CX all round tyres

gabriel959

So the CX bike I am buying comes with Kenda Small Block Eight and was wondering if that is an ok tyre for all round. I am planning on using the bike to go off-road on my commutes and for the odd ride at Thetford Forest, but it is mainly going to be ridden on paved roads.

Which are your recommendations in any case for CX all rounder tyres?

ugo.santalucia

It sounds like you need a touring tyre, like Vittoria Randonneur PRO or Schwalbe Marathon plus. Indestructible.

If you want an all round cross tyre, I'd recommend Vittoria XN PRO, light, fast, supple, fantastic tyre but it will wear three to four times faster than the above mentioned and you have to ride it tubeless with plenty of sealant, or you will puncture once a week

gabriel959

ugo.santalucia wrote:

It sounds like you need a touring tyre, like Vittoria Randonneur PRO or Schwalbe Marathon plus. Indestructible.

If you want an all round cross tyre, I'd recommend Vittoria XN PRO, light, fast, supple, fantastic tyre but it will wear three to four times faster than the above mentioned and you have to ride it tubeless with plenty of sealant, or you will puncture once a week

Thanks ugo,

I have seen you recommending the Vittorias, the pattern on them looks really good but saw you were running them tubeless and I am a bit apprehensive about going that way if its a bike that I going to be using for family rides etc.

Anyway, I had thought about the Marathon Plus, I am currently running those on my winter commuter on 700x25c but I would prefer to move to a more nimble tyre as the Marathon Plus are closer to 600g. The Vittoria's look ok at 460g per tyre so might give those a go.

Anyone has got any comments on the Kenda's?

ugo.santalucia

The Kenda look pretty aggressive, so they will be draggy on the road and probably very good on soft ground. If you don't want to go tubeless, just get hold of some tubes with removable valve core and gunk them with sealant. This way you won't puncture.
Touring tyres don't puncture, but cross tyres do, regardless of the pattern, they're designed to win races not to be robust.
I got 6000 miles out of a set of Vittoria Randonneur PRO used on and off road for commuting and I expect 2000-3000 or so out of the XN PRO

gabriel959

Thanks ugo, very informative.

Are there any good guides there to go tubeless? I assume the archetype is a good rim to do so.

ugo.santalucia

gabriel959 wrote:

Thanks ugo, very informative.

Are there any good guides there to go tubeless? I assume the archetype is a good rim to do so.

Yes.

2 layers of Stans yellow tape 21 mm (one roll of 10 yards)

Fit Stans tubeless valves

Fit the tyres and pump them to pressure with no sealant. Make sure they stay up.

Remove the pressure and fill the tyre with a scoop of Stans sealant better if you have the injector (less mess)... pump them to pressure, roll them and enjoy.

I can't promise the XN will work tubeless on the Archetype, they do work on the Stans, but Archetype is tubeless compatible and not tubeless ready (doesn't have the channel). You might need tubeless specific tyres, which have a tighter fit.

Monty Dog

I'm not a fan of CX-specific tyres for general riding (I have three pairs of wheels with CX tubulars) - CX tyre construction is designed for suppleness/grip not to withstand being shredded against stones. I'm basing this on a regular commute that typically involves 10 miles of towpath, fire-roads, some singletrack and as much of my local MTB enduro track as time permits, plus maybe a lap of the Army's high-speed vehicle test track that is compacted sand and flint - go off-line into the stones and a regular CX tyre is unlikely to survive. The tyre of choice between myself a three other friends is Schwalbe Smart Sam - the trekking, wire bead version that has tougher sidewalls - the centre-knobs rolls pretty quick on tarmac and there's enough grips to cope with deep sand and mud. I've run the 42mm version tubeless version on Stan's Crest Rims for the likes of the Southdowns Way where you appreciate the high volume when bouncing off the rocks.

gabriel959

Thanks for the suggestions. I will run those kenda to the ground and then get some Vittoria's and Schwalbe's as they are quite kindly priced.

gabriel959

Monty Dog wrote:

I'm not a fan of CX-specific tyres for general riding (I have three pairs of wheels with CX tubulars) - CX tyre construction is designed for suppleness/grip not to withstand being shredded against stones. I'm basing this on a regular commute that typically involves 10 miles of towpath, fire-roads, some singletrack and as much of my local MTB enduro track as time permits, plus maybe a lap of the Army's high-speed vehicle test track that is compacted sand and flint - go off-line into the stones and a regular CX tyre is unlikely to survive. The tyre of choice between myself a three other friends is Schwalbe Smart Sam - the trekking, wire bead version that has tougher sidewalls - the centre-knobs rolls pretty quick on tarmac and there's enough grips to cope with deep sand and mud. I've run the 42mm version tubeless version on Stan's Crest Rims for the likes of the Southdowns Way where you appreciate the high volume when bouncing off the rocks.

What about the Schwalbe CX Comp Cyclocross Bike Tyre? That one seems to have decent reviews too.

Monty Dog

The Smart Sam rolls better on hard surfaces due to the centre knobs - it's also got better side knobs for lateral grip IMO - the CX Comp might be better for really muddy conditions as it's more open tread, less likely to get packed. I tend to ride my CX bike when it's drier - I've got a 'monster-truck' 29er-plus with 3" wide tyres for really bad conditions :-)

giant_man

good informative thread, good stuff guys

luv2ride

I've been running folding Kenda Small Block 8's on my Singlecross for ages, riding both road, gravel tracks and some (drier) trails. I've always found them good on every surface I've ridden on, perhaps with the exception of thick mud (but they've still had some bite and gotten me through). I'd certainly recommend trying them first before binning them. On my new 'crosser I'm running Schwalbe Sammy Slicks and I've been impressed with those as well on similar road and trail surfaces (not really thick mud again though).

gabriel959

Very good info about the Small Block 8's, at least I know they are decent so I will wear them down.

I am going to get a pair of Smart Sams as they are cheap at £13 a tyre as well.

Doris Day

Is it possible to get CX tyres with puncture protection?

Monty Dog

Doris Day wrote:

Is it possible to get CX tyres with puncture protection?

There's Schwalbe Marathon Cross but it's more of an all-out expedition tyre - bomb proof, but heavy and expensive. 35mm Schwalbe Smart Sams can be found for £15 and they're pretty durable - a durable sidewall is just as important than having a protective strip under a tread for mixed riding IME.

ugo.santalucia

Vittoria CX tyres have a puncture protection belt, but it's not very effective. If you want a light CX tyre AND puncture protection, probably the best way is to use sealant, either in the inner tube or in the tyre if ran tubeless

veronese68

I run Marathon Cross on my old rigid Marin MTB and they don't roll too badly for such a fat tyre, but you can hear them rumble so they're not great. On my cross bike I'm running Vittoria Randonneur Pro Cross or something. A bit more tread than the normal Randonneur Pro. They are fine on hard packed dirt like the tow path or the trail round Richmond Park, but hopeless on wet grass or mud. Not really a surprise there. Roll well enough on road, I seem to be able to get up to a reasonable speed, by my standards at any rate.