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/”/]
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I have been running Vittoria Corsa CX 320tpi in both 23mm and 25mm depending on the bike and wheelset with a lot of success. I have found the Vittoria's to be durable, fast rolling, and comfortable. That said, the tubulars are VERY sensitive to tire pressure variances, particularly as it impacts wear. On my carbon wheelset with 25mms I typically run around 125/130psi (front & rear respectively) in dry conditions and maybe 8-10psi lower in the rain. At those pressures I have been getting about 2,000 kms out of a rear tire and roughly double that on the front. Pretty impressive. In the last 5,000k I have ridden I have experienced two punctures- one was cured by a Vittoria Pit Stop and the other had me calling the VMH for a lift home. The first set of these tires I glued on were 23mm and I ran pressures in the 115-125 range in dry conditions and dropped the rear to 115 in the wet- they wore noticeably more quickly. When I bumped the pressures up to 130-140psi on the 23s they last a really long time. Really like the 25s because you can run lower pressures getting a really sweet ride, without increasing rolling resistance (it's all in the size and shape of the contact patch).
On my box section clincher wheels I run the Open Corsa CX 320tpi in 25mm- i love this combination- smooth, fast, and durable. I am on my third set of these tires in 2 years and have never had a flat... knock on wood.
Interested to hear Gianni's thoughts on Road Tubeless... Also, anyone running any Stan's-like products in their tubulars?
@gaswepass
Hopefully the Rubino Pro Tech versions I have will live up to their foul weather design. I knew I should never have strayed from Conti's.
@itburns
I've had great luck with my Gatorskins. The Krylions I have now seem to be working well though. I'll definitely look into the Open Pave CG3s in a 25 for my next set though...
lots of opinions here, great thoughts though!
I have always wanted to try the Vittoria Open Pave', since the early 90's when that standard was set, but I have yet to don a set because I just stumble into good deals with many others.
I have had experience with the lower end Vittoria tubulars and clinchers and must say, i would hope the Open's are better and trust they are per their reputations
My favorite is the Vredestein Fortezza tricomp, its a bombprooof tyre, i have it crap, glass, holes, hard pave' ozark style/shit-n-seal and it never has had any problems and i have had multiple sets. They roll out well and if aged a year hanging up, i guarantee they will run as long as any other quality tyre out there.
I have run the GP4000s also, and have had a great experience with them too, perhaps more supple than the Vredesteins, they are a great all arounder
Just stumbled onto some Schwalbes, and will see how they do
Also, I have had some great Ritchey tyres, running some clincher 700x32 cx tyres on my gravel road grinder, and not one flat yet and they roll out really better the rougher the pave'
Currently also, I have mounted a Challenge Criteriums, and they have served me well, but not like my conti sprinters, they are the bomb! for tubulars.
so many opinions, so little time to ride them all
@Anjin-san
Out of curiosity what do you weigh? I run my Corsa 25 tubulars more like 100-110, which is a really nice ride and soaks up the stretches of crap road we have around here. But I have been thinking about putting a bit more air in them lately.
@Steampunk
Sussing it out still; I've definitely had more flats since using Latex (though many from using the too-lightweight ones by Michelin) and am trying to work out how sturdy/reliable they are as compared to butyl.
Had a full-on blow-out yesterday, but it could have been user-error. I had just put on a brand-new GP4000S but used the old tube which had gone in probably in October. Its possible the tube wasn't seated properly or that it was weakened from use, but either way, this reminded my why we typically ride bicycles with tires on the wheels, and preferably with air in the tier as well.
@itburns
Good luck with 'em. Like I said, rider error always a possibility. rules 64 and 81 might apply here, so gonna let it go.
From someone much more experienced than I, the road tubeless deemed great for training, too heavy for racing (normal road racing, not going to hazard a guess over more unusual race circumstances involving gravel/cobbles/etc) once properly built up.
I have done tubeless for cross, and have had the misfortune of sidewall slicing a couple times. changed from clement pdx to michelin "mud 2" I think, and much happier (which is different from a lot of other peoples experince I unnerstand). I break a lot of things I'm not supposed to... Put latex tubes in some of the cross tires, lose air pretty quickly (as in next day or 2 will need a fair amount of inflation compared to normal tube or tubeless.
@Oli
Good, because I'm looking for a fast, but not too fragile, racing tyre for my deep-section clinchers. With an eye on an ENVE Smart or Zipp Firecrest in the far future (and a minimum amount of comfort in the present), I'd rather have a 22/23mm than the 20mm that the Records come in. Also, that is one gorgeous tyre.
@Anjin-san
I don't run tubulars and don't think I will - for racing purposes, a latex-tubed clincher is it's equal in rolling resistance and grip, and for training, I might as well use the two tubeless-ready wheelsets I own if I'm feeling adventurous.
However, I run sealant in all my tubes that have a removable core (and with some effort, injected some into those of my racing wheelset) with great satisfaction. That is to say, I've flatted 4-5 times on the tubes that didn't have sealant in them, but never flatted once in two years on the sealant-filled tubes, despite some nasty bits sticking in the tyre. Neither has my mom, who took the same tyres (Michelin Lithion2) and tubes (Vredesteins) through four consecutive Ironman finishes and all the training mileage that comes with it.
@frank
Ouch, Frank! That's a blowout like I've never seen before. I hope you weren't descending at the time. =)
BTW, is it possible you can set up the comment editor to give us the option of WYSIWYG and normal editing? I miss being able to tweak my posts manually...