I mounted them on rims to stretch yesterday and pumped them up to 3.5 bar (~ 50 psi). When I checked on them this morning, my thumb test suggested they'd not lost much air. I thus conclude that the ProTours have butyl tubes instead of the latex tubes in the dear, departed Vlaanderen. *sniff*

I just bought 4 of the Speeds. 209 gms! At my heyday in a long departed millenium I raced 220 gm silks.

I haven't made the switch yet but I am stockpiling to go tubular on my three "good" bikes. (Peace of mind on 50 mph descents plus the custom fix gear of my BF photo is a pure late '80s road race bike, just fix gear and is crying for wheels better than training clinchers.) I want one wheelset to be as close to my old racing as is feasible.

ProTour
https://www.veloflex.it/en/tubular-t...r-gum-sidewall
https://www.veloflex.it/en/tubular-t...black-sidewall

Tubular with a very soft 320 TPI (Threads Per Inch) Corespun casing and an innovative compound that provides very low rolling resistance and great roadholding. It is equipped with an anti-puncture protection belt and an exclusive latex air chamber, for improved elasticity in every condition.

Technical details
TPI (Threads Per Inch) 320 Threads Per Inch (120/cm)
Protection Belt Calicot puncture resistant layer
Casing Compressed Pes/Co corespun
Rubber tread Natural rubber and silica exclusive compound
Inner tube Latex low rolling resistance
Valve Presta 42 mm with changeable core

My Speed came in yesterday. That thing is sooooo light and the sidewalls sooooo thin. If I had a pair, I don't think I would use them on any but the smoothest of roads right after the street sweeper when over them and back over them. But it is a nice spare:thumb:

Finally got these out on the road today. I'm pretty impressed with them, you?

hazetguy Thanks. I stand corrected. Still scratching my head about the low air loss though.

Must be the "an exclusive latex air chamber" which excludes air loss. :p

I love them, they're perfect. I'm going to buy a few more of them.

Same here, just pulled the trigger on some more. :thumb:

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bf78844a9a.jpg

Those DO look nice - I especially like that file tread on the Cobble model. I could maybe even turn a blind eye toward the butyl tubes.

Mine arrived too- fast! I think I'll mount them on the 60mm wheels & just use for fun, fast, but not too far rides.

Light, but still not as light as the Tufo Elite Jet (seen here with valve extension & glue).


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...73b1d384f8.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4f739524b1.jpg

Quick question for those of you who carry a folded spare tubular on your rides and use valve extenders.

Do you carry a valve extender along with your spare? Or do you unscrew the extender from the flat tire when doing a repair on the road? My first flat last year was a bit challenging as I couldn't unscrew the extender from my flatted tubular. I got lucky as I found a wrench in a nearby construction storage unit. Just curious what others do.

I have an extension already fitted. There's enough to deal with road-side with a group drumming their fingers or dark/cold. One of those little plastic valve tools is also good to have.

woodcraft Thanks! I currently don't have a spare extender so will add it to my next online purchase. I ride solo so don't have to worry about pissing off a group :)

This is a good source, including hard-to-find short ones:

https://worldclasscycles.com/product...lve-extenders/

masi61 - were you able to use these tires? I am curious about their performance.

I was thinking about ordering some for two '80s Trek frames I have. They originally came with 27" wheels, so clearance shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for asking. I did get one to mount on the rear Major Tom on my Masi Gran Criterium. The front is a no-go since I replaced the fork with a Kestrel carbon 1" threaded steerer fork with clearance perhaps limited to no more than ~ 27 mm. Those big 30 mm Schwalbe's are about 370 grams each which is actually not a bad weight for such as big air volume tire. I have not ridden it yet but hope to soon. I can post a mini- review once I do.

I've put about 1700 miles on one and 900 on another. I am not wowed by them and both are now in spare mode and the higher mileage one is marginal at that. I did not have good flat luck with them, even considered one a cursed tire but I think it was just bad luck. I found them easy to mount and easy to open up and patch. I'm pretty sure the tubes aren't latex, which surprised me. Are they Schwalbe's fancy new stuff? I haven't found a whole lot of 30mm road tire options so, despite all that, at that price, I ordered 3 more even though I much prefer 28mm Veloflex for road feel and durability. I have no idea about speed.

