The Challenger tubulars are indeed mighty stinky - when I was involved in the business I told folks that they were as terrible as they could be without being completely useless. They have lousy base tape adhesion, the treads are wobbly - but they really do ride very much like a Thai Del Mondo. In the absence of another alternative they are better than nothing.
If someone says that Veloflex needs to be able to make 8 thousand tires, then the project is doomed I fear. The tubular market is very small. I used to keep an eye on the inventory at the various wholesalers, and I'd watch as it might take many months for the stock of a really neat tire such as a Del Mondo or Paris Robaix to fall by perhaps one hundred units. I realized at that time that wide tubular tires (or any tubular tires) while prized by a few are very unpopular. Sure, some would be gobled up in Japan, but interest is very thin. I still say that a 26 - 28mm clincher with a tubular type casing would take off - the folks who would love the performance of such a tire are often the ones that would not want to bother with gluing a tubular. Great clinchers used to exist, but they dissappeared due to high cost I suspect.
Mike "hoarding old tires when possible" Kone in Boulder CO
At 09:26 AM 7/29/02 +0800, mandu k wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>I think someone on the list has mentioned that VELOFLEX has declined to make
>fat tires but that was sometime in the past.
>I spoke to Mr Colleoni not long ago and he seems interested but will only be
>convinced if the demand for such tires is real, i.e more than 8000 tires per
>year. That's quite doable, looking at the number of actual 25mm to 27mm
>tires sold in the whole of the US, Europe, Australia and Japan.
>
>Either that or a pile of cash, about $20000, can be found, the tires will be
>made.
>
>mandu,
>Singapore
>
>
>
>
>>From: Michael Kone <bikevint@tiac.net>
>>To: "mandu k" <kmandu@hotmail.com>, OROBOYZ@aol.com,
>>Grant.McLean@SportingLife.ca, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>>Subject: Re: [CR](CR) Any FAT SEWUPS still made?
>>Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2002 11:22:04 -0600
>>
>>Bicycle Classics can supply the Challenge wide tubulars using the old Del
>>Mondo casing pattern - contact http://www.bicycleclassics.com - they are not kept
>>in stock I believe - I think they can special order them. Mike
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>At 03:25 PM 7/27/02 +0800, mandu k wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >Hi,
>> >
>> >
>> >I've taken to cutting off knobs from high end cross tubulars from TUFO
>>and
>>Vittoria and the results are quite good. TUFO Prestige and Elite cross
>>tires have a good and very round supple casing and make for good riding.
>>They also make a D28 file tread cross tubie which is a good commuter or
>>street tire.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >warmest (literally),
>> >
>> >mandu
>> >
>> >Singapore
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >>From: OROBOYZ@aol.com
>> >
>> >>To: Grant.McLean@SportingLife.ca, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>> >
>> >>Subject: Re: [CR](CR) Any FAT SEWUPS still made?
>> >
>> >>Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 14:18:31 EDT
>> >
>> >>
>> >
>> >>Grant & all:
>> >
>> >>Maybe you guys missed it but those exact tires have recently gotten
>>stinky
>> >
>> >>reviews in this very forum. Caveat Emptor! Of course, what else is
>>there?
>> >
>> >>
>> >
>> >>Dale Brown
>> >
>> >>Greensboro, NC
>> >
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>> >
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>> >
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