Hi all,
Getting some wheels built- have to choose some tires.
Have been offered Veloflex Record (a light track tire) or Vittoria Gummwalls (Not sure of model).
They will be used most often on road (90%). I am a bit concerned the Velo’s will be too thin and puncture easily. Should I pay the extra 30 bucks for the Vittorias?
Damn, they are $. Can buy a car tire for as much a one these. 
Thanks for any advice guys.
a quick search tells me veloflex record come in both clincher and tubular … so can we assume you have tubular rims if you are considering the track version ?
Sorry - they are clinchers. I guess the Veloflex aren’t technically track tires, but I am not sure they’ll be suitable for commuting.
I’ve got veloflex pave on one of my bikes they look good, but don’t hold up well for skids, especially when you only have 5 skid patches, gatorskins are bomb proof and they sort of have a orange sidewall.
Veloflex are great tyres by all accounts, very supple & handmade, but they’re a 1 road race or 1 indoor track season tyre. You’ll wear it out very fast on the road.
Is it skin/gumwalls you’re after? Abbotsford have IRC Roadwinner II’s for very cheap. Perfectly serviceable skinwall. 28mm.
No experience with Vittoria gumwalls.
I’ve used Michelin “Erilium” gum walls. Not bad, make a zzzz noise when you skid, but not overly long lasting. Cheap though. They have a red strip between the gum and the black of the tyre as well. I’ve also used Continental GP1000’s with a dark, dark brown gum wall. Lot grippier for skidding and they have lasted pretty well. The sidewall seems a bit flimsy though.
I am kind-of limited to the Velo’s or Vittorias - the place the wheels are getting built at only have the two in gum walls. Pretty steep at 120 for the Vittoria’, tho’. I just wasn’t expecting that kind of cost. In my day, you coulda bought 5 tires for 20 p. 
I think I will steer clear of the Veloflex and go the Vittoria, otherwise I might be changing tubes often.
Thanks everyone for replying so quickly.
You cant whine about price, Your getting Dan to build the wheels right? Price vs Quality. He will help you a lot more in the long run.
Check out the quality work when he’s done , he even lines up the label with the valve,
Awesome!
Veloflex are fine just rotate your wheel from time to time.
Snail, wasn’t whining… well maybe I was. I just wanted some advice about the choice between the two. I’ll be riding almost everyday so I think it is worth paying a bit extra for heavier/thicker tires.
I can’t wait.
Thanks everyone for replying. I’ll post some pics tomorrow!
I have veloflex paves on 3 of my bikes and deda tre gumwalls on a third.
They are awesome tires that feel noticeably better than any other I’ve ridden. Oddly enough they don’t seem to puncture on my roadies - one of the three bikes mentioned is the orange Fossati featured on fyxomatosis (a road fixed conversion) and I’ve had a bad run on that bike lately - 3 punctures on two consecutive rides - its irritating so I’ll be moving to a thicker training tire.
With all the crap on the road I wouldn’t personally use them for general commuting (or for skidding for that matter) - they’re too nice/execy.
The deda tres are also really good and I’ve not had a single puncture on them - I’ve tried to source them since I picked up a pair (about 18 months ago) and they seem to be old stock that are now impossible to find.
DON’T use Veloflex Records on the street. They are a superb, light and supple tyre and make a brilliant track clincher but IMO they are way too light (and probably too skinny at 21mm) for regular street use. You will be through them in minutes if you skid them - you might as well just get yourself a couple of hundred dollar notes and tear them up.
I’ve built some wooden rims laced to high flange Zeus hubs and I’m going to put them on a chocolate colour frame.
The rims are really light golden colour and I was thinking of some gumwall tires.
Any recommendations other than what we have here?
Ben?
Grand Bois Cerf / Col de la Madeleine.
/thread.
I was looking for some reasonably priced clincher gumwalls a while back, this is what I found:
Some have been replaced by non-gumwall models and some are far from durable.
*I got these!
Finally a voice of reason!
Agreed.
I really wish I had never found this website. Drooooll!!
I commute on Veloflex Pave with gumwalls, no punctures in 8 months, not close to wearing out the rear tyre yet though it’s squaring off. They’re superb. I don’t skid, and completely agree with the comments about not skidding.
They’re 22mm right? Pretty small for commuting.
Yup, 22c is right. They’re smallish, but good on tight 36 x 3 spoked to OP wheels. It’s a road going fixed; I ride conservatively… no skids, jumps, tricks, but they’re good for river bike paths also. The only real issue is looking out for tarmac cracks and repaired sections in the line of travel, but then again, what cyclist doesn’t know about those dangers? Frankly, because I’m a knob I just didn’t want to compromise the bike by not riding the best.