Normally The Keepers reserve our Reverence articles for products we’ve used for years, or with new stuff that has had at least six months of duty. Riding the cobbles of Belgium and Northern France can put most gear (and bodies) through six months of abuse in just a few weeks, so in this case the work these tyres have been put through there and in the months since qualifies them for a deserved earlier dose of Reverence.
Selecting what gear to run for the Cobbled Classics Keepers Tour wasn’t too hard a task; there are some things which just go with cobbles bikes like double wrapped bartape, alloy steerer fork and of course box section rims laced 3 cross. Tubular or clincher was about the only tough decision I had to make. I managed to find a cheap pair of Ambrosio tub rims, but as they were 36 hole it proved impossible to find a cassette hub in time for the tour. How bad could clinchers be? After all, Freddy Guesdon won Roubaix on clinchers in 97, and the Pavé boys would have spare wheels if something went terribly awry. It wasn’t the cobbles that would claim my clinchers, but the ham-fisted rock apes generously referred to by airlines as baggage handlers.
Choosing a tyre to run was probably the easiest task. It had to be Vittoria’s Open Pavé CG‘s, based on what I’d seen gracing Pro’s bikes in just about every edition of the Spring Classics I’d witnessed. The distinctive green herringbone tread stripe is as synonymous with these races as are crazed fans, beer and frites en mayo. Unfortunately the ‘Open Tubular’ doesn’t come in the 28mm width of it’s tubular brethren, but a 24mm version only. That extra mm wasn’t a lot but it was something. The real benefit of the tyres though is the 320TPI casing, yeilding a super smooth ride on any surface. Coupled with Vittoria’s Latex inner tubes, the feel of cushioning under the bike is definitely noticeable. Over all of the 21 secteurs we rode on the way to Roubaix, then another 15 of the worst a few days later, topped with a full complement of Flandrian roads, I only once feared I might hear the dreaded hiss from my tyres. Nailing an edge of a nasty cobble hard enough to feel the rock hitting the rim, the tyre bounced off and the slippery latex tube stayed intact. On return to NZ, I inspected the tyres for damage and was surprised and delighted to find nary a nick or any signs of wear.
I’ve been riding the Pavés ever since the Tour, and don’t want to swap them out at least until the Kiwi winter is over. The ride continues to impress with their sheer suppleness (dare I say souplesse?) over rough surfaces. They aren’t the lightest or fastest rolling, but neither am I. For summer I think I’ll try the lighter Corsa Evo SC‘s, which look just as cool with their tan sidewalls and are another Pro favourite. And if you’re worried about a green stripe clashing with your bike’s paint job, I think there should be a Rule #8 ammendment that the only coloured tyre allowed on any bike, due to it’s unrivalled heritage, is the venerable and now ReVered Open Pavé CG.
Thanks to Graeme at Cycle Sport NZ for his generosity in supplying the tyres and tubes.
[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/brettok@velominati.com/Open Pav/”/]
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
@frank
Stop teasing us with these promises of upcoming articles. Let the games begin::
Bullshit overgeneralization. Maybe if you weight 80+ kg, but I often run below 90. In fact, just today PRd the two most technical descents I hit on a regular basis running 90/95. Well, maybe that actually proves your point, but I was carving it up out there.
@Nate
You know what sucks? When your tire blows out when you're trying to PR your descents.
I'm just doing my duty to butter you up to be prepared to cut me to bits. You hated my Anti-V bit back January? Get ready, buddy. The worst part - and you'll really have to get ready for this: you'll wind up agreeing with me. Not right away. Not the next week. Maybe not even the next millenia. But eventually, you will. And I'll be patiently waiting. With a drink. Its comfortable here.
@frank
Awww fuck yeah. Not only am I currently winning the TDS VSP, Drunk Scaler wants to hang out with me, and now Frank Schleck wants to have my internet love children. The only way to top that is Marcus asking me to marry him after he sets fire to his passport and moves to Invercargil.
I'm thinking of a BS marketing video from the Zipp website showing the amount of "vertical compliance" in FC shaped rims over V shaped rims.
@frank
This will be fun -- I'll have to go back and revisit the Anti-V article, because I don't remember it.
And if you are running tubulars, it's likely to be a pain if you puncture on a descent. But it probably won't suck, because this isn't how it will pan out:
@minion
And you know what else? After I spent every minute of my free time between Sunday and today working on the new "fool proof" posting box that would cost me "so much less time editing people's posts" you go and fuck the whole thing up like a fucking prostitute at fucking bible camp.
Eddy Fucking Merckx, mate.
Oh, and you're welcome for fixing your shit again, and congrats on figuring out in 5 minutes what I couldn't do in 147 hours: break the blockquote idiot-seal. That goat must be giving you an awesome hummer.
I did think that would punctuate the point you made quite nicely.
If you've ever heard the phrase, ignorance is bliss, you'll have an inkling of my current state. i fucking hate computers and I have little to no idea what you're talking about.
PS if you think that took me five minutes you'd probably be wrong. Idiocy can strike like lightening.
But everything seems fine to me at 155psi.
Then again I don't know any better and I'm even worse at descending that I am going up.
Tell you what - I'll run the Trossachs Ton at 155psi this weekend - because I'm used to it and I don't want to make a radical change in things before the event. Next week however I'll run at whatever the consensus pressure of the Velominati is (120?) over my regular routes and compare times.
You've got me thinking though - my current back problem. I've been whining about it on here for three weeks and is something to do with inflammation of the nerve at L3 leading to a serious amount of pain in my left leg and numbness on my thigh which in turn means that I can't walk but I can ride a bike (the pain just vanishes). There's no tissue damage/disk herniation - it seems to be "one of those things" although I've stopped all gardening, DIY and housework as a precautionary measure.
Could it be related to the tyre pressure/rough road combo with the new Carbone?
And before I finally start working for a living today - at 155psi is there a risk on a Pyrenean descent of the tyre cooking off if I use my usual descending style of braking too much?
@frank
So last night after watching the TdS Bully Boy Sagan sprinting into the barriers and still winning, I thought, I'm fucked, time for bed - so I duly got my bike out and switched her tyres What a transformation - confirms the point Fronk is making about the green stripe - it just doesn't look right - I may be about to propose that a new Rule should include the compulsory use of tan sidewalls and black treads The new clinchers look Fawesome, shall post a pic later, and seem sticky as hell, though I have no thumbs left, as those kevlar beads have ZERO give in them - not looking forward to my first flat - that said, I can't see them rolling off the rim either - Veloflex Master 22s - yum....