"I really hate being passionate about anything that Charles Andrews is. But he's so...so...convincing sometimes, Darn it!" Emilio Bozzi \u2014 (wouldn't it be great to have him on this list)
I love and agree with everything the erudite Charles Andrews has to say. And I can't agree more with his comment about tubulars. In my 55 years of riding, I've never used anything but tubulars on my bikes. Nothing compares to their handling and ride quality no matter what the road conditions. So one gets a flat now and then? That surely makes up for the the thousands of miles of control and riding pleasure.
I learned to repair tubulars from my ex-patriot mentors here in New York, when I was in my early teens, and I've never looked back. I've toured New England and Europe with saddle bags, ALL on racing bikes mounted with tubular tires. Given the current generation of tires sealants, there's seems to be no reason to use anything else. A guy who used to sell tubulars on ebay had this saying: "It's not a racing bike if it doesn't have tubulars." I couldn't agree more.
Michael Allison
New York, NY