Cyclocross tires to and fro

T and Tms had a chance to touch base with a long Miscene crosser and former state champion not to mention one dude in our scne who knows more about cross gear than half the 100 or so homies that go to the line here in our state, the guy knows facts and fiction more than anyone. Jer Walker (aka CK ceral killer, toowhite, "from his pals,".... theres the cat T should be callin "APOLLO" cuz only he has more nic names this sucka!!!) gave us his insight on one of the most important aspects of a cross steed. your rubber,meat,tyres, treads whatever ya wanna call em, take chance and read through what he has to say, you will no doubt learn something. just take a look at that pic, the guy is lovin every second of haulin The man they call black ace's wheels at last years state championship.

Cyclocross is a very tech heavy sport, but of all the things you should consider, the first thing you need to get right are your tires. After all, this is where the rubber meets the road...and the dirt, grass, mud, mulch, sand, and whatever else Robert can find to throw at you. Get this wrong and it'll be a long day at the office. Get it right though, and you could be sipping the bubbly on top of the box.

Tire selection is the most critical component of a successful 'cross race. I've seen National Champions flail around like Bambie because of poor tire selection and I've seen average riders have winning rides due to a smart pick. I'm going to give an extensive review of a wide array of possible tire choices and illustrate where they may be best utilized.

There are three different mounting types when it comes to 'cross tires. You can go tubular, clincher, or even tubeless now. Tubular tires are glued onto the wheel with the tube sewn inside the casing. This is the choice of virtually every PRO and Elite level rider as they offer a superior ride quality and traction due to the ability to run lower pressures without pinch flatting. The downside is that they are expensive and the gluing process can be long, tedious, and messy. If you flat, you have to rip the tire off and replace it. Clincher tires are probably what most 'cross riders use still. They are much more affordable, most are offered in the same tread as their tubular cousin, and if you flat, just change the tube and move on. The downside is that they don't allow you to run lower pressure without the risk of pinch flatting and due to their construction, don't offer the same supple ride quality. Tubeless is really still in itʼs infancy in 'cross, but kind of offers the best of both worlds. There's no tube to pinch and no gluing to deal with. I have no personal experience with this mounting type, but from what I understand, it also has drawbacks. At lower pressure, hitting an object on the course may cause the tire to burp and loose pressure. I've also heard that mounting the tires onto the wheels can be like wrestling a bear and may discourage people from switching tires, but with limited tubeless tire choices, it may not matter at this point.

No matter which mounting style you choose, there are three crucial things to consider:

The first crucial choice is tread. Even if you only race the Tailwind series, you will find a variety of terrain and depending on the weather, one tread alone may not be enough. There are a lot of different treads on the market today, but most fall within three categories, dry condition knobbies, mud knobbies, and file treads. Most people will have what I consider an all around tire. For most Michigan courses, a dry condition knobby will suffice. But there have been days when it has rained excessively or more Michigan like, snowed excessively. This is where a mud specific tire will excel. And just like the old mountain bike days in the 90's, we're starting to see a surge in slick tread or file tread tires. These will have limited use, but excel on flat hard pack courses, sand, and ice. All three types are available in both tubular and clincher.

The second crucial choice is pressure. Even if you have the right tread, if you're running too much or in rare cases, too little pressure, you're already trying to swim upstream. Tire pressure is still something of Jedi Force kind of thing. I can't just present a chart and tell you to use this or that pressure. Pressure will depend on mounting type, rider weight, riding style, and terrain. A really svelte rider who is smooth on the bike running a tubular can go as low as 25 psi. A Clydesdale who has a habit of crunching rims riding a clincher may need to go as high 50 psi. That's probably the range everyone should try to shoot for. Anything over 50 psi and you're losing traction, control, stability, and comfort.

The third and final crucial thing to consider is size. With sizes ranging from 28-35 (there are some larger than 35, but are not allowed by the UCI and generally aren't well suited to racing), size is an important choice and will effect how the tire feels. Things to consider when choosing size are tread pattern, rider weight, and rider style.

Now for the tubulars:

In the world of 'cross tubulars, the #1 name in the game is Andre Dugast. As stated on http://www.cyclocrossworld.com/, Dugast tubbies are truly hand constructed the "old fashioned" way. This produces a tire that is second to none. Andre Dugast started with Dourdoigne in 1952 and branched out on his own in 1974, just three years before Dourdoigne closed their doors forever. He has seen the rise and fall of all the modern champions, and made tubulars for most of them. At its height, the Andre Dugast Company employed 6 people. Today he works alone and is one of the masters of a dying art. Dugast casings define what supple means. In Europe, Top pro's run these at unthinkable low pressures. A top notch glue job is critical when rolling around the course at 25 psi! Dugast tires are designed for classic European style cross courses. This means grassy fields (generally smooth) with a combination of pavement. The upside of running Dugast tires are there unbeatable ride quality due to their cotton casing. The downside of running Dugast is their cotton casing. When subjected to mud and debris, the sidewalls tend to break down quick. However a new preventative measure can be taken by applying a layer of Aquaseal to the sidewalls. This is best done after mounting and they've had time to cure. You can also prolong the life of a Dugast by applying this after the fact. Better late than never considering a Dugast will cost you between $114 and $135. Dugast has four models, the Typhoon, the Rhino, the Pipistrello, and the Flying Doctor.

