo's even up to 11bar of pressure, but it kept feeling like riding a flat tire. Ok the sprinter isn't as good compared with the vittoria's but they offer a nice ride, without exessivelyrolling resistance and plenty of puncture resistance.

Some amazing statements, if I may say so. Quite funny though.
The mere thought of riding Tufo's at 11 bar is sending shivers down my spine....

The Sprinter is a so-so training tyre, some like them some (I) don't. Basically not worth more than a much cheaper Ritchey Race Slick which only costs less than half the asking price of he Sprinter IMHO.

If you want a comfy, nice training tub and puncture resistance is not your top priority then a Schwalbe Milano or to a lesser extent, a Schwalbe Montello isn't a bad choice at all.
Note that I do not puncture that often, be that on top of the range tubulars (read fragile) or a "tankish" Conti Comp.

Ciao,

[gitsome]

They may not have the best ride quality, but compared to the non-existent puncture resistance of the Vittorias they are worth their weight in gold to me - I will never ride vittorias again, I won't even bother repairing my 390 TPIs because they flatted so easily, I had not flatted in 3 years before and I haven't flatted since I bought those worthlessly delicate Vit 390 tpis. whether in a race or training IMO a tire that flimsy is unreliable, dangerous and a waste of money and time. now i'm using Conti Sprints and GP 4000 and theyre fine.
maybe not exactly as supple as the vittorias but so far not a flat in 6 months since the vitts. that peace of mind is worth it.

[Mackers]

fdegrove and I agree about only two things....
The quality of the Schwalbe Milano is one of them.
Puncture resistance isn't amazing (though more than adequate,) but they provide a very nice ride, especially so when taking into account that they only cost €17.

More on topic, I ride the Sprinters as well, and I'm quite pleased with 'm.
Take into account though that I weigh under 130lbs and ride with accordingly low pressure.

[fdegrove]

Hi,

If people wouldn't throw glass bottles and other crap on the roads no one would need such levels of puncture protection.
Puncture resistance which, let's face it, totally ruins the majority of the joy of riding a fine tyre in the first place.

Riding tyres with high levels of puncture protection brings with it yet another downside; riders just don't learn to look where they're going anymore.

Ciao,

[jipperd]

Hi,
Some amazing statements, if I may say so. Quite funny though.
The mere thought of riding Tufo's at 11 bar is sending shivers down my spine....

Thanks for your comments, the ride at 11bar was the ultimate test. At 65kg, I rode 7, 8, 9 and then 11 bar, hoping to eliminate the 'slow' feeling. As for the Sprinters, I admit they ain't superb tires, but the offer a nice ride, trought the entire season. Comparing them with either GP4000's, CX's or even FMB isn't fair. I've never ridden the Milano or Montello so I can't argue your comments but given your knowledge I don't doubt a single word

[athletic91]

Is the conti sprinter a real handmade tire?

it states "handmade in germany" on the sidewall

[Geoff]

...riders just don't learn to look where they're going anymore.

The one thing I will say in defense of the Conti Sprinter is that my wife has been riding the same pair for many years now. She is usually looking around at the scenery, blithly unaware that the 'crunchy stuff' that she just rode through was formerly an empty bottle of Pilsner that got tossed out the window of a passing farm truck on the way home to the ranchhouse after a night in the city. If they can survive her, then they have earned their stripes!

[stella-azzurra]

I find this amusing that one tubular punctures more than another tubular. Given the same conditions every tubular will puncture on queue every time. This includes clinchers if you exclude the old snake bite.

You can reduce your puncture intervals buy riding away from the gutter and avoiding obvious glass, thorns, and metal on the road. The location of where you ride is also key: country roads that are isolated have less of a chance of glass, or metal. Roads that are in and around the city have more of a chance of having glass and metal scrap go figure.

I have ridden over glass and other crap on the road that in most cases would cause a puncture but it did not.
You could ride over a ton of glass and not get a puncture.
A lot of things need to align to get that puncture: the angle of the tire on the piece of glass or metal, your weight, length of glass or metal, duration time of tire on glass or metal and a few other factors.

One thing is for sure you'll get a puncture at the worst possible time.

[teterider]

Well all interesting to hear since I'll be riding tubulars for the first time since 1994 and I bought Sprinters given the price, brand, and seemingly good reputation for wear. In my case I think my frame will handle all the comfort duties considering I'm coming from Ksyrium ES and think the ride is very smooth.

I haven't flatted in something like 8 years since I live in an area with almost zero glass, no thorns, and almost no other garbage (that I would just ride around anyway). This is why I've decided to give tubulars a try again to use full time.

I should have my first ride impressions soon and I'll post.

[HammerTime2]

I find this amusing that one tubular punctures more than another tubular. Given the same conditions every tubular will puncture on queue every time. This includes clinchers if you exclude the old snake bite.

Absolutely disagree.

But yes, the rider and riding/tire cleaning style matter (and maybe inflation pressure) as well ... a lot. I used to ride the exact same wheels and tires/tubes or tubulars as other folks on my team and they would flat like crazy, and I woudln't flat at all, and we were riding the exact same roads, anf this is over a period of many thousands of kms.