are they safer? I think you'll only get observational or personal experience opinions on that. I would argue no, they are not safer, only because I've seen more tubulars roll off wheels, regardless of causation, and cause a crash than I've seen clinchers explode and roll off a wheel.
the pros and cons of tubulars vs. clinchers can be argued forever, but to me, the pros of tubulars have much more to do with the wheel than the tire because it can be so much lighter. for instance, I have 303 tub and 303 clinchers. the weight difference is nearly a pound when fully dressed with tires and cassette. that being said, in my opinion, the braking surface on an al rim is far superior to that of a carbon rim in consistency and predictability for hard braking and modulation.
the pain in the ass factor of a tubular is huge vs. a clincher. my personal quiver is clinchers for training and I have 2 sets of tubulars for racing, which one I use depends on the nature of the race.
oh yeah, and sometimes, I just race in my clinchers because I don't feel like changing brake pads or whatever.
Last edited by MDcatV; 04-24-14 at 09:15 AM.
Reason: add an oh yeah