I was just looking through the trisports catalogue and saw that tufo is now making a clincher-tubular tire. I guess it mounts on a clincher but has all the characteristics of a tubular tire.
See www.tufo.com and click tips for info.
Does anybody have these? How do they perform? They seem like a good idea but I’m just not sold on it.
Short story on these is that they are good.
You can pump em up hard as rocks and they wear like iron. Some are put off by the fact that they can be a bit heavier and a bit more expensive too. I never had any trouble with mine.
Craig
What are you carrying for a spare? If I got these I would put the sealant in them and hopefully not ever flat, but what if? I suppose I could carry one spare tire along with CO2 and be pretty much set?
Just buy three and take one as a spare with CO2’s.
Craig
For a race, I’d pre-fit and pre-ride the spare. It takes several minutes to stretch and seat the tire correctly onto the rim the first time. I also put the sealant in the spare.
My husband got these since a set of rims he had were clinchers - he has never had a complaint with them - he carries one spare with Co2 which he has never needed - but you know the law - the minute you go out with out spare and tools you flat or break something
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I have the Tufo S22 tubular clinchers. They were cheap (21.99 ea.) at Glory Cycles http://www.glorycycles.com/tufo.html. At this price I figured I’d be able to test out the tubular clincher concept until next season for the same amount I was about to spend on a set of low budget clinchers at Performance. And if I liked them I’d plunk down more coin for better ones like the the 220 psi Tufo Giro Twix for 49.99 ea. at Glory Cycles. http://www.glorycycles.com/tufgirtwixtu.html.
I ordered them on a Thursday morning (1:00am) and received them in Nor Cal by Saturday morning via USPS. Sweet! Clive de Sousa of Glory Cycles contacted me personally to offer me a credit because I stated here on slowtwitch.com that I didn’t need them. Now that’s service!
I also bought the sealant and valve tool/extenders, just in case of a flat. I’ve been told and read that the sealant works great if you put it in as a preventative, but I’ve chosen to carry the sealant, valve tool and CO2 for flat repair. If you want a clean way to carry a spare Tufo t/c, check out this seat bag at http://www.bicycletires.com/tek9.asp?pg=products&specific=jmmropmqg.
As to installation, I’m no He-Man, but it was easy (and clean). I followed the instructions verbatim at tufo.com. Be sure to remove your old cloth rim strips, you don’t need them and that’s more weight savings.
As to ride, so far they’re better that my old Michelin Hi-Lites. At 120 psi I’d describe the ride as pretty plush, yet fast. I need to go to the max on these tires at 130 psi.