Cyclocross Magazine’s reviews of bicycle components, forks, tires, wheels, pedals, derailleurs, brakes and brake pads
by Clifford Lee When Kettle Cycles’ launched their Kickstarter project with the goal of creating a carbon-ceramic composite disc brake rotor, cyclocross tech geeks had …
by Joey Mullan Remember when you saved your paychecks as a young man for that “child’s toy”: a bicycle? Everyone thought you were crazy spending …
As we enter the sloppy period of the cyclocross season, some of you may have suffered from gunked-up or broken shift levers and races hampered …
by Clifford Lee Thirteen months ago we brought you the first-ever images of the new Clement MXP cyclocross tire tread, and at Interbike 2012, Clement …
France’s Hutchinson SA tire company has been hard at work updating and modifying its cyclocross tire lineup in recent years, and the introductions have been …
Here at Cyclocross Magazine, we enjoy hooking you up with offers that will save you some cha-ching. We figure, the more money we can save …
Update: Exclusive CX75 mechanical disc brake photos and specs added, price estimates for wheels updated. As seen with the introduction of the CX70 cyclocross component …
A Festive Red Brake Pad on a Diet A brake pad may not be the sexiest gift ever, but it’ll really show your love 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 …
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 …
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.
Tired of black tires? How about red, blue, or pink? That might be enough of a selling point for some. But rest assured, this miniaturized version of Panaracer’s Fire XC-Pro tire isn’t just designed to look pretty.
The Raze is Maxxis’ newest cyclocross tire. At a svelte 322 grams and with a versatile tread, it’s well-suited for many types of courses and terrain.
n Transitions, the ’cross movie, we witness former pro and former Hutchinson guy Marc Gullickson clipping some of the knobs off his old Hutchinson clincher before a race to get ready for the “peanut butter” mud he expects to encounter. Perhaps the Bulldog is the type of tire he was trying to create at the time.
A tread that’s been around longer than most ‘cross racers has gotta be pretty good, and these “open tubular” Challenge tires, sporting the legendary Clement tread, are great all-around tires that can handle most conditions well.
Continental adapted its popular Speed King mountain bike tire for ’cross, and it’s easy to see why this tread has been popular in the fat tire world.
This is the big brother of the CrossBlaster. If you race mostly deep grass courses, the Cinder-X is not the tire for you. But if you ride and race your bike on a mixture of surfaces, this tire could be an ideal choice.
The Ritchey Excavader is aptly named, as this tire digs into the soft dirt really well. On the pavement, the tire rolls quite smoothly, thanks to its semi-continuous center tread.
Tire Review: Maxxis Locust Cyclocross Tire Review Racing and Riding Impressions: Like the Kenda Small Block 8, the Locust is a great ’cross tire for …
