Kerry Montgomery wrote:

I found this website recently and was looking at their 'Tufo'
tires.

http://www.everybicycletire.com/Default.asp

It seems that there is a 'tubular/clincher' model and wondered if
you have an opinion on this type of tire?

I believe these are also known as "Open Tubulars." There's a
similar discussion going on at the Serotta board. Open Tubulars are
described as:

"Its basically a clincher tire with They are clinchers made using
methods used for tubulars. They take the casing (same stuff as for
tubs) and add a bead. The tread is then glued to the inflated
casing. I have been using Challenge open tubulars for a while, and
they are pretty nice."

Torelli has a decent description of what they a

http://www.torelli.com/tech/tires.shtml

That's not clear and the description of how they are made even
unclearer.

You might look in the FAQ for how round tubular tires a

http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/index.html

Others call these tires nothing more than a marketing ploy to get
people to buy these type of clincher tires at a higher price.

That's what bicycling is all about these days... marketing.

I guess it comes down to what "advantage" do you get? True tubular
tires are supposedly rounder and lighter than comparable clinchers,
especially when you take into account the rims too. Do these "Open
Tubulars" have a "rounder" profile (for better handling)? Is it
lighter? If the answer is no to either, then its a waste of money.
However, if its a yes, then maybe there are some sort of advantage.

I'm not sure what you mean by "rounder". Unless it's a belted radial
casing, its cross section is round from inflation pressure.

Also, I wonder if these tires are as easy to repair as clinchers?
If not, why not just get true tubular, and all of its "benefits?"

I didn't see a cross section on that web site. Can you direct me to
one?

Here's a link to Tufo site showing a cross section of their tubular
clincher (which looks like a tubular with beads added):

http://www.tufonorthamerica.com/tiretypes.php

I suspect this is artists rendition allowance, there being no visible
seam in this tire and no way of making it as an endless toroidal
tube. I doubt that they have such a beast, but then no one has shown
me one either.

"Open tubular" doesn't mean the Tufo style tire to everyone, here's a link
to DedaT

http://www.dedatre.com/rsc_en.php

That doesn't do much more than not show how it is done.

Unfortunately, it doesn't show a cross section, but I have some of these
tires - they are clincher tires, just supposedly made with the same high
standards and thread count as tubulars.

Here is a link showing a cross section of the DedaTRE - it's the 5th item
down the page:

http://tinyurl.com/5fulk8

No cigar!

Maybe you can describe how the casing is closed after inserting the
tube and how the seam looks. Do you have one of the rim strips shown in:

http://www.dedatre.com/flap_en.php

Jobst Brandt