The Practice won't wear like a Tufo, of course, but it rides a heck of a lot better.

The Tufo has about a 5 psi "range" of being comfortable. On either side of that 5 psi range is too little, feels soft, and too much, feels hard as a rock, and gets worse as you raise psi.

I glued on some new Continental Sprinter Gatorskin tires I picked up. Waiting for some decent weather to try them out. I have seen mixed reviews. I hope they are decent? I got a really good deal on the pair. I will find out soon enough. Anyone here ever use them?

We have been suffering with a dearth of good weather. Been out a few times, but temps in the 20s and wind speeds in the teens are kind of discouraging.

My first tubular tires were Gatorskins. In retrospect, they didn't ride nearly as nice as other available options, and at least for me they were "
Gatorskins" in name only. (I'd used the original clincher of that name for several years with good result.)

Never went back. I have Vittoria Rally tires (25mm) on my PX-10, and while I wouldn't call the ride "sublime", they are certainly better than the Gatorskins.

I too had the same experience with Gatorskins. I found the ride a little on the harsh side compared to the Vittoria G+ or the Schwalbe 1's.
I don't usually like Blackwalls but bought a set of Michelin Pro 4's at a bargain price and they have surprized me at how good they are.

Agree completely. If you don't have sealant involved, rubber cement is probably the better glue to use for plugging. But if you're already set up with sealant, the plug and sealant can work with borderline punctures that are just a bit too big for sealant on its own. And your comment about the black butyl rubber bands that come with new tires is a good observation. In fact, cutting a little plug from an old tire (i.e. your comment about "make your own") and making sure it is clean is also a good suggestion!

Yes, Tufo last well, but aren't the best ride. But I agree if you get the pressure right, they are pretty reasonable, and thus the good wear and reasonable price make it a good "training tire". But I will agree that getting the pressure figured out is important or one may be disappointed.

And, regarding plugging them, as Ghrumpy points out, the Tufo tires have no "inner tube". It is a single wall, so you can't patch, and thus need to use sealant and maybe plugs to deal with small punctures.

Precisely! And with a Tufo tire, you are done when you have a puncture like that!!!

@Wileyone ,
Got the bike out today for a shakedown ride. I agree the Gatorskins are not as nice of a ride as my Vittoria Corsa CX tires but at less than half the price I really did not expect them to be. The Gatorskins rolled smooth and fast and really felt like they gripped well. I am just glad they did not feel sluggish and heavy. I had Gatorskin clinchers before and they really felt heavy and slow. I am happy with them for what they are. I only paid $50 for the set, new.

Well at $50 a set you can't go wrong. Where did you find them so cheap?

I paid $5 for one at the Madison Swap, got its mate on eBay for $44. :)

Like dating sisters.

I bet that would cost more than $50? :innocent:

The second one always does.

Just tried out the Vittoria Corsa tubs I picked up this weekend.
All I can say is WOW!!
As the LBS owner told me, they ride really really nice and fast! It feels like day and night compared to the Continental Giros I bought a couple of months ago and definitely faster than the Schwalbe Milanos (Now out of production) I have on three of my bikes. I cannot believe how minimal the rolling resistance is on these Vittorias. My Bottecchia never went so fast just freewheeling on the slightest downhill grades. The LBS owner said that it might have something to do with the "Graphene" compound on the tire. The tire is also well constructed, with laser straight treads and very clean tan (Yay!!) sidewalls. It says in big letters on the base tape "Hand Made" I thought most of tubs are hand made, but I guess they just put their best technicians on these tires to assure the highest quality.....
My most expensive tires so far at 100 bucks each with a big discount from the LBS, and they are worth it.
I guess I finally found my new favorite tubular tire..... I just hope I can keep affording them in the future.

