Maelochs

I used to ride Vittorio open tubulars ... a model i cannot find any more ... and the ride was phenomenal, even on 23s at high pressure ... but the wear rate was insane. Now I am using Michelins and Vittorio Rubino Pros but while both last a lot longer, neither provide the super-supple, sticky ride I wanted and had on the old rubber.

Life is full of cruel compromises.

seypat

Funny you should mention that. This afternoon I was at one of those "pick your own" auto parts salvage yards. My vehicle has a vacuum leak somewhere in the braking system I can't find it using the usual techniques. I get a whistle ever time I let off the brake pedal. It's nearly $200 for a new vacuum hose that might not solve the problem. It could be the brake booster or the master cylinder. Anyway, I went and pulled all 3 off a wreck so at least I can find the problem and buy a new part if I have to. The vehicle is a Mazda5 which like your tubulars is not made any more. The whole class of vehicles(compact mini vans) are no longer sold/imported in the USA. I've been holding out, hoping for something to come along. Ford was going to put a minvan body on the new Maverick platform, but that was nixed last March. The next closest class(small wagons) are no long sold/imported in the US either. All of the crossovers, SUVs, etc don't really do it for me. My wife has one and they are not a good substitute. So, the only options I have(or at least want) is to keep driving/repairing the current one as long as I can or find a newer one in better condition. Mine's a 2008. The last year they were brought to the US was 2015. There's a 2015 local with relatively low miles that popped up. I'll watch it and most likely purchase it, but I still need to get the current one running properly so I can sell it. Tough choices when there aren't many. I also have a fulle size GM extended work van, so moving up to a full size minivan is not really needed.

Maelochs

Funny You should mention all that.

My 21-yeqr-old car is possibly dying ... at some point repairs are a bad investment---but i will not buy a gas-wasting, space-wasting SUV which is large and heavy and still not able to carry hardly anything. I want a tiny van or small wagon but like yourself, I am waiting to find something that suits. I want to be able to haul at least two people and a good bit of gear or bikes and all that .... . and there is nothing which is not swollen, overweight, inefficient, and too expensive for the value.

Modern motor vehicle mechanicals are amazing, but modern motor vehicle designs are pure crap. All frosting, no cake. No one sells a simple piece of bread.

79pmooney

Have you tried the Vittoria Corsa G+/G.20s? I loved the Open Pros too but the Corsa Gs wear better, flat less (nowhere near the glass and debris magnets), feel wonderful and while the thread is not as sticky, it is very good and Vittoria went back to a slightly modernized ribbed tread. I took ribbed tread completely for granted in my racing days long ago as nearly all of my cheap and decent cotton training tubulars from Palo Alto were ribbed tread. That tread vanished for 30 years. One of my first rides on the then brand new ribbed tread Corsas opened my eyes. I had to leave the path of the road onto a paved farm turnout to not be the in the path of a 60+ mph Civic passing a solid line of on coming traffic. As soon as he passed, it was "Oh s***! Pavement's ending and it's a ditch." Swerved in dirt and sand to climb back onto the road surface. And no big deal. "Sold!"

And that brought back memories. Ribbed tread! Best ever for climbing out or cracks, ruts and back onto the shoulder. Now combined with very decent gripping rubber and totally confidence inspiring. Biggest drawback is the wallet hit of that little "Graphene" label on the tire. My body is maxxed out on crashes so I take the wallet hit and ride those tires in whatever size best suits that bike almost all the time.

Koyote

​​​​​​https://www.ford.com/trucks/transit-...der-trucks-vhp

Maelochs

Never tried them buy thanks for the heads-up. I will try a set when I need to buy new rubber.

Wildwood 

My experience with Specialized expensive tubulars (not Hell,o th North). Wonderful ride, about 700road miles on a rear. but I weigh ~190lbs.

Trakhak

Someone once reported a conversation with a framebuilder in which he asked him to confirm that any hand-built artisanal steel frame would be superior to any mass-produced frame constructed of any material. The framebuilder replied that some people might benefit from getting a custom-made frame that had been designed to work perfectly for the rider for the intended type of riding, but, otherwise, no.

The poster was astonished at that reply and asked in the framebuilder's forum here what they thought about the exchange. The consensus was that the framebuilder's reply was accurate and that he deserved respect for his honesty.

Reading threads over the years, I've learned that the degree of reverence in which artisanal frames are held tends to be inversely proportional to the number of frames the beholder has built.

slow rollin

I would base my tire choice on a mixture of rider preference, experience, bike choice, and terrain. I like "28"mm gatorskins. Going into 23mm tires I find they are just a little rough on wooden bridges or potholes, but that's acceptable to me. 32's are nice and I got some 35's recently to try out.
I prefer to have multiple bikes, so a couple can have 23's for fast zippy rides, cx/gravel can run 32+, and a mtb or two with 1.5-2.0in tires for maximum floatability.
I weigh 225lbs
Currently trying out cheaper 23's since they were on sale, so many tire options these days.

rsbob 

Lots of chipseal and broken up roads here. On my tubeless bike I run Conti 5000 TRs at 70/72 which gives a comfortable ride without sacrificing speed, which is usually around 18 MPH. On my tubed bikes, I also have Conti 5000 clinchers with light weight buytl tubes (will switch to latex one of these days) at 80/82, again at 18 MPH. Back in the bad old days, I had 23s run at 115 which lost me a few teeth fillings - but the tires felt fast-but it no doubt because of stronger legs. Will not go back to skinny/high pressure, since I enjoy being comfortable while riding at about the same speeds I did decades ago, but as another said, “you do you”.

zymphad

I was thinking about this and it's true. On my carbon I got 28mm and it's comfy. But saw video discussing reasons why we do a lot of things. For example wheels are stiffer because they have to resist the force of disc rotors, so they have more spokes etc. Forks are stiffer and reinforced because of the disc brakes are attached to the lower end of the fork where it should be the most compliant. Aero tubes require the frames to be even more stiff and rigid. All these things are reason why people are riding 30-32mm tires to compensate for all these problems created by aero frame and disc brakes.