A neighbor is trying tubies, with his new to him cervelo. One local shop tried hard to talk him out of them. Another shop was positive, but noted they don't see tubular tape as it does not hole as well as gluing for extreme situations, something about owner being certivied Cat 1 mechanic and needing to follow UCI rules..... Neighbor is excited anyway

Despite not being wowed by them - I’m curious what running such a fat tubie does for the ride quality. Can you tell me which rims you mounted them on and which tire pressures you have settled on? Also can you comment on which frameset you are able to run these on and if there are any frame clearance or brake caliper issues? Thanks.

I think maybe one reason I wasn't wowed by them is that it didn't seem like going from 28 to 30 improved ride quality/comfort. If I remember correctly, I probably started with pressures of 72 rear, 60 front - what I ride my Veloflex at - and then gradually dropped from there to see how low I could go. I want to say that I went maybe as low as 55/45 and decided that was too low. When I next mount them, I would probably start at 65/55?

Most of the miles were on Mavic Reflex rims on my Lippy touring ("sport touring"?) bike, then some on a Trek 720, and lastly a few miles on Velocity Major Tom on my Atlantis. No clearance issues at all on these bikes (Trek and Atlantis with fenders). I also have a Bruce Gordon and a Bianchi and suspect there might be clearance issues on those but I have no real motivation to try. Most of the miles were recreational with a handlebar bag and some stuff or commuting with a bit more stuff. To satisfy my own curiosity before buying more, my most recent miles were on the rear of my Atlantis heavily loaded as for an extended, fully self-supported tour with some pavement, gravel, dirt and sand miles - just to see. I probably pumped it to 80 psi and was impressed enough with how the badly worn tire managed that I made my purchase of 3 more. I decided to convince myself that my previous puncture issues were merely bad luck. If I decide to use them for touring, I'd probably start at 80/75? This reminds me, I mentioned I don't think they are latex tubes - two reasons: first, they seem to hold air better; and secondly, when I opened them up to patch the tubes, the tubes just didn't have the stretch that my other latex tubes have had. I think I was unable to find anything on the internet that said what kind of tubes are in the tires. I also have some Schwalbe Racing Ralph tubulars and, again, think they do not have latex tubes. I have wondered if this may have something to do with no being wowed by the ride?

FWIW I just ordered a set of Ambrosio Nemesis. they are still in production. ~$200 with shipping etc https://ciclicorsa.com/shop/ambrosio...s-tubular-rim/

thanks for sharing your thoughts on tire pressures.
I have not ridden my Major Tom/Chris King wheelset yet. I guess touring with them is something I had not thought about.
Also, I would imagine your point of reference of a really great tubular tire is most definitely referenced to the Veloflex latex tubed ones you have used where the Veloflex ones I would imagine are some of the best.

I finally had time to glue and mount these on my Lotus Super Pro Aero. Thanks so much for the tip smontanaro .
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e0443eeb17.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3bd26e01f8.jpg
Weather and Christmas travel will keep me from test riding until after December 26th. Can't wait!

Good day, I picked up a vintage bike with tubular wheels and I am wondering if anyone knows where to buy tires in Canada at a reasonable price? Also since this will be my first experience with tubulars any advice on what to look for in terms of quality and size for a middle aged, out of shape and overweight rider?

No help on Canadian shopping, but first step is to make sure the wheels are appropriate for YOU, and second step is to determine how much tire room your bike has, because you probably want as wide a tire as you can get.

And we need photos. :)

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...073d74ed1c.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6baa2ed0be.jpg
Thanks for your reply. I posted this in the Let's see your CCM thread and T-Mar mentioned that the hubs are Shimano with Fiamme rims and according to the info above they are 27" x 1". Most of the riding that I will do on this bike will be on the extensive network of paved trails near my home.

If this is your first foray into tubular tires, I'd go with something inexpensive. They get a lot of hate, but I find the current crop of Vittoria Rally tires (the ones with removable valve cores) to be quite rideable. In fact, I just returned from a ride on my Univega which is shod with them in 25mm width. If you decide tubulars aren't for you, you won't have spent a bunch of money. If you do like them, the Rally(ies) will be good spare tire candidates if you move up to pricier options (higher zoot Vittorias, or Veloflex, Challenge, FMB, etc).

It's weird how they used to label 600c tubulars as 27x1. That confuses a lot of people today. That Silver Ghost has the coolest name for a bike ever.

Derived from the Rolls-Royce "Silver Ghost," no doubt:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._Centenary.jpg