Cheap Tubular Wheels

Ah yes, tubular tires, the wonder of cycling. Even with all the advancements made with clinchers and the advent of the tubeless tire system, tubulars are still what pretty much every pro is rockin these days, be it cyclocross or road cycling. Yes I'm sure you can find outliers in there, so-and-so won x-race on clinchers, but by and far tubulars are winning everything. Why you ask? I think a lot of it has to do with tradition. Tubulars have been a tried and true technology and change doesn't come very easily in some Euro sports. Just look at soccer (or football, depending on where you're from). God forbid that a team use an alternate color jersey for their change strip or build a new stadium that is nicer than the older, more tradition-filled one down the road. Or even the thought of using instant replay to determine whether or not a goal truly was a goal, or even more importantly to determine whether or not a foul was real or just some Shakespearean acting...I'm talking to you Cristiano Ronaldo...

But I digress, back to tradition in cycling. Tubulars are still quality tires, handmade still by some companies, and this attention to detail will yield a high quality tire. Tubulars are also see as an advantage in road cycling due to the rounder profile leading to a more predictable curve when cornering at high speed and descending. One does not want sharp deviations when carving switchbacks at high speeds! In 'cross the advantages are far more obvious. The ability to run super low pressure without the fear of pinch flatting is the first thing that comes to mind. Lower pressure=more shock absorption=more continuous contact patch=more grip when cornering. The supple casings that are found only in the world's best tubular tires (Dugast, FMB, and Challenge, in my opinion) also help with adhering the tire to off camber sections of the course. More flexibility in the tire gives it the ability to conform to shapes more rigid tires cannot. Of course there are downsides to these tires. First, and foremost in my mind is the cost. High quality tubular tires for 'cross can cost well over $100 dollars new, per tire. Then there is the risk of puncture. With normal clincher tires, a puncture will set you back, but when training it is not much of a worry. Toss in a new tube and you're set. Tubulars not so much. There are services available to repair tubulars, such as Tire Alert, but this is time consuming and more costly. Another worry is getting the tire to stay on the rim. With a road tubular there is far more room for error because of the pressures being used in inflation. The pressure squeezing the tire to the rim added to the glue holding it in place will usually be fine unless the glue job is poorly done. With 'cross tubies, pressure is of little help, so the glue must do most of the job. Rolled tubulars suck, ruining rims and races, so methods have been devised to keep these tires stuck. The best of these is found in a fairly comprehensive guide from Embrocation Magazine, complete with pictures!

Ok, enough rambling, now to the point of this post. Not everyone can shell out $2000 for Zipp's CX edition 303's. Or get the old Euro favorite Ambrosio Nemesis' (Nemeses?), although I've heard they can be had for less. This is a guide to the cheapest (!) tubular wheels available today.

Neuvation R Tubular-$390/pair

Neuvation has been a revelation for many budget minded cyclists, and the product is not too shabby either. I own a pair of the 50mm carbon tubulars for road racing (recently commissioned into 'cross also) and they roll smoothly and quickly. My favorite part though is the crash replacement insurance. For a nominal fee (for the R Tubulars it is an extra $20 for the pair) you can have the tire completely rebuilt for just the cost of shipping and spokes. Pretty sweet! This puts my mind at ease and just allows me to race and take risks without the thought that I'm gonna be out $400 if I screw up.

Williams Cycling Cyclocross-$369/pair

Another high quality/low cost wheel company is Williams Cycling has put out and aluminum tubular specifically aimed at the CX market. Fairly lightweight, nice graphics, and low weight make these wheels another viable choice.

Sun Vista Cruiser/Sapim/Velocity Custom wheels- ~$325/pair

This post in CXmag forums somewhat spurred on my post and search for some great low cost wheels. Claimed weight is to be around 1360g, lowest of the four mentioned, and the rim has a slightly wider profile. This is helpful in both 'cross and road cycling because it gives the tire a wider contact patch both on the rim and on the ground due to a more rounded, less "light-bulb" like tire profile. The quality of the rim has been called into question, but most have found this to be a quality set-up for the budget.

Psimet Novatech-PsiX-$315/pair

Another forum-goer, builds wheels himself and sells them. Quality rims, quality hubs, low prices. Sounds good to me.

Out of all of the choices, my personal choice would have to be the custom Sun wheels. Low cost, cheap replacement of the rim, wider rim profile, and of course the light weight are all huge pluses in my book. I'll save the $70 from buying Neuvations, build a lighter wheel, and buy and extra rim and spokes just in case for around the same price.

That's all for today, and Happy Wednesday everyone!