pastorbobnlnh 

hazetguy those wheels are stunning! Objects of Velo beauty!

hazetguy 

Thanks! I took a chance on a buy now/best offer ebay listing I had been watching for a while. The seller accepted my offer, and then I played the "will they be packed well? will they get damaged in transit?" mental waiting game until they arrived. I am more than pleased with them, because they are very true/spin nicely, and all I did was give them a light wipe-down to remove dust and light grease, and they shined up nicely. Need to repack the bearings, but that's a project for later this weekend.
Here's an "as arrived" pic:

Lazyass

FYI, I got a pinch flat on one of my tubulars when I hit some RR tracks at the wrong angle so I repaired it. I already had some Loctite fabric glue I had bought at Walmart and decided to try it and it works perfect to glue the basetaape back on. I've put a few hundred miles on it since the repair and it's fine.

smontanaro 

The final test will be to see if the base tape stays attached to the casing or the rim next time you remove the tire.

Lazyass

Well from inspecting it after it dried I think there is zero chance it will come unattached. And probably the next time I remove it will be to throw it away.

smontanaro 

I don't know if this will help anyone, but I threw together some pix of how I glue tubulars. I have no tripod and my only potential assistant was busy with other stuff (and probably wouldn't have been patient enough to hang around for the whole shebang), so with the exception of one very short video clips, it's just an album of images.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmVJYeUq

SJX426 

@Lazyass - I would do it that way but I like glue to stay on the base tape and not get on the tread.

Flatforkcrown

So, after years of wanting to try tubulars I finally gave them a shot. I recently got a 1973 motobecane le champion that had some 80s suntour hubs with aero section matrix rims, but was otherwise all original. Since it was just asking for tubulars, I sourced a set of high flange campy hubs laced to fiamme rims, and glued some 30mm corsa g+ to them. The ride is amazing.

obrentharris 

Welcome to the club!
Brent

semroc

Ya those corsa go's are real nice. I have some new Scwhalbe pro ones on now. Great tire. Real lively.

WGB 

Not sure if you've seen these, or can even ride them - I can't ride them as I need a wider tire


​​​​https://www.excelsports.com/vittoria...i-tubular-tire

​​​​​​

VITTORIA CORSA CX III TUBULAR TIRE

Price $28.00
Reg Price $109.99700x21.5mm


They also have

CONTINENTAL SPRINTER TUBULAR ROAD TIRE


Price $49.00
Reg Price $79.95
700 x 25

jimmuller 

I've been preferring tubulars ever since I started riding them four or five years ago. Today's ride, first in a while, was on this PF10. Originally a PFN10, so I was told, the N indicating it had clincher tires. I reverted it to tubulars, hence it is now a PF10. Love it, love the tires. My go-to tire is Veloflex Criterium, 23mm.

Flatforkcrown

Pic of 30mm corsa g+. I don’t know if they actually measure 30mm, but they look huge.

johnnyace 

Vittoria Rally on my newly acquired Gitane TdF. Been a looong time since I rode tubulars, I'm in love all over again.

smontanaro 

There are plenty of people who will tell you Rallys aren't even good tubulars. You have even more to look forward to I guess.

johnnyace 

That may well be, but they're the best tubulars I own! I think the tendency for sellers is to put whatever new tire they can find that's the cheapest when selling a bike. Hey, at least they're not Cheng Shins or Kendas! (Joking of course... do they even make tubulars?)

Anyway, they may not be great, but they sure do ride better than any clinchers I own.

smontanaro 

johnnyace Kenda does (or did) make tubulars. They are on my sh*t list though (not for their tubulars), so I won't even bother to check for current production.

johnnyace 

The seller actually offered me a clincher wheelset instead, but I opted for the Mavic/Campy/Vittoria wheels he had on there. Test ride confirmed it. I don't even remember what the clincher wheelset was, but it was definitely the lesser of the two options.

johnnyace 

So I've been riding these Vittoria Rallys on the TdF for a couple of weeks now, and although they may be at the low end of tubulars, they are nicer than any comparably sized clinchers I've ridden.

Which got me to wondering: without reading all 81 pages of this thread, what do folks consider to be the top five best tubulars in the 23-28mm range? I'll want to pick up a pair to have for spares.

semroc

Just got a set of Schwalbes, they are real nice, Challenge, Vittoria, FMB are nice but I get flats on em before I get a 100 miles in. Lots of good ones out there. Tubulars Rule!

Lazyass

When I think of top five I think of top five value because I'm not paying $100+ for one tire. You can get Challenge Elite's for $40 on ebay and they're great. I would have bought them instead of the Rally's.

I'm having an aluminum tubular disc wheelset built for my modern bike and I'm going to buy Panaracer Race C Evo3's for $70/pair.

Panaracer Race C Evo3 Tubular Tire SET: 700c (28") x 26mm - Bulk Discounts (NEW, PAIR) - Bike Recyclery

smontanaro 

The best tubulars I've been able to lay my hands on (as far as ride quality are concerned) were Challenge Parigi-Roubaix, Veloflex Vlaanderen and FMB, all in the 27-28mm range. With a bit of patience and Internet sleuthing I've managed to find them all in the $50-$70 per tire price range. The Challenge had problems at one point with tread adhesion to the casing. That was several years ago, so hopefully they've gotten past that. The modern Vittoria Rally in 25mm is a perfectly good tubular, but not in the same league.

johnnyace 

Thanks, but I didn't buy the Rallys myself, they came with the TdF. I will check out those Elites.

CV-6 

In order of preference based on personal use:

FMB
Veloflex or Specialized Turbo Hell of the North
Vittoria

I have ridden Challenge with mixed results. One set was very fragile while another set has proven robust. I do not recommend them based on that. The only Specialized tubulars I have ridden are the Hell of the North model, hence the specific listing. Watch eBay, here, and the Paceline forum for people selling off. I have gotten a good many new and barely used tires going that route.

Sedgemop 

Looking forward to trying the FMB's at some point. Can't justify the price just yet,

Inherited a set of older Challenges with a wheelset and they were pretty fragile. Bought a new set of Challenges and they seem to be a bit more sturdy, so they'll do for now. Committed to tubulars. I like 'em.