As promised, here's a review of the tubular wheels and tires I have been using for racing and some more "spirited" road rides.
So first, the build:
Hubs: Hope Pro 3
Rims: Velocity Escape
Spokes: DT Revolution (2.0/1.5)
Nipples: DT alloy front and non-drive rear, DT brass drive-side rear
Lacing pattern: 28h 2x front, 32h 3x rear
I built these up for cyclocross use later this season, so light weight and strength were greater priorities than aerodynamics for sure. I will be building a second identical set so that I can switch wheels with different cross tubulars and not have to have clinchers as my backup all the time. Since I had everything I needed early in the season, I decided to get some road tubulars to glue up to take advantage of these being my lightest wheelset by far.
After much thought, and not wanting to spend much on road tubs, I got what are possibly some of the first
Vittoria Rubino Pro Tubulars to hit North America. They were relatively inexpensive, and though heavy still decrease the weight of the bike quite a bit compared to using my heavier clincher wheels.
I will cover the tires first - the clinchers I've been riding are the
Vittoria Open Pave CG 24c with a 290 tpi casing, arguably one of the most supple and plush road tires out there and with some durability as well. They have been fantastic, so I was a bit hesitant to go to a 23c 120 tpi tire designed for training, but at the same time I did not want to deal with the fragility of lighter tubulars like the Corsa which are not known for durability in any sense. I was pleasantly surprised to find the Rubinos ride quite nicely, and while they do not maintain the plush characteristic over rough pavement they do grip and conform well to the road, likely due in part to being a tubular tire. They definitely ride nicer than the Rubino clinchers I have used (which are certainly great training tires as intended). I find myself running them at higher pressures by 10-20 psi than my 24c clinchers which works out well for racing: fast but still very good grip.
Now on to the wheels - the
Hope Pro 3 hubs were selected due to the combination of well sealed bearings, good weight, good price, availability in 28h for the front wheel and of course the nice anodized colours. This set used red hubs, and the second one will have gold hubs to make telling them apart in the pits a bit easier.
Velocity Escape rims were chosen for similar reasons: a good price/weight/quality point, and available in 28h which the
Mavic Reflex for example is not. The 28h front was probably unnecessary, but I committed to it and it worked out fine.
I was initially a bit concerned about building with the DT Revolution spokes, but they turned out to make for a very stiff wheel. The only trouble was getting them tight enough and keeping the Velocity rims round. These rims are not as round out of the box as say a DT Swiss and they're not quite as forgiving. I ended up with a reasonable balance and I'm very happy with how the wheels ride. I have not noticed any lack of stiffness in hard cornering and they spin up very quickly due to the 1460g weight of the pair. That's on par with
Ksyrium SL Premium wheels, which are in many ways the standard in low profile crit/cross/training wheels. It doesn't hurt that my wheels cost half as much as the MSRP of most comparable wheelsets purchased complete. I can also replace spokes easily or rebuild these with new rims down the road. Much easier than dealing with a proprietary wheelset with aluminum spokes, etc.
I can't say I have any complaints for this gear, except perhaps the ease of building with the Velocity rims. If I was not quite as focussed on performance/aesthetics, or if I wanted to make life easier I certainly would have gone with a 32h 3x build front and rear and used Reflexes. Either way, these wheels will do the trick for cross and get me into the tubular world, which is key for cyclocross.