Tubular tyres, or tubs, were once the choice of many riders, but in the last decade they have drifted into near obscurity.
Beloved for their lightweight, supple ride feel and zippy nature, tubular tyres were often chosen by professional road cyclists up until the late 2010s, with many amateurs still defending their drawbacks on Sunday club rides to this day.
Improvements in the best road bike tyres and the rise of tubeless tyres have largely been responsible for their demise, with the design posing some issues to recreational riders.
In 2019, Schwalbe announced that it was ceasing production of all its tubular tyres, marking the end of the tubs' time in the spotlight.
While many won’t miss glueing their tyres on, or ripping through stitching to fix a puncture, those who love the feeling of road tubs find it difficult to move on.
There is still demand for tubs for track cycling, cyclocross and artistic cycling, but we’ve focused this list on road bike tyres.
Continental Competition Tubular Race
Continental’s Competition Tubular Race tyre is one of the iconic designs of the 2010s era, often seen crossing the line first on both flat or mountainous stages.
It's still being hand-made by the brand in Germany, with widths ranging from 19mm to 25mm.
While 25mm is still a far cry from the 30mm tyres pro-riders use today, it’s still a big improvement over older tyres.
The tyres use Continental’s BlackChilli compound and feature Vectran tech to fend off punctures, and are described as a robust all-rounder.
The German brand continues to fly the flag high for road tubular riders, offering three options in its range. There’s also a track-specific option for those confined to the velodrome.
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Continental Sprinter Tubular
This tyre features a neutral slick profile that is said to offer a direct feel through to the road.
Once again, these tyres are hand made by Continental’s team, and come in widths up to 25mm.
Unusually, Continental still support the 26in junior size in a 22mm width.
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Continental Sprinter Gatorskin Tubular
The Sprinter Gatorskin has its roots in Roubaix, Flanders and San Remo, with this more rugged tyre said to have a durable, puncture-protected carcass.
Continental’s DuraSkin polymer-protected sidewalls feature, which should help fend off any punctures.
As with the case with most tubs, if you do puncture, you can just about ride home on them – albeit with significant drag from tyre deformation.
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Vittoria Corsa Pro Tubular
Vittoria is another brand keeping the dream of road tubs alive, with the Corsa Pro Tubular featuring some of the brand’s top tech.
The tyres use graphene and silica compounds that are said to improve comfort and durability, and have a 320 TPI cotton casing for a supple ride feel.
Unlike other tubs on this list, these feature a wide range of widths that are up to date with modern trends, including a 30mm option.
Vittoria says the tubular version of this tyre is 190g lighter than the tubeless ready variant using sealant or a latex tube.
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Panaracer Agilest TU Tubular Road Tyre
Panaracer says this tyre is suited to training riders, with a fast rolling nature and good puncture resistance for all-round versatility. But it only supplies the tyre in a 25mm width.
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Tufo Elite Hi-Composite Carbon
Tufo’s Elite Hi-Composite Carbon is one of the last few high-end options for tub users, with its supple 210/375 TPI casing said to ensure low rolling resistance, grip, and lasting durability.
The brand uses its Grip Silica Tread Compound, based on a nanostructured rubber matrix enriched with silica, which it says gives excellent traction in both dry and wet conditions.
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Veloflex ProTour
Handmade in Italy, Veloflex’s ProTour is another high-end option for tubs riders, with a 320 TPI Corespun casing and an innovative compound which the brand says offers a low rolling resistance and great handling.
Veloflex says it takes 35 steps to create the tyres, with no two tyres being identical due to the manual skill involved.
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