Advice on tyres and pressures for mud

[IanWood]

Hi guys,

I am new to cross and have done just two races, one a few weeks ago and one yesterday at Fowlmead Country Park.

I am using a Specialized Tricross Comp and the tyres it came with, 32 Borough CX. These were fine on the first race as it was dry and no mud.

Yesterday was very muddy and not a lot of fun with no grip - fell a few times and managed to hurt my shoulder enough not to be able to ride to work today , still was able to finish...last...

Anyway, what tyres and pressure would you recommend for muddy conditions. At the moment I would favour control over out and out speed.

The next race is this Sun so want to have better tyres by then.

Cheers

Ian

 

[jpembroke]

Lower pressures will help a bit but too low and you lose speed and risk punctures. Sadly no 'cross tyre is going to offer the same traction as a fat MTB mud tyre. Ultimately it comes down to bike handling. You'll improve. Honest.

 

[Dave5N]

50 psi.

 

[IanWood]

Thanks guys,

Have bought some Panaracer Cindercross tyres from Rutland. These seem to have lots of mud grip.

I expect a lot of it is lack of confidence due to to the tyres, which makes things worse.

Cheers

 

[jpembroke]

I use those tyres. The best I've used so far. They do grip well but I still have my moments.

 

[IanWood]

Good - hopefully they should arrive in time for this weekend and I can try them - if my shoulder is better by then that is.

 

[mr-marty-martin]

50 psi for mud, bit high isnt it

 

[mudplugger]

I couldnt give you a figure as we always use tubs and thumb pressure. In any case it depends on each course eg just muddy or with a slippy top surface, rocky, tree roots etc, all of which will affect pressure. Try to use the practice laps to get a feel for whether you have the right pressure in each tyre. Change pressures and do another lap until you are happy. The front will be more about control and the back about traction, so they may be different. You may even have different tread patterns front and back on some courses.
Tyres are easier to switch between wheels and cheaper, but restrictive in terms of the range of pressures you can run them at.
Good luck at the w/end.

 

[IanWood]

>I couldnt give you a figure as we always use tubs and thumb pressure.
sorry to be dumb, but what does "tubs" mean - is it something different to normal inner tubes and tyres?
Hopefully the new tyres will arrive in time and I can try this advice out.
Cheers

 

[mr-marty-martin]

tubs are glued onto the rim, and the innertube is stitched into the tyre, so its all one thing, you can run lower pressure with tubs as there's less risk of the tyre rolling ( although it does happen )

and yeah i was runnin a tub on the back and a conti twister up front on sunday as it has alot of off camber, so the conti provided alot of offcamber grip

 

[Dave5N]

50 psi for mud, bit high isnt it

Not for clinchers

 

[mr-marty-martin]

yeah fair point, but still a tad on th high side if its deep mud i'd say

although im on tubs so may be wrong...

 

[IanWood]

are tubs better than clinchers then? I use my bike/wheels for commuting and take off the rack and slicks and put bigger tyres on, so gluing tyres on would not really be an option for me.

Are the risks with low pressure pinch flats and the tyres rolling off? What pressure would I start to have problems? Cheers

 

[mr-marty-martin]

with clinchers, hmm im thinking around 30, depends on the tyre, some clinchers are realy over built, so turn in and they squirm alot ( if that makes sense )

for what your using the bike for cinchers are much better, tubs are only for racing realy, as if you get a puncture you cant just take do a quick repair on the side of the road...

plus you'd need another set of wheels for tubs as they only go on tub rims

 

[Dave5N]

I wouldn't run clinchers at 30, you'll get a compression puncture with the first tree root.

And yes, Tubs are much better, much harder to maintain, and much more expensive. I'd use them for sure, but I'm rubbish so there's no point.