The holidays are a perfect time to celebrate the gift of cyclocross, and what better way to whoop it up than to share some last-minute ’cross love with others? Give a teammate a must-have tool (that you can borrow), introduce a loved one to the sport, drop a hint by leaving this list out for [...]
Most serious cyclocrossers eventually move from clinchers to tubular tires (or tubeless) to take advantage of the faster speeds of low-pressure tires with less pinch flat risk. Serious cyclocrossers who can afford it often look to carbon rims for weight savings. Now cyclocross racers are increasingly seeking wider rims for better tire support. Revolution Wheelworks [...]
Williams has brought to market a cyclocross specific tubular wheel set that is a strong performer yet durable enough for even the most aggressive Clydesdale. The wheels are built with stout 14 straight gauge spokes: 2-cross lacing on the front and 3-cross on the rear. The semi-aero, aluminum rim is robust, benefiting from a simple tubular cross section. The rims are completed with a brilliant white paint scheme, and their `cross-specific pedigree is emphasized by bold decals.
The Challenge Limus cyclocross tubular tires are making their way across the country, just in time for cyclocross season. We have received a review pair (freshly made on July 02, in Thailand), and we’ve got some pre-gluing observations from our close-up look at Challenge’s new tubular cyclocross tire designed for mud. The Limus is listed [...]
Clement made its return to tires and cyclocross in 2010 with the new PDX and LAS cyclocross clinchers. PDX, of course, is the airport code for Portland, and LAS the code for Las Vegas. As one might guess, the LAS is designed for gamblers, and the PDX is designed for bike commuters.
As the Tour de France continues, so does our Tour De Tires! For every stage of the Tour, we’ll be bringing you a review of a tire. Since it’s just about time to start gluing up tubulars or deciding what type of clinchers you’ll be riding this season, the timing couldn’t be better.
Ideally, the tires we feature will be tires deemed advantageous to an off-road version of the stage of the Tour De France, though we’re more interested in the dirt than the roads of France!
Like the Cinder-X, the CrossBlaster has a versatile tread that does well on all types of terrain, but its narrower width handles grass better than its bigger brother.
The beauty of clincher tires is that changing tires is a snap. Plan to hit the dirt on the cyclocross bike? Got a dirt or gravel road on your commute?
Schwalbe’s CX Pro Sport is one of the few ’cross tires available for 26 inch wheels, making it a great choice for mountain bikers looking to try out cyclocross, or for a 26” wheeled ’cross bike.
With a similar tread to the Challenge Grifo, the Vittoria XG Pro has a universal tread pattern that’s been proven over the years.
The Hutchinson Piranha is currently only one of three ‘cross tires officially made for tubeless use, but you’re able to run the tire with a conventional tube as well.
Michelin’s Mud2 replaced the famous green Mud tire six years ago with an updated black tread and sidewalls, but not everyone thinks the changes were upgrades.
The Steve Larsen-designed Mimo CX looks like an old Vittoria Tigre on steroids and LSD. The round knobs vary in size and surface, with ramped center knobs surrounded by small, smooth knobs and flanked by rows of medium- sized knobs with X cutouts.
The Kenda Kommando was the biggest surprise of this group. With such an understated tread and small, short knobs, this tire is fast and begs to be raced on a dry grass or hardpack dirt course.
Specialized has been working on a new line of cyclocross tubular tires for several years now, and with input from riders like 2010 National Champion Todd Wells, it developed several prototypes last season. The Specialized Tracer cyclocross tire comes in three configurations: the 290tpi, 423g Tracer Tubular, the folding 282g Tracer Pro clincher, and the Tracer Sport wire bead clincher (weights are average of early prototypes, as measured by Cyclocross Magazine) . All three models are listed at 33c to fall within UCI regulations. Our early tubular versions measured out at 32c, and Specialized informed us that the production versions will have slightly larger casings.
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