Toughest puncture resistant tubulars

[charirider]

Hi, fellow weight weenies!
I have an opportunity to pick up Zipp 303 firecrest tubular (1st gen, 11 speed silver hub and spokes) in MINT condition, with front hub recall applied, for really good price.
They tick all the boxes for me as a climber:
1) They weigh 1150g
2) They have 27 mm wide U shape profile that goes nice with 25mm tire
3) Zipp ride quality for 1/3 of a new 303 firecrest price
4) Tubulars are less likely to desintegrate while beaking dusing a long descent.

My only concern is, I do not like to have punctures. At all.
That being said, I live in Japan and ride GP5000 clinchers with butyl tubes and haven't experiences a single puncture in 2 years, roads here are THAT great.

The question is, what kind of tubular tire will give me better puncture-free peace of mind than tubed GP5000?
I did some research, and Conti's Sprinter Gatorskin looks like a good solution, also good reviews of Conti Competition, and Tufo tubeless with sealant.
What do you recommend?
I like hill clibming but also do 150km a day while touring in Japanese mountanious terrain.
And how easy is to change sewn-ups on a roadside, assuming I will use tubular TAPE only (I am not racing, and dont want to mess up with glue/mastik/shellack).
Thank you!

[AJS914]

What's the point of tubulars if you are going to use the slowest tires (like Gatorskins)? They will probably be slower than your GP5000s.

I've only used tubulars for races and flats were always a big PITA to change even at home. I never had to do it on the side of the road.

[Rishie]

I have used tubulars over 3 bikes and 6 years over about 25K km (might be higher, rough estimate) in total. I have used sealant for a several years but not all the time. In this time, I've had three slow punctures needing tyre replacement but able to get back (two of this were on quite worn tubs that needed replacing anyway) and one blowout needing a taxi home. I've swapped one tubs at the roadside, I use tape too. It was easy to do and took a couple of minutes.
I have used gator skins and competitions, and now mainly use Conti competitions.
I have friends who ride clinchers and they too have similar ish numbers for punctures and blowouts.

[gkski]

I wouldn’t hesitate to try the Sprinter Gatorskins. Just make sure you get the 25s. To me, they ride just as well as the Sprinter 22s that I raced on. I think they get an undeserved bad rap.

[jlok]

I'd try the Agilest tubular in 25mm since you're living in Japan you maybe able to get them now.

Also, would you try a cotton case tire? They're even easier to mount. I have good luck with Corsa Control G2.0. Love them for wet roads. Very sure footed.

Last but not least, gluing may sound troublesome but it can be done quickly and effortlessly. But that's off topic so let me know if you change mind and wanna try gluing.

[LouisN]

Conti Sprinter 25 mm standard version for all condition riding and training. I throw them away after 3000-4000 km+. No point in using Gatorskin, yeah they have poor rolling resistance and don't offer better puncture protection. Regular version is great in all weather conditions, and has great traction even on wet surface.
Keep them at reasonable pressure (below 100 psi) and you won't puncture unless you're 75-80 kg + or if you don't pay attention on the road surface ahead. In this case then any tire won't help you.
For tubular change on the road, doesn't matter glue or tape, just pull on the punctured tub, and install the spare one. With glue, better use pre glued spare.
Have a check at the "gluing tubulars" thread.
Louis

[Timuk]

I have GP5k on one set of wheels and love the ride quality but for me they have been more puncture prone (mixed UK roads) than the tubs I use. Veloflex Raven (few still available at Merlin) have been very resistant as have Corsa Control (ride 28mm on back) and Veloflex Arenburg 25mm on front. Haven't tried latest Veloflex options but I'm guessing would be similar.

[mrlobber]

All these points have been covered here numerous times before.

First, you can change a tub roadside really easy, and you can ride unglued tub home too, just do not corner aggressively anymore. No need to mess with tape on the roadside.

Second, don't ride Gatorskins if you ever care about comfort and rolling resistance (you should ). Veloflex Pro Tour, Vittoria Corsa 2.0, Michelin Power tubs (if talking about 25mm versions) all are pretty robust against punctures and have a latex tube inside, guaranteeing lower rolling resistance vs the Contis.

Also, latest good sealants fix tubular punctures quite well. In last 4 years I've been forced to bin only a single tub which got a 5+ mm sidewall slash. A couple of other punctures / slow leaks (which are way more likely with tubs, at least for me) have been fixed by sealant. Heck, the latest one was that I punctured a Veloflex ProTour 28mm with around 2mm cut, poured some Caffe Latex in, it didn't hold 40 psi at first, but kept it overnight, and then did a road race next day which included 7km gravel just fine @ 75 psi.

[jlok]

Don't forget those mentioned tires with cotton cases are much easier to install than Sprinter Gator Skin... I highly recommend Corsa Control. Not the lightest but the treads are the widest and wet grip is great.