Road bike tire recommendations

[Desert Tortoise]

Is there a difference between the Continental GP4000 S foldable tire and the Continental GP4000 S clincher?

Thanks!
dt

[OakLeaf]

I think all tubulars are foldable?? Anyway I'm pretty sure we're all talking about clinchers. I don't think the 4000 comes in a wire bead version (I just this minute found out it does come in a tubie!), but I could be wrong about that.

FTR, what I run is the 4000, not the 4000S. I'm not really sure of the differences, but I think the "S" is racier, it's 10 g lighter (ooooh! ).

[Desert Tortoise]

Ok, dumb question: tubular means it takes a tube?

I thought I saw on Continental's website that 'S' stands for black in German. Of course now that I went back to the website to confirm that, I can't find it.

So what exactly does "clincher" mean?

Thanks,
dt

[OakLeaf]

Clinchers are tires that are open on the side facing the rim. They use a separate tube to hold air, and they have a bead that holds the tire under a "lip" on the rim.

Tubular tires are round and closed all the way around the integrated tube. They are made of textile with tread material on the outward-facing side. On the inside, they are sewn closed (which is why tubulars are sometimes called "sew-ups") and glued to the rim, which has a closed concave outer surface.

Because the glue takes some time to cure, if you have a flat, you pretty much need to have a spare wheel ready, which is why hardly anyone uses tubies outside of racing. The advantage is that they're as close to perfectly round as possible - which gives them great handling characteristics - and they can take a much higher pressure than clinchers.

[Desert Tortoise]

Thanks for your help, Oak! I didn't know that about tubular tires. So that's why when people talk about tubular tires they either make a scrunchy face or get dreamy eyed.

Cyborg, ok the chili stuff.


Thanks!

dt

[nscrbug]

Yeah, tubulars are what you find on a lot of super expensive carbon wheelsets. You blow one of those and you're likely to be SOL. Unless you're a pro-racer with a team car following you, I'd stick with clinchers.

[CyborgQueen]

Ok, dumb question: tubular means it takes a tube?

I thought I saw on Continental's website that 'S' stands for black in German. Of course now that I went back to the website to confirm that, I can't find it.

So what exactly does "clincher" mean?

Thanks,
dt

The S is the Black Chili compound. I think for really nitpick cyclists these matters.


I've had some of my friends ride on really cheap $19 tires, and it lasted over 5k miles for them, while for others it lasts 1k. OTOH - I've had cyclist friends that have $60 tires (per tire...that's $120 total), and they get flat after flat after flat...

Tubes are expensive....and if you have a gash. you have to buy a brand new tubes tires. They have no inner tubes, clinchers do. Don't even bother with them unless if you're a serious cyclist/racer.