I found the original post pretty incredible. Tires and tubes are among the most important components on a bike, as far as rideability goes. I think even a cheap sewup gives a better ride than most clinchers, and I suspect that a lot of it has to do with the rim cross section. Sewup rims are typically lighter, stronger, and the profile allows the tire to squash more when going over obstacles than do clinchers. It is difficult for me to ride the 4 miles to pavement on my Bianchi with 23mm clinchers without getting a snakebite puncture. I never have that problem on my bologna skins.
Sewups also allow you to run wider profile tires without significant penalty. I imagine one could make a light, wide-profile clincher, but I haven't seen anything to rival the sewups of 20 years ago. I glued my last Paris-Roubaix Seta on the back wheel of my Marinoni a few weeks ago, and I am feeling pampered again. If only Campionato del Mondo Setas would go back in production...ah, there's a pleasant thought. What a sweet tire that was.
--Steve, dreams of riding on clouds again, Barner
> In a message dated 6/18/02 2:05:42 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
> bbspokes@lycos.com writes:
>
> << I hated the handling with the GP-4 and cheap sew ups. >>
> Did you try it with good sew ups? Cheap tires ruin the feel of a bike
faster
> than anything I know of.
> Regarding the tubes: If butyl tubes "blow", they do it catastrophically,
> usually with a long tear in the tube. Natural rubber tubes (including
latex)
> usually don't tear when there is a puncture. Normally, they will let the
air
> out more slowly, so the tire deflates in a controllable manner. On a
> motorcycle, I will only use a natural rubber tube for that reason. A
"blown"
> tube is a really stupid reason to crash if a natural rubber tube will
prevent
> it.
> Maybe you had latex tubes from a bad batch? I'm open to hearing other
peoples
> experiences.
> Stevan Thomas
> Alameda, CA