For the (tubular) tire nerds:

Talking with Matt Shriver at the Toronto UCI race, he bemoaned the fact that he didn't have a set of Dugast Rhinos - he was certain Powers and Johnson were running them. (In fairness to Matt, he wasn't suggesting he would have won) Me, I like the low, low cost of clinchers. But as far as unpaid endorsements from professionals go... kevin

If any of the locals want to speak to the accuracy of these two articles as they relate to our local series (especially the second one) please have at it. I'm planning on building up a tubular wheelset for next season and am currently mulling over my options. - Mike

I borrowed Briannas 34 mm Rhinos for Rhode Island. I thought that the old ones that I purchased were fantastic but these got me a second place finish in a master 1,2 race. The ground was snow covered and not melting. I passed everyone on the corners like they were just learning to ride. I will never ever slag tubulars. Mike Garrigan borrowed Briannas wheels at provincials and we all saw the result. Tubular wheels are not that expensive these days. If you troll the used ads you may get a pair for 300 or 400 dollars. I heard a rumor that a local distributor may start carrying Dugasts. A lot of people do group buys as well.

 

If anyone is intrested in getting some dugasts tires I have a contact in the Ned's. just shoot me an email at

row618 at hotmail.com

nathan

will be looking at ordering some in the next week or two

... and my Visa wept.

The rhinos are great but for the last 2 seasons we have had if you only have one set then the thypoons would be a better choice overall. The rhino's are slow on hard pack. As an all arounder the griffo 32 is pretty good but the sidewall is not as supple as the dugast.

  The pipistrello file tread from dugast is the best file tread out there that I know of. The giffo version has little side knobs and you have to have very good skills to take advantage of a tire like this.

  The tufo are good if the temp is 10 or so and up. The rubber they use is not as good as dugast or challenge and get a bit hard at lower temps and the tire underperforms.

  When talking to a mid level pro over there he stated " why pay the same or more for tufo when you can ride griffo or dugast"

  I saw no euro's on tufo only the odd us rider on them.

  I can not speak for the schwable racing ralpf tubs but for snow this is the best tread I have ridden. Not good in sticky mud as it teads to gum up.

 

  you'll need double the time to really nail the dugast set up as compared to the griffo and tufo. They soak up more glue and are a total bitch to get straight.

  Also go to the local dive shop and get a big tube of auqaseal type producy (used to seal wetsuits) and put in on the sidewalls of the dugast.

  You can use the stans or tufo sealant in any tire and the tufo exteme sealant saved on my rhino's with a good puncture in it.

 

that is all I got. Next year I maybe able use the tires to the full benefit as I handled my bike like  the jamacian bobsled team this year.

nathan

also if you only have 1 or 2 sets of tubular wheels go aluminin as the breaking is much better and the dent resistance is higher. Carbon is good but can get costly if you hit a root or rock and ding the rim.

Nathan (and others), It's clear that if you can have only one tire around here, the Typhoon or Grifo is a solid choice, but what about two sets? I'm thinking mud tire (Rhino) for one set, but what about the other - file tread or all-around? The FMB file tread (SSC Sprint) has really good side knobs also, and is of similar quality to Dugast. I almost wonder if the two FMB treads would suffice since their SSC has deeper knobs than the Typhoon and Grifo. -Jeff

It looks like my Xmas list will include Tubulars but, it also means new rims to be purchased as I am a clincher rider. Ouch. I rode Maxxis Raze ($38 per tire) with a Latex tube ($20per tire). I was able to run less than 30 psi with a supple, fast ride. I never had a problem. Only would bottom the rim on very sharp corners and rocks. Even with this it was a soft tap and not a teeth rattling impact. The advantage of this latex tube was noticable in ride quality both on pave and grass as well as cornering in mud. I didn't have my normal bouncey back tire when remounting following a barrier. I am sure a rider who is much more skilled would be able to compare the ride of this combination and the Tubular tire. If any other person has run Latex and Tubulars, I would like their input.

