Originally Posted by
Baby Puke
And my take on Stehers:
I'm relatively new to them, but I've been through four in the past two years. Two of them developed spontaneous slow leaks that were not at the valve almost instantly. Another lasted longer before slow-leaking out. The final one has been on my rear training wheel for a while now, and is almost worn out. That's one out of four if you're counting. The feel is pretty good on an outdoor track, but they are more slippery that the $30 whatever brand clinchers on my training bike wheel set on wood. I stopped bringing that wheel to LA cuz I can't ride warm-ups with anyone else on it-- I start to slide at 'normal' slow speeds. And yes, I wipe with alcohol before riding on wood.
Did I mention they are a supreme ***** to get mounted? Verdict: Never again. Will try Vittoria road tires for my next track training set.
I will comment on the Stehers- since i have a ton of experience with them. I suspect i have gone through at minimum 12pairs of these tires over the last 5 years.
The Steher has gone through 3 big changes in the time i have been using them.
1) the original was basically identical to the old Sprinter. This was a legendary tire with a cult like following. almost all of the high praise you read about stehers was based on this version of the tire. it had black tread, with tan sidewalls and tan base tape. these wore amazingly, and had great feel and were fast for a training tire. this was a big favorite for ADT both for training and omnium type racing. Great SoCal tire for those of use training at both ADT and Encino.
2)second life was an all black tire. tread/sidewalls/base tape. i think it performed similar to the original. from what i hear it got a puncture proof layer that may have slowed it down. i noticed a sharp decrease in life span. i think i burned through 4 pair a couple years ago…
3) the most recent version is black tread, black sidewall with a tan base tape. as far as i can tell these are totally average, and riddled with issues. I had 3 of them spring leaks right away- likely under the base tape. one of them flatted while on the stretching rim, and i assumed it was a loose valve core and went ahead and mounted it… big pain when your new tire slowly leaks on the first day. id say the legendary performance is gone..
the Steher is a ***** to mount- always has been. a good long stretch helps and once you have done a few they get easier, or at least you know what to expect…
as for your experiences with them slipping at ADT- i suspect this is due to some odd wearing. In my experience these tires are about as good as it gets in terms of grip at ADT. The combination of the rubber and the slightly larger tire (more rubber contact when going slow) has yielded a tire that I've ridden through the turns at 15mph..
I have heard that rubbing alcohol can actually harden the top layer of rubber.. that could be an issue? I think that tires ridden extensively on cement get a lot of stuff embedded and its hard to get clean with just Acetone.. may actually need to be cleaned, then sanded then cleaned again.that would only be once during the transition from cement to ADT. there is no need to wipe tires down with solvent between efforts while there. the hardening can be worse if the tire is ridden sporadically- like if you only get them on the track 3-4 times a month in season, and then they sit unused for the off season… just some thoughts..
I have bought/mounted my last Steher… i am going to try the Vittoria Pista, that i assume will be an average performer. but I have started using one set of wheels only for encino- and long life is important there.. my ADT training/omnium wheels have always had Sonderklasse on them, but I'm a little soured on Conti now- thinking i will try the Vittoria EVO CHRONO- I'm hearing good things..
link to a FGF thread about the Continental quality control issues:
http://www.fixedgearfever.com/module...wtopic&t=10593