What Peter describes s/b nothing new for anyone who has used tubulars, uses tubulars, or stashes tubulars (or purchases "stashed" for later use. IMO the sole benefit from this caveat is the raw percentages associated with challenge (was that criteriums, pistas, or any old challenge tire?)
BUT, it s/b said that that raw percentages number while pretty much a datapoint of one is still useful.
Dale "just back from picking up a dozen" Phelps Montagna lunga Colorado USA
p.s...are Veloflex still the modern suppleness champs?
From: Peter Koskinen <prkbikes1@mac.com> Subject: [CR] FYI: Challenge TUBULAR Tires To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Date: Friday, October 23, 2009, 9:34 AM
For all of you out there that are always seeking the perfect match tubular tire for your vintage bike. Excel Sports IS pushing all of the Criteriums out the door for $38.88 each or so. This price is $20 less than wholesale. Now before you all go rushing out and ordering these I think that there are a couple of things that you should know about them.
First of all, In the last 2 years, I have bought almost 100 of these tires in a variety of models. When they would come in I had to do the following steps to insure that everyone was salable to the public.
1) Remove all from the packaging and put 100PSI in each to see if they held air. I would set them aside for a 24 hour period. All the ones that went flat were set aside.
2) Mount each tire on a wheelset, pump to 100PSI , spin wheel and check for deformities in the tire. Most of them would either have a bubble in the tread or the casing was twisted. Deflate and set defective tires aside with the first collection.
3) Return defective tires to distributor/manufacturer for replacement.
4) Start at step 1 when the replacement tires showed up via FEDEX. Return up to 50% of these...
Don't be misled by the words "GREAT DEAL" because in the end the good feeling of a great deal will be soured by reality of a tire that doesn't hold air or isn't round.
I'll get off my soap box now and send you back to your regularly scheduled programming.....
Cheers,
Peter
PETER REID KOSKINEN
Chapel Hill, NC, 27516