Food for thought: I saw this little piece on the CX Magazine website a few days ago - in a posting called Rumor Mill, so take that for what it's worth:

"Rhino - Dugast’s Best All Conditions Tire? While conventional wisdom and major cycling media (including CXM) label the Dugast Rhino as a specialized mud tire, a source from Europe told us that Dugast’s own tests have shown that the Rhino’s aggressive but nearly continuous center tread Rhino tread rolls faster than their “universal” Typhoon tire on hard surfaces. If true, this might make the Rhino the most versatile tire Dugast offers. Maybe BikeSnobNYC can rest easy and finally make the switch to tubies? (See our Issue 4 for BSNYC’s comments on tubulars). Dugast could not be reached for confirmation, but if you’re lucky enough be deciding between Typhoons and Rhinos for this weekend’s national championships, pick the animal over the storm."

(Original posting)

BikeSnobNYC makes my day, every day. Funniest blog ever.

I have the Grifos 34mm wide and ran them down to 35psi. They were fantastic. I had my Tufo 32's on at the Guelph race and on the off camber decent is where I wiped out an ended my season. So my take is the Grifos will only last me one season (next year) but their stability I get will pay for themselves by not breaking anything. I coated the outside of my tires with liquid latex which I got from bikeman.com (my old bottle from the 80's was a rock). I plan to coat them again this winter. They have a latex tube and the Tufo sealant is for butal tubes so don't wreck your grifos cause you'll not be able to patch them. Tutt-Tutt for Now (TTFN) David Tuttle

Latex tubes are often easily sealed with a bit of Stan's sealant. I run with a bit inside as a preventative measure. "I have the Grifos 34mm wide and ran them down to 35psi." - try them lower. I'm heavier than most folks, and 35psi is the upper bound on the range of pressures I'll run.

Stan's Cyclocross Tubeless System. Has anyone tried this on their regular clincher wheelsets? Tubulars are much too silly if I don't use them on my good road bike.

I run an ounce of Stan's in my tubulars for CX.  Knock on wood, not a puncture yet and I've run them as low as 22psi.

If you haven't run tubulars for cross, you are missing out.  Tubulars in cross provide a much greater advantage than they would on the road.  On the road they feel nicer, but don't provide much of an advantage.  In cross they offer lower pressures, a smaller chance of pinch flatting and their ability to roll faster over grassy terrain gives them a huge advantage. 

I think I'll weigh in on this, I've been running tubulars for years now, and experimented with different setups. For three years I have had a set of Tufo FLexus tubbies glued to a set of bontrager years, and I have taken them off every year and reglued them. Yes they dont perform quiet as well as the dugast or challenge in the colder weather but they lasted three years which no cotton sidewalled tire would ever do. I rode them at provincials for the past two years in a row and I will probably ride them this year again and with very low pressure (23psi) they were fine. This year I felt the need for a set of mud tires but couldnt afford another wheelset build and a set of rhynos so I went with michelin mud 2's running with a standard tube. And it is not the same. I rode them in guelph for the off camber sections and they didnt slip on the corners but they also didnt have near the feel and acceleration as the tubbies did. As for next year... I'm weighing my options but so for the leading set ups are a set of fangos for the dry weather(I've heard their grip is awesome and they run pretty fast, thanks for the recommendation Mr. Box) and probably flexus cubus or possibly rhynos for the mud. Or going with Jeff's new fmb hookup and seeing what treads they offer.

Both Mark and Jared were running Rhinos on one bike and Cubus on the other at the USGP today. I was pitting for Jared and neither tread was clearing, but the Cubus seemed to pack up more and turn into a slick in the sticky mud here. Grip wise I think they're both ok but the Dugasts are pretty fragile. I feel like the nice cotton casings of Dugast/FMB are more beneficial in terms of rolling resistance in drier to intermediate conditions anyway.