This is my first venture into the world of tufo tires. As of this writing and several hundred miles on these tires, Im very happy with the performance of them. I have always glued my other tubulars,what a messy and long process,the tufo tape which goes on very easy and the ease of aligning the tire on the rim makes short order of this process. It took me about 15 minutes to mount a tire.
i have gone down hills at 40 mph, done some pretty sharp corners,with no problems. Also did a lot of research on these tires and the tufo tape. As it stands now ,I will be using these tires exclusively from here out.
I read all the reviews.. and tried to love these tires as so many people did, but after my 2nd accident due to the lack of grip on these tires, I give up! Yes these tires will pretty much last forever, but as far as grip goes, forget it! after my 2nd accident w these tires, and as i sit here w bandages on half my body, forget it. My first accident came when i was riding along a asphalt road close to the gutter where it is cement. The two mismatches in friction coefficients (asphaltconcrete) does not work well with these tires. It apparently just lost grip, and started to slide sideways on my front tires which made me fall on my side and getting a bad road rash on my elbows. This past week, I incurred a similar situation when i rode over train tracks that were not pependicular to my ride direction but at a slight angle. These tires are so slipper when encountering a slick surface such as concrete and or metal, it just gives. Anyways as soon as my front tire ran over the tracks, it fell right into the track's grooves which twisted my bike and threw me off. I landed head first sideways and destroyed my helmet, which saved my life. I side here w bandages on half my body. I've tried Continental Competitions, and those tires do grip like no other. They flat sort of easy, but they sure do grip! I was trying to go on the cheap side, and save a few bux buying these Tufo's.. but after 2 accidents, forget it.. it's not worth the pain.. Since my accident 2 days ago, i've gone wild and bought 5 sets of Conti Competitions. They grip like no other, and I am certain had i not been a feel and been cheap, that these accidents would have never occurred. As a word of advice, don't be like me, pay the extra bux and get a tire that grips. It'll save you painagony and maybe your life.
I tried all of the major brand tires, and none compare to Tufo tires in general and the High Composite Carbon tire in particular. This tire doesn't have the lump at the seam that all of the others have, and rolls extremely smooth. I generally keep them inflated to 175 PSI, and even at this pressure, the tire is more compliant than others, and provides less jolting ride - close to a Michelin Pro 3 clincher. This is really appreciated on long training rides and rough pavement. The handling and grip in dry and wet conditions is as good as any of the other tires I've ridden. I have had decent luck avoiding flats, but I live in cycling paradise - miles of clean, traffic free country roads. I generally get about 3,500 miles at 22-26 mph on the rear tire before I wear through the tread. You may be able to find a lighter tire or one with lower rolling resistance, buy I doubt you'll find a better all around training tire than this.
Update After a pinhole flat at 500 miles, the Hi Comp Carbon has performed admirably. I'm 162 lbs and this is my rear tire. Lots of tread left, a few small cuts but the rubber has held up well. The Tufo Sealant worked very well also. The prior hole slow leaked but the sealant plugged it up and I've had no issues since. I mostly ride clean roads and trails so take that inot consideration. I'll get another 500 miles out of this tire. My next set will be Tufo S33 Specials.
After 500 miles, the rear tire had numerous cuts and flatted on a pinhole puncuture. This is my first time riding Tufo's. They ride nice but I am not sure of the durability, although the tread seems to be holding up fairly well. Most of the roads and trails I ride are pretty clean so the tires don't get beat too hard.
I run these on a set of Reynolds DV 46T UL's and I run them hard... 2K miles on rough stuff like highway glass and thru construction zones. I wore the drive tire ragged until the sealant would do no good and bought a replacement - no front wheel swap either. The front should last at least until I fray the bejeezus out of the rear again. These tires roll well over the gnarliest street chode, so I imagine they should do well for those looking for an inexpensive high-end bruiser tire. Spend the extra dough for the tire sealant and Tufo rim tape, when you get to using them, you'll feel like you did yourself a solid.
These were my first Tufo's and I now realize that that TUFO tires are in a completely different league of their own when it comes to performance road tires. Conti's and Vittoria's don't even come close to the durability and reliability of these TUFO tires. Granted, this is the only TUFO model I've had, but I can't imagine ever getting a non-TUFO tire again. I paid a lot more for mine too so this is a really good deal. I'll buy them here next time, except their so good it might be a long while before I need to. Definitely use the TUFO Extreme gluing tape by the way. WAAAYYY easier than glue.
I've ridden almost nothing but tubulars since 1981. I trained and raced on them, and I went through Panaracer, Vittoria, Continental, Wolber you name it. Tufo tires are the most uniform, roundest, and the most free from defects by a wide, wide margin. Also, not having a tube allows sealant to make permanent repairs, because you actually seal the thicker tire wall. I use Tufo sealant when I mount the tire with Tufo glue strips and I carry a bottle on the road for a quick repair. Every 5,000 miles or so I have to call for a ride home, but that's probably an average for any of us. This particular Tufo is their best all-around value, and it rides as well as many of the more costly ones. The 700x22 size is durable and supple. I use these on two sets of Campy Hyperons, and the combination is as good as anything at any price for all-around road riding and racing.
After using almost 500 tubulars in my training and racing career, I now use half as many tires per year with Tufo H-CC tubulars. And if you have to, you can actually ride home on a flat, but I don't recommend it on a $3,200 wheelset. Once you get the whole stretching, sealant, glue strip thing down, they're a joy.
I have ridden many hundreds of miles on these tires without a flat. Their durability is the best I have seen. the road feel is not quite as good as some other tires I have ridden, but given the price and the confidence of not getting a flat these are the only tires I run on my good bikes. It should be noted that these tires are not stitched together and therefore cannot be repaired. However, the Tufo sealant will fix just about anything.
