Hi all,
I am a complete cross novice and am doing my first cross race in a few weeks time. My much littler half-brother (11) seems to be getting into the swing of things really well on a borrowed bike so I am building him up a bike and may well build myself one as well if I catch the bug!
The only component I'm not so sure of is the tyres. I've found lots of threads extolling the virtues of a particular tyre but I'm interested in the range of tyres that people keep to deal with particular conditions. I do a lot of MTB'ing and I have sets of Racing Ralphs, Fire XC Pros and Trailrakers. These will cover me for everything from dry, hardpack to axle-deep mud.
Do people have similar "fast"/"intermediate"/"Somme" condition tyres for cross or do most people stick with an intermediate throughout the season? If the former, could someone please recommend some, preferably folding, 700c clinchers in each category? I can't go tubeless as I would be sharing the wheelset with my winter bike.
I've heard very good things about Michelin Muds (though I have been told they are areally an intermediate tyre???) and Conti Cyclocross Speeds (fast). Any further info would be great!
Finally, what sort of diameter should I be looking at? Is 35 a good benchmark for everything or should you run thinner tyres for certain conditions (mud?)
Many thanks in advance!
Ed
I am a complete cross novice and am doing my first cross race in a few weeks time. My much littler half-brother (11) seems to be getting into the swing of things really well on a borrowed bike so I am building him up a bike and may well build myself one as well if I catch the bug!
The only component I'm not so sure of is the tyres. I've found lots of threads extolling the virtues of a particular tyre but I'm interested in the range of tyres that people keep to deal with particular conditions. I do a lot of MTB'ing and I have sets of Racing Ralphs, Fire XC Pros and Trailrakers. These will cover me for everything from dry, hardpack to axle-deep mud.
Do people have similar "fast"/"intermediate"/"Somme" condition tyres for cross or do most people stick with an intermediate throughout the season? If the former, could someone please recommend some, preferably folding, 700c clinchers in each category? I can't go tubeless as I would be sharing the wheelset with my winter bike.
I've heard very good things about Michelin Muds (though I have been told they are areally an intermediate tyre???) and Conti Cyclocross Speeds (fast). Any further info would be great!
Finally, what sort of diameter should I be looking at? Is 35 a good benchmark for everything or should you run thinner tyres for certain conditions (mud?)
Many thanks in advance!
Ed
I'll give the panaracers a go and I've been told I can borrow a pair of a friend's michellin mud 2s to compare them against. Now I just need to finish building up the bikes!