There are currently two types of road tires.
The first type is called a clincher.
There are various names for this, such as clincher, WO, HE, and 700c, but now it is common to call it clincher. Almost 100% of today's finished vehicles are of this type, with a tube inside the tire. This type is easy to maintain when punctured, and you can start running in the same condition as when you started if you put air pressure in properly after repair. Recently, the weight has become lighter and the tire performance has improved, so the number of people using it has increased.
The other is a tubular, which has a tube inside the tire and is shaped like a cylinder. In the old days, most of them were tubular, and the ones for racing were decided to be tubular. This year (2004) there were signs of a revival, but I think it was due to the spread of carbon rims. Tubular may come back if good old tires are revived.
When comparing both, it is said that the tubular is still better in terms of ease of control.
The characteristics of tubulars may be that they are stable and easy to get a feel for the ground even at high speeds. (I feel like the grip is a little lower than the current clincher. The weight is almost the same, and the clincher is close to the display, and the tubular is usually completely different?
Recently, there are almost no good tubulars, probably because the old-fashioned high-performance tubulars are decreasing. This year, a high-performance tubular is released under the new Dedatre brand, and I feel like I'm trying to measure the comeback.
Clincher tires are inferior to tubular tires in terms of riding comfort due to their structure, so we compete with them based on the performance of the tire rubber (compound). It seems that they are testing various tires that wear out quickly but have good bite, and I have seen Michelin and others using super high grip tires that last only 10kg. The roundness of the clincher is overwhelmingly superior, so the ride quality on good roads is excellent.
In Japan, the surface of the road surface is smooth, so I think the clincher is suitable because it doesn't feel rough.
Especially on long downhills in hot summer, the adhesion of the tubular will weaken, so be careful.
Both have advantages and disadvantages, so in the end, I think it's a matter of preference.
End favorite tubular
I think Yutchinson Carbon Comp Dedatre is good. The current Vittoria is like a clincher because the running feeling is hard. I would appreciate it if you could go back to the past, but it may be difficult because it is 3% of the total production (1998).
I like Yutchinson Michelin clincher. Especially Yutchinson thinks that the same clincher has a running feeling similar to a tubular. It is a difficult point that decrease is early, but it is good.
Recently, there are rumors about tubeless, but it seems that rolling resistance is reduced just by not having tubes, so I'm interested in whether or not I can actually experience it. With the development of tubeless road tires, if the wheels are made of a hollow composite structure, more air can enter even at high pressures, making the ride more comfortable. The amount of air is incomparable with the volume inside the tube.
The reason why it has been developed since the 20th century and has not yet been put into practical use is that the structure of the rim is based on the shape of the current tubular shape.