Yup, gonna’ buy me some clincha’ wheels now that they’ve been around a few years. 
Thought I’d put some ultra lite clincher tires on a pair of very lite clincher wheels and use them for training and maybe as a backup race wheel set. (I’ve done worse…)
What are the state of the art reliable light tires?
I have no clue.
-Robert
robert…
Not sure twhat the lightest tires are, but the Continental Grand Prix Supersonic is very light… I use it for racing. Foldable also.
Check them out…
Graz
Not sure if this will be the lightest but: Veloflex Record - 20mm wide, 130 grams 130 - 145 psi 350 tpi Veloflex Corsa - 20mm wide, 160 grams 130 - 145 psi 350 tpi Veloflex Master - 20mm wide, 170 grams 130 - 145 psi 350 tpi Veloflex Pave - 22mm wide, 180 grams 105 - 120 psi 300 tpi Veloflex Black - 22mm wide, 180 grams 105 - 120 psi 300 tpi
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Veloflex Record Open’s are the at the far far end of light and fragile - 130gm. 10gms less than the supersonic @ same width of 20C. I wouldn’t go that far. Maybe some michelin megamium 2’s (245gm) or carbon comps (236gm)
I currently use the older plain carbons (260gm) and they resist cuts very well. I’ve also used some panaracer stradius extremes (210gm) and they grip like crazy, but cut up easily and had a deep puncture in less than 100miles (albeit in below avg road conditions).
Wow, this post bore more fruit than I expected! I’ll have to sort through those choices. I’m also still a bit heavy-180 today. Maybe I should compromise between 200 and 230grams?
Thanks, guys. You have been very helpful.
-Robert
Okay, no way could I let that go. You’re 180 and you’re worrying about a few grams in tire weight? You’ll gain more time through durability verses all the flats you’ll likely be changing with an ultralight, but I’ll play anyway:
Haven’t added up the numbers, but you might want to consider some of the lighter Tufo’s, which don’t require a tube or rim strip. They might be a lighter set-up all things considered, and far more reliable than an ultralight tire and tube combo. They also hold air for than a few hours. Just something to consider.
Yeah, but… but… but… IT’S ROTATING WEIGHT!
And, I might be 175 by race day.
Ahhhhh, you are so right though…If only I could be 140…I’d kick ass on the run at least.
-Robert
I’m right there with ya brother - my plan is to be 180 by the end of this month and hit 175 on the first of October. Tufos have worked really well for me. Very few flats - in fact exactly one in 12+ months. They are kind to us bigger folk.
Training wheels and Conti Supersonics (or any other lightweight tire) are diametrically opposed) The Supersonic is a 300-500 mile tire at best. If you are training at all, that’s less than a months worth of riding. Do you really want to spend $120 a month on tires for traning?
Hopefully, your training wheelset is sturdy and reliable. Go for a nice dependable training tire don’t look back.
Ugh, the Voice Of Reason.
-Robert
And why do you care about weight for training anyway?
These would be back up race wheels as well. I have HED3 wheels. I’m thinking about some ultralight clincher wheels that I can train on AND use for backup race wheels. (I do almost all of my training on Van Fleet Trail or my Computrainer, so flats aren’t as big an issue.)
-Robert
If I recall, the lightest Tufo tubular-clincher weighs less than all of those, if you add the weight of rim tape and the tube (neither of which are needed with the Tufo) to the weight of the clincher.
I don’t use the tufo tubular-clincher
I’ll check them out. I use the Tufo tubies on my HED3 wheels. They’ve been good to me.
-Robert
As long as you don’t use vredes or vittorias!
I was going to suggest the Tufo’s as they have a tubular clincher version of their Elite Jet <160 that is around 250 grams for the tire tube and rim strip. They have 440 tpi under the tread and hold 220 psi if you ever get to race on top of a pool table.
They aren’t cheap, but good things seldom are.
SD
superdave:
Thanks! I see those are listed on the Tufo site. I haven’t seen any on Ebay though or otherwise priced within this galaxy. Sheezh, I could buy Corvette tires for less, er, well, ALMOST!
-Robert
Just as you have training wheels you should have training tyres.
I race on Kenda Kaliante lites 160g which I buy cheap on ebay.
The extra weight is extra tread and distance on a training tyre.
I’ve been thinking about that approach as well. I have some old Conti clinchers I could leave on for training then take them off for racing clinchers if I decide to use them as a backup set, say at Lake Placid. I will take two sets of wheels to LP, regardless. Such a pain though…
What I need is a mechanic in attendance. Where is Bunnyman when you need him?
-Robert