Tubulars need a good tire

I enjoy Contintental Competition tubulars. However they are far from the lowest (but far from the highest) in terms of Crr (Co-Efficient of Rolling Resistance).

Check out the PDF here http://www.biketechreview.com/tires/images/AFM_tire_testing_rev8.pd... for independant testing of tyres Crr.

for TT and Tri's Vittoria Chrono's are the pick of the bunch, but what this spreadsheet shows is that Clinchers can have very low Crr too (but thats another topic).

I run Chrono's for TT and Competitions for road races (different wheelsets).

The Continental GP4000S tubulars are absolutely amazing! The always recommend the corresponding clinchers as well, but these tubbies are something special...

any thoughts on the Conti Sprinters??

Yet they are absolute rubbish in terms of Crr. You can save a proven 2 watts per wheel just by going to the Continental Competition and get a better 'feel' (feel is subjective, and IMHO the Competitions are superiour). I've used both on my Zipp 404 tubulars and for a 'tougher' tyre i'd use the Competition over the 4000 anyday.

Sure people won't really notice 4 watts of differences in Crr, but if i'm going to the effort of racing on tubulars, I want to do it with the best possible tyres.

Since I'm going to be borrowing a set of wheels with Tubular tires for my race next week - this topic caught my attention. I looked at the chart but not really sure what it all means. Is the higher wattage per wheel better or lower? Is the wattage stated the watts needed to get the wheel up to speed? What about the Crr? TIA.

Edited by autigers_1998 2009-08-07 8:31 AM

Lower Crr means lower wattage 'absorbed' by the tyre through resistance. Fastest tyres at the top of the chart, slowest at the bottom. High wattage through resistance = bad.

I have the Sprinters on my HED wheels. Were price no object, I would have gone with the Conti Competition, but the Sprinter seemed like a good compromise in terms of price, feel, durability, and rolling resistance - and I could afford to have a spare. They ride great, and I've seen quite a number of them on bikes and wheels nicer than mine.