"bill" writes:

In the past 4 years, I have ridden on average, 2,000 miles per year.
I have had one puncture flat in that time.

8,000 miles and "one puncture flat." Have you had other types of
flats?

What do I ride? Tubulars (aka sew-ups). Half were standard butyl
tubed, the others TUFO vulcanized tublesss tubulars.

"Impossible!" is what I hear all the time. But if you know how to
use tubulars, they are far better in this respect.

Clinchers are prone to flatting. The stiffness of the construction
encourages puncture rather than deformation.

Malarkey. Pure and simple. Those who have ridden both know that you
are either making this up or thoroughly confused. There are lots of
clinchers available with casings every bit as supple as tubulars.
Hell, most tubulars are nowhere near as supple as the old Setas but
people talk about them like all tubulars are like those old silks.

The tube is prone to pinch flats. And no, this is not because of
"faulty installation." It is the "snakebite" phenomenon--which
happens to mountainbikers even more frequently. At some point, you
will bottom out to the rim flange, and when you do, it is snakebite
time.

Fairly true. Although I can't recall a pinch flat on my clinchers in
quite a while, a couple of years maybe.

Tubulars don't have that sharp flange, and so bottoming out
never damages anything.

Malarkey again.

Go ahead and ride your airless bricks. See if you have fun.

The great thing about tubulars is that they are less flat-prone and
at the same time the most fun to ride! (Nothing accelerates, corners
or feels like a good tubular).

A double dose of you-know-what here.

And you don't have to deal with trying to get that kevar bead over
the flange in the winter, as you do with clinchers. Tubul;ars are
easy to change--just strip one off and pull the new one on.

I can change the tube out of a clincher faster than I can replace a
tubular.

Mileage:

rear tires, I get 1,000 miles on a lightweight trainer (Conti Giro)
or TUFO performance type. I gert 2,000 rear wheel miles on the
heavier TUFOS.

Wow. I'd be really ****ed off if I only got 1000 miles on a rear tire
before it wore out.

front tires, I get over 4,000 miles and have to change them due to
drying out, rather than treadwear.

Rotating your tires correctly prevents this problem. Take the worn
out rear tire off, swap the front tire onto the rear wheel and put the
new tire on the front.