Continental's Competition tubulars come in
22mm and 19mm widths,
but the 19mm width has been out of stock for quite a while (about 2 months).
Then it was restocked the other day,
and a certain detail I figured would probably change
sure enough had changed.
Since I'm holding a wheel for mounting Compe 19s,
I'm stretching them out right away with the Y-stretcher.
↑19mm width,
now has a silver text label.
↑This is also Compe 19 but has an "orange label with white text."
This is the old label, but for some models that transition has taken over a year.
Specifically, Giro and Compe 19 had the old label (Giro still has the old label),
while others like Compe 22, Podium, and Sprinter switched to
the silver text new label quite some time ago.
This applies only to products through Japan's official distributor,
and from overseas online shops I've been seeing new label versions
of Compe 19 since about a year ago.
So in that sense it was convenient because you could tell instantly whether something was a direct purchase or not.
As for Compe 19, there are no specification differences between old and new labels other than appearance.
But with Giro it's different.
This is the old label,
but Giro from the official distributor does not have a removable valve core.
I've sourced them many times, and it's 100% consistent.
So I wrote a while back that "Giro valve cores can't be removed,"
but I once got a comment saying "There are Giros where the core can be removed."
↑The other day I mounted a Giro that a customer brought in on a wheel for an unrelated job,
and this one had a removable valve core type with a new label.
When I asked where they bought it, they said it was indeed from overseas online shopping.
I don't know whether the label on the Giro from the commenter was old or new, or where they bought it,
but it was probably a new label version.
"Old label Giro comes in two types—some with removable valve cores and some without,
and Japan's distributor only sources the non-removable type
which is presumably cheaper per unit"—that scenario seems very unlikely.
Looking at the current Giro on the official website, there's no mention of valve cores at all,
so I don't think mixed-in Giros with different specs on the same label exist.
Of course the removable valve core version is more helpful.
Cap-type extenders are convenient but have various downsides,
so I prefer to use the relay type.
22mm and 19mm widths,
but the 19mm width has been out of stock for quite a while (about 2 months).
Then it was restocked the other day,
and a certain detail I figured would probably change
sure enough had changed.
Since I'm holding a wheel for mounting Compe 19s,
I'm stretching them out right away with the Y-stretcher.
↑19mm width,
now has a silver text label.
↑This is also Compe 19 but has an "orange label with white text."
This is the old label, but for some models that transition has taken over a year.
Specifically, Giro and Compe 19 had the old label (Giro still has the old label),
while others like Compe 22, Podium, and Sprinter switched to
the silver text new label quite some time ago.
This applies only to products through Japan's official distributor,
and from overseas online shops I've been seeing new label versions
of Compe 19 since about a year ago.
So in that sense it was convenient because you could tell instantly whether something was a direct purchase or not.
As for Compe 19, there are no specification differences between old and new labels other than appearance.
But with Giro it's different.
This is the old label,
but Giro from the official distributor does not have a removable valve core.
I've sourced them many times, and it's 100% consistent.
So I wrote a while back that "Giro valve cores can't be removed,"
but I once got a comment saying "There are Giros where the core can be removed."
↑The other day I mounted a Giro that a customer brought in on a wheel for an unrelated job,
and this one had a removable valve core type with a new label.
When I asked where they bought it, they said it was indeed from overseas online shopping.
I don't know whether the label on the Giro from the commenter was old or new, or where they bought it,
but it was probably a new label version.
"Old label Giro comes in two types—some with removable valve cores and some without,
and Japan's distributor only sources the non-removable type
which is presumably cheaper per unit"—that scenario seems very unlikely.
Looking at the current Giro on the official website, there's no mention of valve cores at all,
so I don't think mixed-in Giros with different specs on the same label exist.
Of course the removable valve core version is more helpful.
Cap-type extenders are convenient but have various downsides,
so I prefer to use the relay type.