Which wheels for Hilly Sportive? Tubs or clinchers?

[walker]

Andy, I think the people that do Sportives generally are mostly amatuer riders, and will inflat tyres beyond the desired pressure, thus leaving them suseptable to punctures on barely used roads. Watch the riders at the begining of a summer sportive, I can assure you you will get 10 riders pulled over within the first 5 miles due to over inflation.

 

[andy_wrx]

Over-inflation ?
Or under-inflation...

Dunno. I still reckon people are running on inappropriate, light-and-fragile minimalist kit in order to go as fast as possible.
After all, a sportive's a race innit ?

I did the Cheshire Cat on my Winter bike because I'd only been out on the Summer bike twice previously this year due to weather and as the positions on the two bikes are slightly different I knew I'd end-up suffering a lot if I did 120m (inc to/from the start) on the bike I hadn't got my body used to.

I race-prepped it (well, I took off the rack and lights ) but it probably still weighs 5 or 6 lb more than the Summer bike.

- on the other hand, I'm not at Summer fitness either...

There seemed to be two distinct groups out, those running winterised bikes with full guards or raceblades, those running the latest bling carbonfibre.

 

[Commuter]

Over-inflation ?
There seemed to be two distinct groups out, those running winterised bikes with full guards or raceblades, those running the latest bling carbonfibre.

'curb' is what should be done to American spelling ! AND terminology !

 

[andy_wrx]

Winterized - looks even worse spelled that way

 

[piedwagtail91]

we used to use tubs for racing and training in the 70's. they were a lot lighter than the 27x 1 1/4 wheels which were the only other option.
i've been in groups where one rider on tubs punctured twice, luckily there were six or seven of us on tubs so he didn't have a problem getting home.
after riding 700 x23/25 i wouldn't even think of going to tubs even for racing. they are just not worth the trouble or the cost.
puncture a tyre and it's £3 and a few minutes to change it. puncture a tub and it's a lot of cost and hassle if you want to repair it.
i don't think that they offer enough benefit over modern tyres and tubes to justify their running costs.

 

[gavintc]

I use lightweight tyres Prorace 2 and occasionally Conti 4000's. I find that you need to change them reasonably frequently and I rarely get punctures. Lightweight does not equal fragile.

With regard to the original question. IMO, clinchers are just so much more useful and practicable.

 

[andy_wrx]

...Prorace 2 and ... Conti 4000's...
Lightweight does not equal fragile.

I'm not classing them as lightweight & fragile - I mean more e.g. the Michelin ProLight 2 which I think is the same as the ProRace 2 except it doesn't have the puncture protection strip between the tread and the carcasse.

They're 190g vs 220g for ProRace 2

If I'm riding 100 miles on poorly-maintained rural roads on a sportive, I'll cope with the extra 30g for the peace of mind of the puncture protection.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Lightweight clinchers are the best thing to happen in cycling over the last 25 years. When I got my first pair of Michelin Hi-lights the tubs went into the bin and have stayed there since. Way too much hassle and hard to stick onto the rim and get them to sit evenly all the way round. The time saved in changing a tub over an inner tube is lost with interest every time you gingerly pussyfoot round a corner, ever mindful that the spare you fitted may be nowhere near as secure as you would like.

 

[itisaboutthebike]

So there you have it really, Dis Goat............forget the tubs !

BTW - anyone know whether Michelin are planning bringing out a 25mm Pro Race 3, and if so when ?