Quote Originally Posted by smilingcat View Post
was going to say bit of a loaded question...

It used to be that the "performance" is better on a tubular. lower rolling resistance, smoother, better cornering, lighter...

But like DebW says, its a royal pain in the ar*e (PITA). If goathead is a problem, constant worry of flat(s), clincher may be a better bet.

I'm pretty good at fixing flats and all but its not something I look forward to doing. For that reason, actually the trouble of fixing a sew-up versus clincher, I stay with clinchers.

Clinchers I think are bit cheaper anyway.

just my 1 cent opinion (yes zen )
I agree with this, but I want to add that most of the time, tubular wheels will weigh less. So if weight is a huge thing to you, then that's another factor to consider. Say you want some sweet aero carbon wheels. Clinchers are a ton of money if you get full carbon with comparable weight to tubulars. Or you can get a slightly more durable set with an aluminum rim and carbon fairing, but that tacks on a good amount of weight.

I don't want to deal with tubulars myself, and I also wanted my race wheels to be something I could train in if I wanted. So I went with an aluminum/carbon clincher.

If you're just going to race on them and weight is important, then there isn't a lot of reason not to go with tubulars unless you never want to deal with changing the tire (or paying for a shop to do it).