Tufo S3 Lite

Price Paid:  $50.00 at online

Favorite Ride:
catskills

Bike Setup:
Custom frame, campy chorus, easton ec90 carbon tubulars,

Summary:
i had these tires for exactly 63 miles. A total of 3 trips. I have already punctured 2 tires. I actually did more walking than riding basically. All punctures are at the center of the tread. I would figure it would be the thickest in that area, but i guess i was wrong.

Strengths:
Rolling resistance

Weaknesses:
not toothpick proof

Similar Products Used:
continental sprinters

Price Paid:  $40.00 at online

Favorite Ride:
443 river to the gap

Bike Setup:
quattro saai SSS with 08 record 10. Zero Components 024 wheels.

Summary:
Been running the 200 gram s3 lite as a front paired with a s33 rear for over 2000 miles and could not be happier with this combo. No flats in over a year and the tire still has lots of life left. Run at 120 psi they have good grip and roll nicely. At 150 psi they are a bit harsh.

Strengths:
Price, wear like iron.

Similar Products Used:
evo cx, sprinter250, bonti race

Price Paid:  $0.00

Favorite Ride:
Rollyview

Bike Setup:
Lemond Tourmalet w/ Reynolds DV46UL wheels

Summary:
These are the first tubulars I've used, and love 'em compared to the Bontrager Rate Lites I was using. Glued on, they are very responsive, and corner wonderfully. Smooth, smooth, smooth, on rough chip seal, but that might be the new Reynolds rims they are on, too.

Strengths:
Lightweight, compliant, responsive.

Weaknesses:
Delicate. Two flats in the span of 2 weeks on pretty clean roads is not good. I've put Slime in them just for added confidence and so far so good. My cheap Bontragers are still flat free after 6000km. In every other respect, except durability, these surpass the Race Lite clinchers.

Price Paid:  $85.00 at Nimble / Speedy Reed

Favorite Ride:
Seattle To Portland

Bike Setup:
Planet-X Stealth Pro Carbon, Nimble Crosswinds, SRAM Red gruppo, Xentis X1 bars and aero bars.

Summary:
Sleek and fast tires with great gripping power. Properly inflated, all sorts of rocks and crud just pop out from under the tire and they hardly break stride. I haven't been able to break tire traction even on some pretty hard stops. Unfortunately, I flatted one of them in the first mile or riding, then flatted the other within the next 300 miles. I'm paying something like $0.66 per mile here on tires, at which rate I should just keep driving my car. Glass was the culprit in both cases (small, small, small pieces... like grains of sand) so the puncture resistant layer can't be counted on to deter that stuff. Tire sealant from Tufo is in a separate review, but it didn't do anything except spray latex everywhere and gum up the valve core.

Strengths:
Fast, smooth, crazy-high PSI limits, guaranteed weight (until the sealant goes in). Removable valve core is a plus.

Weaknesses:
Crazy-high psi limits (who needs to go to 220?). Valve is a bit short for deeper wheel sections. Glass = Achilles heel. Expensive, especially when you have to buy them again. And again. Sealant doesn't bond to inner tube too well.

Similar Products Used:
Vittoria tubular of some sort.

Price Paid:  $59.00 at biketiresdirect.com

Favorite Ride:
American River Bike Trail - Sacramento, California

Bike Setup:
Kestrel KM40 AirFoil Pro with Dura-Ace Set up.

Summary:
I got two Tufo 650c S3 Lite < 200g tires for my Zipp Wheels. I tried to put the tires on myself and ended up have the bike shop put on for me. The initial impression is that it is fast, light and very responsive. I was able to gain about 10% speed on the sets. The reason I gave it 4 out of 5 is cause my tire got puntured with less than 100 miles on it. I was expecting to get at least 3000 + miles out of these tires.

Strengths:
Light, fast, responsive

Weaknesses:
Expensive and hard to mount. My rear tire got puntured after 60+ miles ride on it. I must hit on some sharp object on the road.

Similar Products Used:
Spinergy Spox R1 with Michelin Pro Race tire.