Tyres and pressures database

Paul 8v

Since this is a question that will probably get asked quite a bit in the muddier months I thought it might be worth putting a list together of tyres and what they are and aren't good for, also if anyone has any good info on pressures and what to do in different conditions it might be good to have it somewhere too.

I'll add some descriptions or feel free to add them below and I'll add them in here, be interesting to hear others thoughts, these are only ones I know and other may have different opinions on what is good for what.

Mud tyres:

Michelin cyclocross mud 2 30mm
Challenge Limus
Schwalbe Rocket Ron
Clement PDX
Continental Mountain King CX
Vittoria XM Pro
Maxxis Mud Wrestler
FMB Supermuds
Michelin Cyclocross Mud (The green one, the holy grail)

Intermediate tyres:

Schwalbe Racing Ralph
Challenge Griffo
Clement MXP
Kenda Small block 8
Continental Cyclocross king
Michelin Cyclocross mud 2 (Good all rounder)

Hardpack / Grass tyres:

Continental Cyclocross speed
Michelin Cyclocross Jet
Kenda Happy Medium
Challenge Griffo XS
Challenge Chicane
Clement LAS
Vittoria cross XN pro
Ritchey Speedmax pro

Gravel tyres

Challenge Almanzo
Challenge Gravel grinder (Wide, 38mm)

Paul 8v

I can also add a red "T" afterwards for ones people have successfully run as tubeless (Still a brave new world for CX tubeless) Also one we have lists I'll put the ones that people like the best at the top, tyre choice is something I'm quite interested in and I've seen people have dreadful races on the wrong tyres. Also the wrong psi in the tube can make a bike handle like a pig.

jasper110

On Archtype H plus son rims at 30psi measured with digital calipers across the casing (not the knobs) I've found the wider H plus son rims give in the region of 1mm extra tyre width than my spare set of wheels (Mavic Aksium)

Michelin Mud2 34.2mm (listed as 30mm)
Schwalbe Rocket Ron 33.4mm (listed as 35mm)
Schwalbe Racing Ralph 33.5mm (listed as 33mm)
Kenda Happy Medium pro (Hardpack) 36.1mm (listed as 35mm)

I've found the Mud2's a great intermediate tyre that rolls quicker on hardpack/ road than the Kenda Happy medium, although this is just on 'feel'.

Paul 8v

Thanks Jasper, updated the list with a few more as well

psterdeacon

This is great! (And useful)

Maybe you want to aggregate and cross reference with our growing list of tyres that work tubelessly?

http://www.deballbikes.com/blogs/news/9 ... tyre-lists

I might divide our list up like yours- so people know which is which type of tyre!

good!

Paul 8v

Excellent bit of work there, tubeless for cyclocross has to be the future, shame there aren't as many brands offering "official solutions" Schwalbe have a tubeless CX tyre ready to go but it's only supplied as an OEM part on Giants. I'm hoping they might do some in thier 2015 line up. A tubeless Rocket Ron would be perfect for super muddy days.

Paul 8v

I will add a T for tubeless next to all the ones that you've identified as working tomorrow :-)

tgotb

Clement LAS seem to be quite finicky tubeless on Iron Cross; I haven't been able to run them much below 30psi without burping (and at 30psi you might aswell have a tube anyway). I also blew one right off the rim this morning, riding in a straight line on the road at about 50psi. Pretty sure this is outside the recommended operating parameters, but I've done the same thing with Vittorias (XG Pro) up to 60psi, without any issues.

Don't know whether the same applies to the other Clements; I've ridden PDXs quite successfully down to 17psi (tubeless on Iron Cross) but generally in the sort of conditions where you can't generate massive amounts of side force anyway, so hard to quantify the risk of burps.

Paul 8v

Updated the main page and a bit of a bump as I reckon this might come up some more now there are a few cross races starting.

the_fuggler

Thanks for this - really helpful!

andyp

TGOTB wrote:

Clement LAS seem to be quite finicky tubeless on Iron Cross; I haven't been able to run them much below 30psi without burping (and at 30psi you might aswell have a tube anyway). I also blew one right off the rim this morning, riding in a straight line on the road at about 50psi. Pretty sure this is outside the recommended operating parameters, but I've done the same thing with Vittorias (XG Pro) up to 60psi, without any issues.

CX Magazine suggest that Clement LAS are susceptible to burping as they are not tight enough on the rim. I've a pair and haven't used them on my Iron Cross rims as they are so easy to get on and off that I can't see them sealing properly, or staying on when racing.

tgotb

andyp wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

Clement LAS seem to be quite finicky tubeless on Iron Cross; I haven't been able to run them much below 30psi without burping (and at 30psi you might aswell have a tube anyway). I also blew one right off the rim this morning, riding in a straight line on the road at about 50psi. Pretty sure this is outside the recommended operating parameters, but I've done the same thing with Vittorias (XG Pro) up to 60psi, without any issues.

CX Magazine suggest that Clement LAS are susceptible to burping as they are not tight enough on the rim. I've a pair and haven't used them on my Iron Cross rims as they are so easy to get on and off that I can't see them sealing properly, or staying on when racing.

I wish I'd read that *before* I spent a whole evening getting them seated!

I'm keeping mine in case it snows, but if/when that actually happens I wonder whether I'll actually be brave enough to race with them...

andyp

I keep going back to that page, every time I consider what tyres I'll need this season. It's here for those that haven't seen it;

http://www.cxmagazine.com/going-tubeles ... mendations

Looks like I'll be racing the Vittoria Cross XN and Michelin Mud IIs for most races. All three London X League rounds I've done so far have been on the XNs, and they've handled pretty well with no burping so far. Pressure has varied but I was running 25 psi at both Herne Hill and Hog Hill.

Paul 8v

Thought I would give this a bump as it's that time of year.

Just a note, I'm not a fan of the Griffo in sticky mud, you really need something better that sheds the mud. I've bought some Rocket Rons for mud duties, they look awful for anything other than thick mud so best to swap between the two!

On_What

I can't add a lot but my experience for an 80kg rider is:

Split between Vittoria XN Clincher pro for dry conditions, running these at 40psi both front and rear in dry, Challenge Grifo Clinchers in the mud, I run these as low as 35psi rear and 30 front.

Paul 8v

Challenge are releasing a "Baby Limus" which is essentially a Limus with full size side knobs but with the middle worn down to be faster rolling.

I have some XN pro's for grass track racing, I've not tried them yet but on a wide (23mm) cross rim they look like they will be perfect for the summer months on the cross bike too.