trueno92

I recently upgraded my front tire from a crappy Rallye to an older vittoria that my friend had given me. he got it on some old wheelset and wasn't going to run tubulars so he let me have it.

Its a:
VITTORIA Corsa cx Squadre Prof.

I inflated it and it holds are for pretty good. As an added insurance, I filled it with 1/2 a bottle of Stan's No Tubes to prevent any slow leaks.

How old could this tire be? I ride weekly and for some pretty long rides 90km and as fast as 70km/h on some decents... average around 35-40km/h.. should this tire still be safe? it is in pretty much NOS condition.

The Rallye it replaces developed a bulge to the left of the valve. If it makes a difference, the Corsa CX's basetape is still nice and has not peeled off, compared to the rallye, which is only 500km old.


I must admit tho, it rolls much smoother and much faster than the rallye it replaces.

Bianchigirll 

Hello well provided it was stored in stored in a descent manner is should be safe. I have ridden some pretty lousy tubulars in my day. it is obviously holding air and the side walls are not torn or severly scuffed you should be ok. I have heard but never tried liquid latex is good for older tubuars the keep the sidewall supple.

trueno92

thanks for the reply! helpful as always. although i don' think the sidewalls would be affected.

the latex stays in the innertube and shouldn't get out to the tire, enough to make a difference to the sidewalls!

Chombi

Many used to "age" tubular tires to develop some puncture resistance to their treads caused by road debris that may stick on to soft, and sometimes slightly sticky, brand new tire tread rubber. The aging was supposed to harden the tread rubber slightly to lessen this. My racer friends in college used to slip them on old rims and hang them from hooks in their dark/cool basements to "age" before use. not quite sure how long they stored these before they used it, but I suspect they might be at least a season old before they are used for their races. I sould think that anything stored for over a year might become suspect, specially if you do not know if it was exposed to any UV light that might cause it to start drying out/rotting.
My opinion is, if you do not have a good idea on how that tire was stored/taken care of all that time, it might not be safe to use.

Chombi
84 Peugeot PSV

TejanoTrackie 

You have made the tubular gods very angry.

SJX426 

Yes, back in the day, we did store them in a dark cool place for a year.

bbattle

If you had never used tubulars before but had the chance to pick up a very nice of tubular wheels cheaply, would you do it?

Grand Bois

Liquid latex is brushed onto the sidewalls to keep them supple.

SJX426 

YES. I just bought a NOS set of rims to replace the ones that came with the bike. My plan was to create a new set of wheels with 8spd cassette and clinchers for everyday use.

trueno92

I know, I know.
The tire alone is quite hard to find, or source, it appears.
Any idea as to when these were made up until? Approx year?

I figured the sealant would be added insurance!

Road Fan

No, no, liquid latex is a rubber solution that comes in a bottle with a brush. As "Jevelot Tire Life," it is marketed to treat tire sidewalls when they dry out and the latex wants to crack and fall off.

You have one of the best tubulars ever. If it holds air, the sidewall does not look bad, and there is decent rubber, you have a good usable tire. Should be no worries. However, a modern replacement of similar design today will cost around $100 per tire (Veloflex or Challenger), so consider that.

trueno92

Yes! Infact, I bought a pair of first generation (1997) set of mavic cosmic carbones! I had never used tubulars before!

I gone thru a couple different tires and have had to mount/remount due to wanting to true the rear wheel and then having a mystery overnight flat and a couple times in swapping tires, stretchig them, etc.

I learned a lot so far, but most of all, I haven't had to go thru the trouble of gluing! I have only used tubular mounting tape and with my aformentioned rides it has been working out much better than I would have expected.

I have also learned that even the cheapest Rallye tubulars ride really nice due to the higher tpi, compared to equivalent priced clinchers, however making the jump to the $60/tire stuff, improves the ride dramatically. Better rubber formulas, a sharper tire profile and more even/straighter plys have been what I have noticed and makes the wheel and ride far more smoother, faster and incredibly dialed in cornering

Bianchigirll 

bbattle yes you should! you can always resell them. I kind of needed a new set of 9 spd wheels and came across a deal here on the forum like you would not believe and snactched them right up.

alot of it might be in our minds but I will tell you the ride for a girl like me is much nicer and smoother on a good set of box section 32 or 36h box section tubulars than on those hightech deep section aero wheels with real deep rims and 18 or less spokes a wheel.

plus with the spare tire under the seat I look like some kind of princess prima donna *giggle*

palladio

Six months ago I bought a vintage bike with tubular rims and Vittoria Servizio Corsa tires that I'm guessing are 25 years old. I was just blown away by how good those wheels felt! Light and much smoother riding than my clinchers. I put vintage tubulars on another bike and bought new Conti Sprinters for it. Better than my clinchers, but nowhere near as nice riding as the old Vittorias.

I too have worried about the safety of the old tires. The sidewalls are sort of dried out and they are clearly old. Still, I haven't been able to give them up, and I've put over 1,000 miles on them in NYC with no problem. I am going to ride them until they die. Then I think I am going to bite the bullet and spend 200 bucks for a set of Veloflex Servizio Corsa tires, as I understand they are basically the same thing made in the old Vittoria factory in Italy.

I can't explain it, but these tires/wheels are just better than anything else I've ridden. I am hoping that the Veloflex are indeed similar and that they will be available in the future. Mind you, I've never owned really high end carbon clincher wheels or whatever, but switching to these old tubulars was the single best improvement I've made to any of my bikes. The ride quality and light weight made riding so much more enjoyable. I never thought I would spend 100 dollars on a tire, but I am now hooked on the old Vittorias.

