Which tyre for muddy bridleways and CX

roubaixtom

Hi,

Im new to cyclocross picking up my first CX bike at the weekend. First thing i will be doing is upgrading the tyres. What tyres would be best for bridle ways and some CX events with a bit of road as well. For using it as a winter road bike i will use Gatorskins.

Any help would be great

Thanks

Chris James

Good mud shedding tyres aren't cheap and tend to wear out on roads. If I were you I would buy more than one set of tyres.

Something like Schwalbe Land Cruisers for bridleways and road general use. They are cheap and tough as old boots, and roll reasonably on the roads. They always use to be the 3 peaks tyre of choice for those reasons. .

For actual cyclocross racing then they wouldn't be great at shifting mud though. Small Block 8s roll well, but clog up badly in mud as the gaps between the blocks are small.

Either get a pair of all rounders like Michelin mud2s or race the land cruisers in the drier conditions and go for some proper mud tyres like Challenge Limus or Clement PDX (both of these are quite expensive for occasional use though).

tgotb

I'd go for something with a Grifo-like tread, for instance Vittoria XG Pro. Pretty low rolling resistance on road at 50psi, but drop them to 30psi and you have a competitive intermediate race tyre. It won't be quite as good as something like a Clement PDX when it gets really slippery, but if you're only going to have one set it's probably the best bet. A PDX or Limus won't be that much fun on tarmac, and won't last very long either...

cjcp

I've used Mud2s are a good compromise, but, as i found out last weekend, come up a bit short in the really muddy stuff. They've been great for me on wet trails with loose gravel and on the road.

thegibdog

Bought a 2nd hand cross bike the other week and it is fitted with Land Cruisers . They roll surprisingly well on the road but the rear is fairly worn and doesn't have much traction in mud, not sure whether to replace it with a new Land Cruiser or go for something like the Mud 2. It's my first CX bike so I've no point of reference as to how much grip I should be expecting! Ideally I'd like something ~35mm that's good in mud and hardwearing... are the two incompatible (even if weight's not an issue)?

MountainMonster

I had Schwalbe Land Cruisers on a bike I was using for commuting, and they worked well both on and off-road. My wife now has them on her bike.

They gripped pretty well off road, and on the road they rolled very well considering what they were. I'd highly recommend them, especially for the price!

undapressure

I've just swapped from Clement MXP all rounders to Challenge Limus mud tyres and the difference is incredible, actually gets around corners without sliding now. I can only speak for the Limus, but they have been a remarkable improvement.

drummer_boy

+1 for land Cruisers for commuting/general off road use.

I road them in a cross race this weekend though, and they were the wrong tyre!! They don't shed mud well in race conditions.

I ususally run Racing Ralphs and they are so much better. Not so good on roads though, and they have quite a thin side wall.

roubaixtom

So would the land cruisers be good for on and off road. I only downside I can see is their weight

drummer_boy

Roubaixtom wrote:

So would the land cruisers be good for on and off road. I only downside I can see is their weight

I've done every AdventureX event this year on the Land Cruisers, and I believe they are the tyre of choice for the 3 peaks race, so they must do something right :-)

MountainMonster

Roubaixtom wrote:

So would the land cruisers be good for on and off road. I only downside I can see is their weight

Yeah, they worked well for me both on and off the road.

thegibdog

Tempted to get some Schwalbe Rocket Ron Evo CXs which are 19.99 each at Planet X atm (+20% off with the discount codes that are currently circulating). Seen a couple of reviews that say they're great for muddy conditions, anyone here have any experience of them?

Might pick up some Snow Studs too @ 14.99 as I'm sure if I bought them it would guarantee an ice free winter!