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The Best Ride (Wheels and Tires)
See yesterday’s Are 25C Tires More Efficient and/or More Comfortable?.
Today I went for a 4.5 hour ride on my time-proven combination: Lightweight Obermayer wheelset with Veloflex Record tubular (front) and Veloflex Sprinter/Extreme (rear)*.
What is “best”? Comfort and compliance, road feel, low rolling resistance, great grip, never lumpy, reliable!
I had been riding the Obermayers with the Schwalbe Ultremo HT tubular for the past 3 weeks or so (about 800 miles, the first Ultremo HT failed in 50 miles, Schwalbe support is non-existent— no reply to my inquiry, so what a rip-off). I replaced it nonetheless. The Schwalbe Ultremo HT is a ho-hum ride in terms or road feel, too much rolling resistance, and a demand for lower pressures to realize comfort. All with the result of a dead feel compared to my preferred combination (Veloflex Sprinter rear + Record front).
Claims about 25C comfort are from those who have never ridden a well-made race-grade tubular tire. Silly claims about comfort also come from those riding too-stiff wheels or wheels built in a way that makes them ride poorly in terms of comfort. Lightweight Obermayer + Veloflex Record = The Real Deal.
Fact is, I’ve been through 40-50 Veloflex tires and they are superb. No other tires or come close and the Lightweight Obermayer wheelset is outstanding (but don’t use the supplied skewers, which are race-day only, use a Campagnolo or Shimano skewer to clamp properly, especially on titanium frames).
* A Veloflex Record on the rear is even better than a Sprinter, but on the rear wheel it wears out in ~500 miles vs ~1800 on the front, so I usually run a rear Veloflex Sprinter.