But ride a vintage steel with steel fork on 23mm tires? Yeah, the 23mm on steel is more compliant and comfy. It is true. It's why my current project is probably going to be renovating my parents old steel. And I'm certain that with 23/25mm, that steel will be more comfortable than my carbon with 28mm.

zymphad

I switched to TPU, it's working fine and loving the space saving for the packs, 2 TPU tubes and a patch kit take up less space than 1 butyl

terrymorse 

Here's a little factoid that might ruffle some feathers among Fat Tire Club:

A skinny tire is more compliant than a fat tire at the same pressure. So if you're still one of the holdouts that hasn't joined Fat Tire Club, try reducing the pressure. The only down side I can think of is an increased risk of a pinch flat.

My current choice is GP5000 25 (measured width 27.5 mm), at 78/82 psi. Smooth and comfy, and I certainly could go lower.

zymphad

I also suspect you are fitter and lighter than the average cyclist I see around me. I think they need the 32mm tires They would not be able to ride 25mm at 70 PSI.

Garthr

Speed is relative to the amount I care to relate to the cycling sensation called "weeeeeeeeeee"

But seriously ...... I've never been one to try to quantify the ride of tires. As long as they roll well and don't flat often, I'm good until they wear out. I did really like the ride of tubulars for while in the 80's, but I had too many flats and my ability to sew them back up was not so good. I'm a whole lot lighter these days and maybe I wouldn't have that issue anymore, but for now I'm okay with Marathon Racer tires at a relatively low 45-50 psi for the 35(33.5 actual)mm version.

terrymorse 

Lighter than average: guilty, your honor. This morning's weigh-in was 133.5 lbs (60.5 kg).

Height: 76th percentile of adult American males.
Weight: 4th percentile of adult American males.

AKA: Roadie physique.

Atlas Shrugged

Lucky bastard! If they were able to create a sport which combined cycling with wrestling I would be world champion in the unlimited weight category.

genejockey 

1) Is it, though? Less volume so an equivalent bump would be more compression, no? But also, largely irrelevant because....

2) I think most of us get the point, and have reduced pressures, but for the heavier riders, to get the same cush as flyweight on 25s at 78/82, we have to run 28s or 32s at even lower pressures.

Regarding the original, 3-month-old OP, I've seen several people say they like skinny tires at high pressures because they FEEL faster. This makes me think that these folks mistake feeling every tiny pebble on the road = fast, but I can tell you that my fastest bike also has the fattest tires and the plushest ride. I prefer to GO fast, rather than just FEEL fast.

icemilkcoffee 

Huh? It's definitely still available :
https://bikecloset.com/product/vitto...-folding-700c/
https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/...uscador_search

Both Vittoria Corsa and Veloflex Corsa ride really well. I run 23mm Veloflex Corsa and honestly I am not feeling any more harshness than the 25mm Continental GP5000 and GP4000 on my other bikes.

terrymorse 

I hear it has to do with the shape of the tire's contact patch -- long and thin vs. short and wide. Increasing the contact patch under additional load causes the "long and thin" tire to deflect more.

Or something like that. It's also the reason why skinny tires are more prone to bottom out, I think. It's hard to visualize.

genejockey 

Or, you know, the rim is closer to the ground, maybe?

delbiker1 

I have found tires with actual width of 27-30mm to be my pavement sweet spot. I do still have a couple sets of 26 mm gravel kings that I use occasionally. I like them much better on Hed Belgium rims, 18+mm interior, than on 15 mm internal DA C24’s. They measure out to a hair under 28mm on the Hed, a hair under 26mm on the C24.
I did go to 25mm Vittoria Open Pave for a short while last year, cannot remember bike or wheels, decided I prefer a bit wider tire. The 27mm Open Pave on a wider rim is a fine ride.

terrymorse 

Good point.

smd4

A few weeks ago I deflated my tires by 40 PSI, to 100. The ride sucked. I'm back to 140. Even Rene Herse says, "There's nothing wrong with narrow tires, of course. If you prefer the 'connected-to-the-road' feel of a racing bike, then you'll be happier on narrow tires.[I am. --smd] If your friends tease you to 'get with the program,' remind them: narrow tires are not slower than wide tires - they just aren't faster, either."

The sentiment of the above quote usually gets twisted into the "wide tires are faster than narrower tires" BS.

genejockey 

I know you don't care, but this has been tested before:


Wider is not necessarily faster - here they find the sweet spot for them is 32mm - but there's a combination of width, tire make and model, and pressure that's optimal in terms of mph/watt for any given rider and road, and unless you're 145 lbs, riding on new asphalt, it's probably not 23mm at 140.

But ride what you want. Just accept that it's a preference, not empirically faster.