Continental tubular gp4000s or competition???

[Causidicus]

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[Ozrider]

@CulBaire - in my post I am only referring to my own experience. I am sure the road conditions here are no worse than over East. I have to agree latex tubed Tubulars do give a slightly softer / more supple ride, but I have tried about 8 Vittoria Evo CX's and had several punctures. The Challenge Criteriums were the worst I have used in terms of puncture resistance.
The new Conti Force/Attack Tubulars feel a lot nicer than the Competition and GP4000's I have used to date. The 24mm rear is noticeably wider than the 22mm GP4000, and feels a lot more comfortable. They also subjectively feel faster. I did a crit on them Sunday and they grip really well. It was time Conti came up with a new tyre as the Comp and GP 4000 have been around a few years now.

@Causidicus - well then I suppose BMC, Lampre Merida, Lotto Bellisol, Movistar and Orica Green Edge have all got it wrong as they are all on Continental.
One of the main reasons I use Tubulars is WEIGHT. A set of Tubular wheels is usually 200-350g lighter than a corresponding clincher wheel set and as this is WW, weight is relevant.
And I don't need to rethink my rationale - I have not had a flat during an event on Contis, whereas I have had a few flats on Challenge and Vittorias.
Maybe luck played a part, but I'm not willing to risk it again. My RATIONALE is WEIGHT and RELIABILITY. Each to their own I suppose.




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[darnellrm]

+1

[fdegrove]

Hi,

@Causidicus - well then I suppose BMC, Lampre Merida, Lotto Bellisol, Movistar and Orica Green Edge have all got it wrong as they are all on Continental.
One of the main reasons I use Tubulars is WEIGHT. A set of Tubular wheels is usually 200-350g lighter than a corresponding clincher wheel set and as this is WW, weight is relevant.
And I don't need to rethink my rationale - I have not had a flat during an event on Contis, whereas I have had a few flats on Challenge and Vittorias.
Maybe luck played a part, but I'm not willing to risk it again. My RATIONALE is WEIGHT and RELIABILITY. Each to their own I suppose.

There's a difference between what one prefers to ride and what one is told to ride.
Comparing to what pro riders use due to sponsorship is a very flawed reasoning.
One could easily name an equal number of teams that do NOT ride on Continental tyres for the exact same reason.

That said, no tyre never flats. If my own experience would enter a statistic I could in all honesty say that I flatted more Conti tyres than I have Veloflex. And I ride much, much more on Veloflex tyres than I ever will on Conti.

Granted, Conti's Black Chili compound is quite likely the best under wet circumstances but the tyre as a whole is certainly not all that great. (not even with a latex inner tube in it as has been tried out on request of pro riders BTW)

Ciao,

[LionelB]

I ride much, much more on Veloflex tyres than I ever will on Conti.

Oh good, I was starting to worry about you

[HillRPete]

I'm looking forward to put Force tubs on front and rear. Having ridden Attack/Force clinchers, I think the narrow front is really taking away a lot of what makes wider tyres shine.

That said, this would be a very interesting tyre to try:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/pho ... t-2/301484

[Geoff]

No guff. You can't see it in that shot, but that Conti has a new tread design with a bald centre section and a new compound. Very interesting.

[HillRPete]

Geoff, well don't the Attack/Force tubs have the bald centre already?

[fdegrove]

Hi,

but that Conti has a new tread design with a bald centre section and a new compound

No idea what that new compound will be like but the bald centre section should slightly improve the RR.

Ciao,

[Geoff]

@HillRPete, the Attack/Force combo have a different (i.e., distinctly non Comp-like) shoulder tread design. The new tread is very much a Conti Comp with a smooth centre section.

@fdgrove, the story is that the new compound is really sticky, so it might be good.

[bm0p700f]

I am going to give all of these tubs a try.

[sawyer]

Hi,

@Causidicus - well then I suppose BMC, Lampre Merida, Lotto Bellisol, Movistar and Orica Green Edge have all got it wrong as they are all on Continental.
One of the main reasons I use Tubulars is WEIGHT. A set of Tubular wheels is usually 200-350g lighter than a corresponding clincher wheel set and as this is WW, weight is relevant.
And I don't need to rethink my rationale - I have not had a flat during an event on Contis, whereas I have had a few flats on Challenge and Vittorias.
Maybe luck played a part, but I'm not willing to risk it again. My RATIONALE is WEIGHT and RELIABILITY. Each to their own I suppose.

There's a difference between what one prefers to ride and what one is told to ride.
Comparing to what pro riders use due to sponsorship is a very flawed reasoning.
One could easily name an equal number of teams that do NOT ride on Continental tyres for the exact same reason.

That said, no tyre never flats. If my own experience would enter a statistic I could in all honesty say that I flatted more Conti tyres than I have Veloflex. And I ride much, much more on Veloflex tyres than I ever will on Conti.

Granted, Conti's Black Chili compound is quite likely the best under wet circumstances but the tyre as a whole is certainly not all that great. (not even with a latex inner tube in it as has been tried out on request of pro riders BTW)

Ciao,

Even so, if the delta between Conti and other tyres was so vast teams would just point blank refuse to ride them. I imagine they would react this way to the Toffees, I mean Tofus. No sponsorship deal with Conti is going to worth throwing away all chances to win for -

Gilbert did ok on conti tyres for a while. Yes I know all about the latex inners which didn't make much difference

They have their place. If you want more peace of mind but still want tubs. To those who say it negates the point of tubs I say balls. Clinchers are the same deal ... you can get great ride quality or you can get Contis there too. Lighter rims, stiffer wheelsets, and a round cross section tyre for superior handling don't all magically disappear just because it's a conti tubular!!

[racingcondor]

With the generally good puncture resistance and great wet grip I've been tempted to get some Force tubs to see how they measure up against Pave's.

At the moment though I have to say, the Vittoria's I'm using are working out very well even with the UK's 'interesting' riding conditions.

[RM27]

Would the Comps be the better of the two Conti's for flat resistance?

[Geoff]

Yeah, it's kind of hard to say. As you may know from this thread, I don't have a lot of flat experience with tubulars (which is one of the big reasons why I like tubulars). Anecdotally, I have never flatted a Comp. I had a test version of the GP4000 on a set of wheels, which I lent to a friend for a race. He very promptly flatted it.

With the Vectran set-up, any of the Comp, GP4000 or the Attack/Force should be pretty puncture-resistant. Honestly, puncture performance comes down to your native road conditions and your personal riding habits. Keep your eyes open and brush-off your tires regularly (certainly if you ride-over anything), you'll be fine with any of them.