Ronsonic 

I did. There was awhile where good modern but not new and high tech sewups were a drug on the market. I picked up a set of 9s Chorus with Seoul 88 rims and Sapim spokes for about $120 - oh, with cassette! Got a set of D/A and Mavic Reflex for $140. Oh, hell, yeah I went sewup. Especially since I do cross occasionally.

Road Fan

Get some Jevelot Tire Life and paint those sidewalls with it. The latex will protect the threads of the sidewall.

Esteban32696

I have a new set of Mavic's if anyone is interested.

big chainring 

I just rejoined the ranks of tubular riders. Won a set of Normandy hub/Nisi rim wheels on the Bay. $40 delivered to my door. I'm using the Yellow Jersey 3 for $50 tires. They are cheap and show it, as they dont mount to straight. But for $15 a tire I'm not complaining. The ride is great over the clinchers I've been using. Really notice a huge difference in out of saddle stomping. And the grip in corners is outragious.

I'll never forget 30 years ago when I turned my tubular wheeled racing bike into a commuter, which included going to clincher wheels. The bike just seemed dead, as far as ride quality. Never went back to tubulars mainly because other bikers talked me out of it. "Not worth the hassle" "Cost to much", etc.

Now that I have the tubular wheels I have a bike that rides with the same "feel" like I did 30 years ago. Its great! And with quality clinchers running $50 - $60 and more, tubulars seem affordable and just ride better.

lotek 

I sent my last pair of clincher rims on to someone ( think through pay it forward type thing) oh,
maybe 3 or 4 years ago? I just can't get excited about clinchers.
my best find to date were a pair of Clement Paris-Roubaix tires from a rather large LBS here.
The head wrench knew what they were and sold them to me for $75 for the pair.
I've noticed that the really good deals on Tubular wheelsets on ebay is drying up, so will y'all stop
singing the praises of tubulars so loudly?

Marty

tuz

I too have acquired an old campy/Martano wheelset with dried-up Clements criteriums (along with the whole mid-70s record group ). I'll try the side wall treatment on them! I haven't ridden them yet. They hold air for a couple of days but not much more.

I am also falling in love with tubulars. I tried some cheapo Rallys recently and wow it was nice. Don't quote me on this but they felt nicer than the 60$ veloflex clinchers I have on another bike. I just built a set of cross' wheels with tubular knobbies.

I'm pretty bad at gluing those buggers though, and can't imagine myselt repairing a flat.

trueno92

ah. ok, i didn't know that the sides of the tires, esp older gumwall style tires should have stuff painted on the sidewalls. every older tubular i have had has seemed to have this stuff applied to it already, except for 1.. and i thought that 1 was just too old since it was all dried out.

thanks for the heads up on my initial question regarding the corsa cx. anyone want to take a stab at the date of manufacture?

TejanoTrackie 

I was using these tires back in the early 1970's so I know they were made at least that far back and I bought my last one in 1991. They were completely handmade in Italy and were the top of the line for Vittoria, except perhaps for their silk casing version. They were considered equal in quality to Clement, which was more or less the standard for tubulars at that time. At some point in time I think in the mid to late 1990's Vittoria switched production to Asia (Thailand) and stopped using traditional materials and methods of manufacturing (i.e. cold pressed, natural cotton or silk etc). You can still buy their old school tubulars handmade in Italy under the Veloflex brand. You can occasionally find NOS Vittorias in online auctions, and they will typically fetch over $100 each. You never want to put sealant into a fine lightweight tire, especially one with a latex tube. If you are unfortunate enough to get a flat, you either repair it youself or pay $20 to have a pro do it.

palladio

Tejano Trackie, why no sealant in a latex tube? Does it damage the latex?

Also to the OP, my Vittorias have latext tubes and need to be filled before every ride as they lose substantial pressure overnight. Not sure how much of this is due to the latex and how much the age of the tires. They definitely ride better than my butyl tubed Vittorias so it doesn't bother me.

Road Fan

Can't comment on the dates directly, except teh following. The Vittoria Corsa CX and CG are illustrated in the classic Italian racing guide, Agonistic Cycling by Agostino Massagrande. There's no copyright in my copy, but the bibliography cites articles dated up to 1980. If someone here said he had some in the early '70s, and they are current around 1980, that is a rough bracket.

On these elderly latex tires, I doubt air seepage becomes worse with age. If they hold pressure for a decent day of riding, that's about as good as some latex tires did back in the day. I had a set of latex D'Allessandro Mondiales, and that pumping business was a frustration back then.

When made, tubulars are impregnated with latex or other rubbery stuff, as part of making a carcass that has certain desired characteristics. It also forms an outer coating that protects the threads from aging and from abrasion. If you break a few threads, you probably have a sidewall blowout in your future. Painting the sides with Jevelot Tire Life or other latex solution should replenish this impregnation and restore a protective coating. If you have a good tube, a good valve, an unbroken and protected carcass with base tape, and tread that stays on and has adequate thickness, you have a good tubular tire, in my opinion. I have certainly ridden on a number of old reputed dead tubulars.

Road Fan

The CGs and CXs I've had were mostly bought in the early and mid '80s and had butyl tubes, except for just a few. I wonder if your latex ones are actually older than the ones I had.