Brandon,
Apologies for putting you on the spot - I just remembered that you had previously mentioned them. I picked these up for $19.00 for all five - I have never ridden tubs before but have a couple of, new to me, tubular wheelsets and thought I would break the clincher habit. A tubular or "sew-up" virgin - so to speak!! ;^)
Cheers,
Paul.
Paul Williams,
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
> On Tuesday, December 17, 2002, at 03:04 PM, Paul Williams wrote:
> > I know that they were low end and relatively inexpensive. But what
> > date? I remember a thread a while back about inexpensive tyres - I
> > remember Brandon Ives talking about these them. Any help Brandon or
> > others?
>
> Looks like I'm getting called out. I'll tell you what I know which
> isn't much and mostly objective favoritism for the best sew-up for the
> money you used to be able to get. I discovered them in the early 90s
> because the shop I was working for bought a huge batch for a really
> good price and I picked up 5 or 6 for "training" tires. I usually rode
> Corsa CXs and still compare all tires to them, but I needed something
> cheaper. After a Seattle winter with only one flat I was impressed.
>
> During this time I discovered this about the tires:
> -Easy to repair for a tubular.
> -Retail was 1/4th to 1/5th the price of Corsa CXs.
> -Ride was harsher than the CX, but smoother than clinchers.
> -Not quite as grippy as the best tires in really tight corners.
> -They were more flat resistant and seemed to last longer then most
> other sew-ups.
> -They were quite round and free of defects.
>
> They were a machine made in Asia tire and seemed quite well made. They
> don't have the "mojo" of the better Italian tires, but if you spend
> more time riding them than looking at them you'll never notice. I've
> ridden these tires in the best and worst of conditions with great
> results. Sure I could get Corsa CXs at $75 each but why? The
> Mondiales allow me to buy an extra pair and still take my wife out for
> a nice dinner. I'm not a racer, nor do I feel the need to look cool by
> buying expensive tires. I'm a sensible, reasonable cyclist who would
> rather buy pitchers of a fine microbrew for my friends then spend lots
> of money on something that's going to be tossed in the trash in a
> couple of months.
>
> If you're like me then the Mondiales are the tire for you. Alas, these
> tires are no longer made and I don't know anything about the tires that
> replaced them. I haven't found an inexpensive tire that can even touch
> these and I've tried most of them. I wanted to like the Continental
> Giros but they're not round and flat easily, they're also almost twice
> the price. I hope this answers some of your questions.
> enjoy,
> Brandon"monkeyman"Ives
> Santa Barbara, Calif.