I’m just getting into tubulars on race day and I’m curious who’s had the best luck with Conti’s and with which model. Of course I’m looking for the best balance of flat prevention, weight. Ride quality not really a factor for me…
Thanks.
Best Continental Tubular
An oxymoron? Why Conti?
I’m just getting into tubulars on race day and I’m curious who’s had the best luck with Conti’s and with which model. Of course I’m looking for the best balance of flat prevention, weight. Ride quality not really a factor for me…
Thanks.
Just curious…but, with rolling resistance of the tires being the second largest impediment to forward travel (after aerodynamic drag), why are the 2 qualities you list above your main concerns?
I’m just getting into tubulars on race day and I’m curious who’s had the best luck with Conti’s and with which model. Of course I’m looking for the best balance of flat prevention, weight. Ride quality not really a factor for me…
Thanks.
The better the ride quality, the faster the tire
I’ve had good luck with Conti clinchers so naturally I would look at them when going to tubular. I will however consider any tire out there…I know this is a highly debated topic, that’s why I was trying to get a best pick of the Continentals.
I run the Conti sprinters on all my tubulars. Great tire, great pricing. Have had a few issues with the Gatorskins so I go solely with the Black Chili. The Conti GP tubulars are the bomb but they are pricey. I’ve also run Vittoria and Tufo. Prefer the Contis.
I have a podium on my tri-spoke front wheel and a Conti-sprinter on my Renn disc.
I like them.
Both are aluminum braking tracks and the renn disc is a bit wider. The podium works well on the Tri-spoke and I would replace it with the same thing in the future.
I had a podium on the disc and it was fine but when I cornered it just didn’t seem quite right. This could be any number of things including how it was glued on and whatever pressure it was at, I always inflated it to 10 bars but you never know what the pressure is by the end of a race after it has heated up. It felt like I didn’t have enough tyre on the rear and so when I replaced the podium after it flatted (I ran over a staple, this would flat any tyre) I put a slightly larger tyre on there. That’s the sprinter. Another bonus is that it’s quite a bit cheaper! I very much like how this rear tyre rides and corners and I am very confident in it. It is glued a bit differently than the podium was so this could be part of the change.
My recommendation thus is: choose something of appropriate size and try it. If you like it or hate it then you’ll know for next time what you prefer. If you’re confident in your equipment you can ride it harder.
I have a podium on my tri-spoke front wheel and a Conti-sprinter on my Renn disc.
I like them.
Both are aluminum braking tracks and the renn disc is a bit wider. The podium works well on the Tri-spoke and I would replace it with the same thing in the future.
I had a podium on the disc and it was fine but when I cornered it just didn’t seem quite right. This could be any number of things including how it was glued on and whatever pressure it was at, I always inflated it to 10 bars but you never know what the pressure is by the end of a race after it has heated up. It felt like I didn’t have enough tyre on the rear and so when I replaced the podium after it flatted (I ran over a staple, this would flat any tyre) I put a slightly larger tyre on there. That’s the sprinter. Another bonus is that it’s quite a bit cheaper! I very much like how this rear tyre rides and corners and I am very confident in it. It is glued a bit differently than the podium was so this could be part of the change.
My recommendation thus is: choose something of appropriate size and try it. If you like it or hate it then you’ll know for next time what you prefer. If you’re confident in your equipment you can ride it harder.
How much do you weigh? If it’s anything less than 250-300 lbs…
195lbs plus a 20 lbs worth of bike.
I presume that you think I should ride with less pressure. I find this to be comfortable and it feels fast.
195lbs plus a 20 lbs worth of bike.
I presume that you think I should ride with less pressure. I find this to be comfortable and it feels fast.
Yeah…well…see in this plot below of pressure vs. “on road” rolling resistance based on a test I did a few years back (from http://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/What_s_in_a_tube__1034.html ), if I had to choose what “felt fast”, it would be the 9 and 10 bar points…but, the problem is that human perception can be easily fooled…
So you insult my intelligence based on a test based on a different tyre.
I’d guess that vittoria open corse KS are probably recommended to be run at 115 psi.
10 bars is what Continental recommends.
So you insult my intelligence based on a test based on a different tyre.
I’d guess that vittoria open corse KS are probably recommended to be run at 115 psi.
10 bars is what Continental recommends.
Sigh…I didn’t post that to tell you what exact pressure to run, it was to point out that just because something “feels” fast, it doesn’t mean that it is. AND, here’s an appropriate case (i.e. pressure vs. Crr) where increasing pressure may have felt faster, but it demonstrably wasn’t. Maybe you should also read the article in that link as well.
Besides, tire construction really doesn’t vary a ton across manufacturers. They all have a casing that’s sewn around a tube and a tread. The physics of the “system” are the same.
Your guess is as good as mine why Conti recommends such an excessively high pressure for that tire…
Don’t bite the data that feeds you. Tom isn’t just some random dude. He knows his stuff. Manufacturer recommendations are often based around safety rather than performance. You will notice companies like michelin and others have pressure recomendations that depend on rider weight. You will also find they tend to agree with toms field tests.
I don’t care ! I am riding the trainer tonight on tufo s33 at 180psi. Screw the science! (-:
thom
I don’t care ! I am riding the trainer tonight on tufo s33 at 180psi. Screw the science! (-:
thom
Now THAT is the perfect application for that tire…and the perfect pressure for the application. Have at it! 