@Chombi1, Which variety of Corsa? I'm interested in trying out their Corsa G+ model. I've tried lots of versions of Vittora tires, and agree they put out some good rubber. I do find they tend to wear out quicker than other tubulars and are more prone to nicks (so watch out for glass and road debris, goes without saying I guess), but they certainly do have an excellent road feel. Supple and good traction around corners.

p.s., when did Chombi become Chombi1?

My latest tubular purchase, a pair of 32mm Dugast Pipisquallos. Used, but still too good of a deal to pass up, especially since I just wore one of a pair of these same tires. Now I have a set again, plus a spare.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dugast-Pipi...72.m2749.l2648

The paper labels do say "G+" and "Graphene"I don't remember if it was on the sidewall though...
The shop owner and a customer noted to me that the Graphene seems to extend tire life and that they get a lot more mileage than other tires with the similar grip.
I lost my original "Chombi" account when I changed jobs. Made the mistake of using my former work address as my subscription address, so I could not renew when my subscription expired on me.

I bought 2 sets of the "Graphines" last Year when one of the UK Sites had them on sale for $62 Cad. each. They are the nicest Tyres I have ever used. Just be ready to deploy your Air pump before every ride.

Vittoria's website blows. They don't give any information on TPI or what type of tube. I like the Corsa Elite with butyl tubes but it's discontinued. The Corsa Control looks similar but I don't know. It doesn't even come in a 23. Don't tell me 23's are dying out.

I think the Corsa Control is the replacement for the Pave.

It doesn't come in a 23c so that kills that tire for me. I looked at the regular Corsa at an online store and it has a latex tube so I don't want that one, either. The Rubino is too low end. Vittoria doesn't make a tire for me anymore.

I don't run anything under 25's anymore. Don't see any advantages to 23's. I think you will find most MFG.s think 23's and under are going the way of the Dodo.

I jumped on the bigger tire bandwagon for a few years and now I'm back to 23's. It's just the right size for me, especially in a tubular.

I was seriously debating on selling my wheels and going back to clinchers full time but I decided to stick it out. The Veloflex Roubaix tire is very attractive to me for it's looks and it's reputation(durability and feel). Has anyone had these for any amount of time? How do you like them? My roads here are not in great condition and they seem to be laying more chip-seal every year so I am not looking for a full on racing tire. I would be open to other suggestions but not for conti tires as I have had a bad past with conti and sidewall issues.

I've been watching the available offerings for replacements - but hoping they bring back the Pave before I need to choose.

Vittoria Corsa Control Latex 28
DuGast Paris-Roubaix Butyl 27
Veloflex Vlaanderen Latex 27
FMB Paris-Roubaix Latex 27

The Vittoria Corsas I got are 23s and have tan sodewalls to boot. My LBS did have to look around a bit to find them..They did suggest going with 25s instead, but I wanted to make sure that I can use the wheelset it is on on my Montello with the very minimal clearance under its front Delta caliper.....

With the Tyers mounted the 25's measure to 24.7 on my Calipers.

Has anyone tried the Vredestein Fortezza Senso Extreme 25 mm tubulars?

I looked at those but they're only 120 tpi. I bought the Frecca Pro's and I love them. They're discontinued now but looking at it again I think the Frecca T is the same tire.

I put in too many miles, I would go through those super soft tires too fast. The difference in rolling resistance wouldn't make me measurably faster.

Bit of a late reply...I’ve had Veloflex Roubaix tubs on one of my bikes for about three or four years now. That bike doesn’t see super high mileage, but gets out plenty during the summers. I love the tires. Great feel and grip, no flats in that time. I have a set of their Vlaanderen tubs waiting to be glued to a set of 330s, excited to give those a try as well.

I ruined another tire last week (my spare - tufo high carbon) When I got home I found a 1" cut from the center tread to almost the bead. The tire didn't flat but it is no longer usable. I didn't want to wait for some veloflex so my LBS sold me a set of conti sprinters(I know I didn't want a 'racing' tire) at their recommendation for $80 each CDN$ I have them glued and mounted and so far I love the feel. We will see about the durability.