Tyre for Croix de Fer build

mrb123

I'm looking to build up a Genesis Croix de Fer frame for use on winter roads and also some light off road duties to include gravel railway line paths and possibly some forest roads.

Priorities would therefore be good grip on wet and greasy winter roads, good puncture resistance and suitability for some use off road as described. The tyres are likely to be run on some Archetype rims and I'll be fitting disc brakes.

Some initial options from looking on this forum and elsewhere would seem to be Vittoria Randonneur Pros, Vittoria Hyper Voyagers or Schwalbe Marathon Supremes. I'd be grateful for any feedback on the suitability of those tyres or any others I should be considering.

Also, I'd be interested to hear what width of tyres people would suggest running - I'm considering something from 32mm to 37mm at this stage.

Many thanks in advance for any comments and guidance.

ugo.santalucia

The tyres you mention have great durability and puncture resistance, but they are of no use off road in winter, when there is soft mud around.

On the other hand a cyclocross tyre won't have the same durability or puncture resistance... I guess I would go for a cheap pair of Randonneur PRO and when you find their limit, then upgrade to something like Racing Ralph CX or WTB Crosswolf

mrb123

Thanks Ugo. I don't anticipate the tyres will be seeing a lot of mud as the off road use will mostly be confined to gravel or hard packed paths and tracks. The Randonneur Pros certainly seem a decent option. What width would you suggest I look at?

letap73

This is what I have on my Croix de fer:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/continental-cyc ... g-cx-tyre/

I was thinking of replacing them with something racier however, they are very good on the road.

ugo.santalucia

the 32 wear a bit thin at 29-30. so maybe step up to 37

w00dster

I run these on my cdf...
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bon ... wwodKA4ABA

Used all winter, on road and off road. Absolutely fine, size is a 33. They're not as fast on the road as other tyres but they seem to hold well, 0 falls this winter so happy with that. I didn't use them on ice or snow. Puncture resistance is good. No punctures. They replaced continental cyclocross speed, they were like paper, but seemed faster rolling on road but crap off road.

w00dster

Should have said, the Bonty's were used for long club rides in the wet greasy conditions and a daily commute. Behaved admirably. I just didn't ride them for the odd day when it was snowing or overly icy.
I also use them regularly for canal tow path and trail rides, absolutely fine for that.

mrb123

Thanks for all the replies so far.

Woodster - the Bontragers sound like they could definitely be a possible, although they are a fair bit more expensive than some of the other options.

thepeopleschamp

I run Marathon Supremes in 32c and can just get them under my chromoplastics. I'm sure I notice these being a bit more sluggish than 28 4seasons but they're tougher and I like the reflective strip.

I've got the Continental Speed CX mentioned earlier too. These were fine on bridleways with gravel/dry mud but I did find they punctured easily.
I have some schwalbe CX comp's as they were cheap, these have the same reflective strip and were decent in the mud. These are 37c, come up a bit small but don't get under the front guard.

Also have Marathon winters for when it's icy in 35c, they don't fit under the front guard either.

Come to think of it I've got about 6 sets of tyres for this bike, it's my winter/summer/on-road/off-road/commuter/tourer so I need options!

mrb123

Thanks for that PeoplesChamp. Did you find the Marathon Supremes were ok on gravelly bridleways or did you use them exclusively on the road?

thepeopleschamp

I don't I think I've had them on a bridleway (apart from one small section of the commute which I'm No.3 on the Strava segment with these tyres ) I do ride a lot of gravel but I tend to swap to CX tyres for that as I'm also likely to come across mud & the supremes are pretty smooth.
They've been resurfacing roads on my commute recently which involves them basically throwing down about an inch deep of sharp stones then letting the cars flatten it out. I've ridden miles of that and apart from being a bit bumpy the tyres were fine.

w00dster

the bontrager I listed are the evans price, think they generally retail around £30 if you look around.
I'm tempted by the 28c 4seasons myself but don't think they'd be heavily used, probably only be in the Autumn, when the weather turns and I'm going off road again the Bontragers would be back on.

stavgold

I've recently built up a Croix de Fer. I've run it with 35mm Vittoria voyager with SKS 45 mudguards. I had to take a small notch out of the rear mudguard to stop the front mech swing arm catching the mudguard.

bendertherobot

Vittoria Hyper Voyager at PX. I was drafting a bloke on a modded e bike earlier in the week. Super rolling resistance.

mrb123

The Planet X Hyper Voyagers do look a fantastic deal at the moment and I'm sure they would be perfect for winter roads. I'm just wondering whether they would be ok for light off road use such as railway line paths as they do look very slick.

rowlers

I have them on my Pro6, you can't got wrong at the price. I'd be confident that they'd hold up OK on DRY gravely paths, they are fairly tough but roll extremely nicely. Maybe need to drop the pressure a little too. I run them about 50psi on the roads for a comfy ride.