Originally Posted by carpediemracing

I stock up on 23mm Vittorias when they go on sale "over there". I also bought Bontrager tubulars (24mm?), whatever their handmade one is called, but that was mainly to support the LBS that sponsors the team.

I've bought contis (sprinter and something else, I think the Grand Prix) but the handmade ones are all impossible to mount straight. There's something to be said for half-man-made tires, they have straight casings. I dismounted perfectly good Contis because of that. On the road it's hard to tell, but you get on rollers and the bike is thudding like you're riding on cobbled rollers. On Vittorias/Bontragers no noise/etc. Same wheels, same gluer (me).

I am under the impression that Michelin makes tires in that same Thailand factory as Vittoria/Spec/Bonttrager/everyone-else-in-the-world but that they have their own rubber; I think they brought their machines over to the factory, and no one else can use them. The other tires are all a la carte for the rubber. I'd be curious to try out their tubulars but honestly I cut the clinchers pretty quickly (Pro3?) and I have so many new/extra tires (10?15?) that I really need to use them up first.

I haven't tried 25+ mm tires but due to clearance they're probably not possible or more susceptible to problems.