Product Review: Tufo’s Tubular Clinchers?

What Clincher needs no Tube or Rim Strip, can have you back riding in less than 4 minutes in the case of most flats, doesn’t require removal from the rim for most punctures and inflates to 175 PSI for absolutely silly low rolling resistance?

I was bitching on the phone over my standard argument about clinchers and tubulars, while surfing the net with “the plaintiff” trying to show him examples of what I was talking about, when I clicked over to Tufo for a little ammo.

My opponent’s reply when I said “look what I found, click on Tubular Clinchers”?

A good 4 seconds of silence and then… “sh%t, where do I get those?”

Tufo’s Tubular clinchers arrived a short time later and I now like riding my clincher wheels almost as much as my Carbon tubulars.

The review is short and to the point. These are a super ride. Wanna go as fast as possible with a little less regard for cornering, run em at 175 PSI. Want a sickeningly smooth ride and the ability to corner like a cat on carpet (for you lawyers, that’s a figure of speech, results may vary)? Run em at the low pressure (equal to lots of clinchers high pressure) of 115. With pressures in between you will find what you are looking for in tire performance, and that is a huge range that I don’t believe is offered anywhere but with Tufo’s Tubular clincher.

The tread has a pretty standard pattern and provides a very good grip.

The weight of each is 335 grams, but before you start to cry foul, no rim strips or tubes are required. With that considered, the weight of these is a dead heat with light clinchers / strips / and tubes. The difference is you won’t have the problems associated with strips of tubes… Pinch flats from shoddy mounting (or for the thumb strength challenged, tire damage from remounting with levers), rim strips pushing down into spoke holes and exposing the metal and the hole left for a tire valve being bigger that the opening on the rim (cutting your valve stem) are all non issues with the tubeless tubulars.

The installation is a little different in that you do need to stretch these a little so they fit around a rim, but there is a bead molded to the bottom of the tire that works similar to the bead of a regular clincher. The same material forms the rim strip as well.

Last thing to mention is Tufo’s tire sealant. You simply screw it down over your stem after a flat and squeeze in half a tube, hold the wheel so that the puncture is at the bottom (facing the ground) so that the goo can settle to wear the puncture is and push in a little air to force the goo through the puncture. I have done this with a Tufo Tubular and it was very easy. Since this is just a great Tufo Tubular with a twist, it will work the same for a clincher Tubular. And if you get another flat, just use the remaining half tube of the goo. The only down side is if you get a very large puncture or split your tire, but that has the same results for just about any clincher…

Give em a ride!

Have your local shop call Tufo at (250)352-3266, or check em out at www.tufonorthamerica.com

Got questions or comments? You can reach Charles at
[email protected]