I wouldn’t say that… As far as I can tell, they’re only now starting to reach that point, and the pros still use tubulars.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re never on par, because tubulars benefit from nearly all the same improvements, and beads prevent the tyre from achieving the same grip and rolling resistance; it’s pretty much inescapable. Tubulars can roll slightly on the rim, which allows for better cornering, and the fact you’re squashing a circle rather than a U means less energy loss from deformation.
In fact, development may lead to tubulars becoming more practical - there’s already a double-sided tape that can be used instead of glue (although at this stage it’s not to be trusted for hard cornering), and just imagine how sweet it would be if the stitching could be replaced with something like a zipper - maybe something like on a snap-lock bag…
Then there’s the fact that tubular rims in aluminium can be as light as 280g, while the lightest clincher rims aren’t much less than 400g. Not to mention how much cheaper it is to make a carbon rim without bead hooks…
I know the advantages. I was just stating that they really started to become less for all but the most hard core around the time of kevlar bead clinchers. ETA: I run Mavic CXP 33s laced to Chris King hubs on my daily beast and I’m more than happy with them.
Sure, if it’s someone else doing all the hard yards of stuffing around with bastards for you, it’s a whole different equation… The best folding clinchers are sweet enough for almost anyone who doesn’t have a team mechanic.
I gathered you knew the score, but I went into the details at length for the sake of bringing others up to speed.
the 1.95 width isn’t totally crucial. there is some wiggle room. your rim will not accept every width for a 26" tire on the market, but here’s a chart.
secondly, how wide is also limited to what you can stuff between you fork and rear part of your frame, too, so if clearance seems exact with 1.95, then don’t go bigger, but smaller within the chart is OK. but really there ought to be at least one size up that can fit in there if not more. rulers and calipers will tell you.
ETA: @Ignatius oh, and not just “between” the fork, but also the top aka the “fork crown”, it has to fit under that. i guess, with your current tire, see if the gap under the crown is the same or greater than the gap between the tire and a fork blade. if not, then consider the crown height your “width” limit. I’ve never run into a problem with a tire that fit a fork not fitting the rear frame area but it wouldn’t hurt to check the “top” clearance in those parts, too.
also, bear in mind that the thinnest tire you can run may feel a lot sportier and may need more pressure which will feel a bit rockier of a ride. the fattest you can run will be very forgiving in terms of shock-absorption but may feel sluggish performance-wise–emphasis on “may,” the model and the pressure you run can have huge effects.
As someone who attempts to use his bike for his main transportation: kickstands aren’t something I miss. When I leave my bike, I need to lock it up, which is going to be on something the bike can lean against.
They’re very helpful if you need to carry something on the bike, or use a trailer.
The problem is that now I have a functioning city bike, a touring bike becomes a luxury and goes to the back of the queue behind other things that we actually need to buy.
Dura Ace existed when I got into the sport (Downtube shifters of course). I got an old bike from the 70’s (Windsor frame, Columbus tubing, Campi road group.) I got used to shifting just past the gear and back again, as you had to do with those beasts back then. Good times.
Oh man- I had a Windsor back in the day too. Mine had Suntour, but yeah. Down tube friction shifters.
Bike after that was a Lotus with Campy Neuvo Record (also friction on the down tube) and that’s what I started properly racing on. I didn’t get brake lever shifting or indexing (on a road bike, anyway) until 1997 or so.
This bike was all nuovo for the components. I suppose you got used to that just past the gear and back motion then? It took a little bit of time to adjust from shimano, but still felt pretty crisp when you got the knack.
Honestly, outside of racing, friction was lovely. And even when racing, friction down tube was only an issue because so many of the people I was racing against were on indexed STI rigs.
And while Neuvo was lovely, Suntour Superbe Pro was much, much smoother. I had some of that on another bike, and myohmy. Lovely stuff.
Never used the Suntour. I had Shimano friction shifters on my first road bike. The Campagnolo were the only ones I remember needing that little jog back after the shift.
They’re best for riding in dusty sand, when you really don’t want any of that sticking to your chain, but because they can’t keep the working surfaces wet, you need to re-lube every 200km or so. And because wax just gets pushed aside from where it’s supposed to be and doesn’t wick back in, it makes for a horribly crusty drivetrain after a while…
Some folks just go to town spraying the crap all over; the worst I’ve come across in the shop are high-mileage commuters with this waxy filth just caked all over the whole area, and over time it gets sort of baked on, and it’s like bitumen or something. Just awful.
Would I be terrifying you if I said I did pretty well for a long period treating my commuter by dipping the chain in a deep fryer full of paraffin wax and then giving it an occasional surface coating of teflon lube?
Heavy. But the extra power is neat; just the thing for longer distances than you’re comfortable with, or for making it to work without raising a sweat. Here in Oz, they’re limited to 200 or 250 watts, which kinda sucks, but it’d be fucken sweet to have a 1kW one that’s controlled by power-sensing cranks… It’d make you feel like superman; the Specialized Turbo is such a beast, but it’s only a few hundred watts IIRC.
