I am running Tufo Elite Diamond 28's on the early 80's Cuevas of which I recently posted photos. I also have Diamond 28's on a 1974 Raleigh Competition I finished rebuilding a few months ago. Tufos are more widely available and less expensive than Dugast, and I love the way they ride. Plus I've come to like the Tufo Extreme Tape so well, I may never deal with rim cement again.
The Diamond 28 is mostly marketed as a cyclocross tire, but the diamond tread pattern is not at all aggressive, not a "knobby" by any means, so the tire works very well for raod bikes as well. This tire is also available in 30 mm width.
Only drawback for classic bikes is that only the least expensive version of the Diamond 28 is available with classic-looking black tread and tan sidewall. At least in the US - different colors may be available in UK. I was able to use the more expensive Elite Diamond 28 on the Cuevas because the yellow tread worked on a green frame with gold/yellow decals, cables, pump and anodized HS and bars. That said, I've found little or no difference in weight or tread between the various price levels of a given Tufo model, neither the Diamond 28 nor the narrower "road" models. And while I don't have a huge number of miles on Tufos yet, I so far can't tell much if any difference in ride between the least expensive Tufo of a given width and tread and the more expensive versions. I suppose there must be some difference in thread count or such like for the extra money, but perhaps this is hard to feel in a tubeless tire. Or maybe buyers of the more expensive versions are just paying for the wider choice of colors.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, Texas
Simon PJ <simonpj@mac.com> wrote: Can anyone point me to a source in the UK for larger sized tubulars such as the 27mm Dugast Paris Roubaix cotton tyres? Any other suggestions for 'fatter' tubulars?
All the dealers I have tried only carry tubs in the more common 22/23mm sizes. I'd like to find a UK dealer that carries a similar range to the one available from worldclasscycles.com
Many thanks.
Wyndham Pulman-Jones
Girton, Cambs., UK.