Others will disagree. I had 2 flats pretty close together. I found the tufo sealer didn't work that well. They were a bugger to change--much longer than changing a tube. By report, they have very high rolling resistance. I have a friend, who posts here, who loves 'em, though.

I now have Michelin Pro2Race on my road bike and Krylion on my Tri triaining wheels and I'm very happy. To prevent bad luck, I won't say what ahs never happened to me so far with thousands of mile on the PRo2 in the last year, or over 1000 on the Krylion in the last month or so.

---

_________________
Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.

I liked them. The one thing I thought needed to be improved on them was the sidewall protection. I had a rock slice through the side of the tire and no amount of sealant would have closed that gash. :)
I didn't think they were slower than any other clincher I have ridden and I really liked being able to pump those suckers up to 130 PSI. They are great on race wheels since you can buy 700x20
I have gone away from them lately, however, I am thinking of going back to them next year.

I had them for a bit, it could have been an older version but I remember having a hard time to mount them to the rim. I remember that there was a separate lip that needed to be set just right for the tire to stay.

---

---------------------------
"This wheel definitely beat the 808 in this test, no question, and I do commend Hed on producing a really fast wheel...the wheel is fast, I am not disputing that." - joshatzipp on the Stinger 9
My Website
HEDmafia.com

Once you get the hang of it, you can really whip it on pretty quick. The secret is to really stretch the tire out first. I would put mine on my driveway in the middle of the day to get warm and then put it on the rim. Once it was on it stretched out nicely and you could take them on and off with ease.

Never thought about that, good tip

---

---------------------------
"This wheel definitely beat the 808 in this test, no question, and I do commend Hed on producing a really fast wheel...the wheel is fast, I am not disputing that." - joshatzipp on the Stinger 9
My Website
HEDmafia.com

SO the consensus:

some like em and some not soo much?
I ride 650c and am limited to the tires avialable anyway, but these are offered, maybe thats enough to sway a trial

I was thinking the Vittoria Pit Stop would be a nice addition to your kit for these tires.
The other part I really liked about these tires is even if they do flat, you can actually still ride on them safely and there is no way the tire was coming off the rim so I felt a lot more confident going down big hills. Or maybe I am getting wussier in my old age. ;)

I like TUFO tires and have ridden the S3 Lite tubular and the Jet tubular. I am not a fan of the so-called "clincher tubular". To me, these combine the worst aspects of clinchers and the worst aspects of tubulars in one package. They are devilishly difficult to mount, even tougher to change out on the road (you are reliant on either a pressurized sealant like Vittoria Pitstop or replacing the entire tire- a tall order given how tough they are to mount). The tires are heavy, ride very stiff, corner poorly and have sketchy traction.

TUFO makes a good tubular tire but the tubular clincher idea is a solution for a problem that didn't exist.

In my opinion it is worthwhile acquiring the few easy skills needed to mount and use tubular tires for race day use (it really is very straightforward) and then just train on clinchers.

-Sorry to be a detractor, just being honest.

---

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Tom, I respect your opinion, however, I believe you are misinformed on this issue. As someone who has used them for over 2 years I can tell you they are just as easy to mount/unmount as a regular clincher once they have been stretched out using the method I described in my earlier post. Plus there is no need for a bunch of tools to do so so that eliminates the need for bringing a bunch of extra stuff on your training/racing days. For the folks who can't afford 2 sets of rims, this is a great way of getting the PSI of a tubular on your regular training rims.
Some day I will come down to BikeSport and we will have a showdown, you replacing a clincher tire/tube and me replacing a Tufo. :)
Just another perspective to think about.

What makes you think that higher PSI is necessarily "better"?

---

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

I have to agree with Mr. Demerly on this point.

"Tufo clinchulars...for when the worst of both worlds isn't bad enough for you" ;-)




I'm afraid I have to disagree with Mr. Demerly on this point, however. If you haven't already invested in tubular race wheels, there's no reason to learn the rituals of mounting tubular tires to rims and really no compelling reasons to NOT race on clinchers as well. Just use GOOD clinchers and tubes for your racing, and you'll have wheels that outperform all but the most expensive/rare tubulars glued on with the hardest, most secure glue.




Me too ;-)

---

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Fair enough, I like the way higher PSI feels most days.

...in what way?

---

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

You want me to explain my "feelings" to you? Sorry, we are neither dating nor are you my psychiatrist. ;)

I've been using them for over 2 years on my training wheels. I love 'em. Once they are stretched and you've learned how to put them on, its a breeze, even out on the road without tools. I have had plenty of flats with them ( I live in the desert and the thorns are not picky about which tires they flat). With the sealant inside, if you flat, you just reinflate the tire and you are good to go. No need to pull it off the rim.....change tubes and all that.

I pump them up to 140psi about once per week or so. They hold air really well due to the sealant. I'll agree with another poster above, they have weak sidewalls. I ruined a pair or two by hitting a rock and breaking the sidewall wide open. They are a stiff tire when pumped to 140, so the ride is harsh but I have them on 2 Zipp 2001's and a Titanflex, so my ride is still compfy even at the higher pressure.

All in all.............a good training tire that doesn't flat all that often and when it does, its easy to fix with just an inflation of the same tire.

BTW - I race on Zipp tubulars (150psi) and train on Tufo tubular/clinchers (140psi)

---

.
.
Paul

Ummm...OK. But guess what? I prefer to go with what actually IS fast/better rather than what "feels" fast/better...and unless you're racing on a perfectly smooth track surface or racing on rollers, higher pressures (higher than what a typical clincher can attain anyway) is demonstrably NOT fast/better.

That was pretty funny though...even if it does demonstrate your lack of "backup" for you opinion ;-)

---

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

You are correct, I don't have any numbers or experiments or whatever to back up what I feel/see aside from my personal numbers when I train (and I have trained with both). But since I am an example of 1, I won't post it here. :)
It really is too bad that folks don't try new things though simply because someone posts on the net that their numbers say not to. Not saying that one experiment is better than any others but you can't always believe what you read.