The Typhoon is the most classic 'cross tire. Go to Europe and this will be the weapon of choice. This is a great choice for any of Michigan's courses on a dry day. The Typhoon is available in 28, 30, 32, and 34 ($115). The Rhino is Dugast's mud tire and works great. This is a tire some riders will consider on drier courses too if there are a lot of off camber sections or even just a couple slippery spots like this year's Lower Huron. Either way, the traction is great and it sheds mud and snow well when it gets rough out. The Rhino is available in 30, 32, and 34 ($120). The Pipistrello is Dugast's latest file tread tire. It has a diamond tread pattern with minimal small knobs on the side. This is a great tire for extremely hard packed courses with short grass, sandy courses, or even the occasional race on ice. Available in 30, 32, and 34 ($120). The Flying Doctor uses the same tread as the Typhoon, but has a stiffer casing that allows you to run lower pressure without the tire rolling underneath you. It is now only available in white tread which is only intended for dry fast courses. Not recommended for slick courses. Available in 30, 32, and 34 ($135).

And if you really are a tire geek, Dugast will make any tire you want as long as you supply the tread. This has been done in the past with Michelin's original green Mud, the Mud 2, and the Sprint. The cost of this custom fabrication is quite high factoring in exchange rates, but if you do a bulk order, the rate comes down to the normal range. Plan at least six months in advance for this process and he usually won't do these orders until the Euro 'cross season is over.

After Dugast, Challenge is the next most popular tire. Challenge is an Italian company that bought all the molds from Clement when they closed their doors. Now production is done in Thailand, which is where a lot of high end tubular road tires are made as well. Challenge gained huge popularity in the US due to easy availability and lower cost (compared to Dugast). They have even been accepted in Europe, working with the Fidea team and Joachim Parbo who helped develop the new Fango. Challenge has four models as well, the Grifo Cross, the Grifo Dry, the Fango, and the Grifo Seta. The Grifo Cross is an updated version of that original Clement tread that has added knobs to the side of the tire that extend all the way to the casing. This makes for a very good cornering tire and can be run in dry and moderately muddy conditions. Available in 30, 32, and 34 ($80). The Grifo Dry is their file tread and seems to have even less tread than the Dugast Pipistrello. Like the Pipistrello, use these on hard pack, sandy, and icy courses. Another trick that might only happen once in your life would be to set up pit bike with a pair pumped up to 90 psi, take a change on the last lap and sprint for the win on a hard tire while your nemesis is squishing around on 30 psi. I would only recommend this if a jersey were on the line. The Fango is Challenge's newest tread designed for mud. It has gotten rave reviews from Velonews (http://www.velonews.com/article/83379) and has already sold out two hundred tires in the US as soon as they hit the warehouses. Early season usage indicates it offers excellent traction and should be one of the revelations of the year. One of the biggest benefits of Challenge tires is that they use polyester instead of cotton for their casings which makes them much more durable to the elements. If cotton is still your thing though, you can get the Grifo Seta. This is Challenge's boutique tire with a cotton casing. With a tag of $180, I don't know how many you'll see in the US peloton.

FMB is a newer brand to the 'cross world. A French company trying to put up a fight with Dugast, distribution is scarce. To my knowledge, Molly Cameron of The Velo Shop in Portland, OR is the biggest one in the US. I think you can also find them on http://www.worldclasscycles.com/, but I'm not totally sure. The use a tread very similar to the Dugast/Challenge but they appear to have more rounded edges. They offer two tread types, the SSC (knobby) and the Sprint (file), but offer a variety of casing options (cotton, Superprestige latex, and Pro latex with puncture protection). I have had no experience with these tires, so I can't say how they glue or how they ride. They do seem overpriced even compared to Dugast so they're probably not what I would recommend.

Vittoria might be the best bang for your bike. They offer two different treads, the Evo XG knobby and the Evo XN file. They also offer two different casings, one with a 140 tpi and the upper end with 290 tpi. The higher tpi will result in a more supple ride. And since they are Vittoria, they have what I think are the base tape, so gluing goes well. The downside to Vittoria is that they use a lot of silica which helps shed mud, but it does make the tread slippery. Without sufficient side knobs, they aren't the best cornering tires. But if you are budget conscious or just look for something to train on, I think it would be a great choice.
Continental is not a name that you normally associate with 'cross tires. They had a tire in the past that had a great tread, but was way too narrow. It went away for a while and now they're back with a new line of tubular tires. The first is the World Cup. Available in 32 and 35, it appears to be a tire for the hard pack courses with low knobs and plenty of side lugs for cornering traction. The Speed Tubular is another in the long line of file tread tires and will have limited applications, but Conti may offer the largest file tread as this one comes in a 35. The Mud tubular looks like it has got some legs. Tall side lugs matched with shorter and wider spaced center lugs makes this one look as if it will live up to its name. The jury is still out since these just came to the public at Interbike, but since it's Continental, you know the quality is going to be there.

Tufo was at one time the most popular tire in the US. Back before Dugast were available to us and Challenge even existed, Tufo was about the only tire going. Tufo's are different since they are a tubular tire with no tube, so they can be the lightest tires out there. They only had one tread until recently when they came out with the Flexus, which was their same tread, but with additional side knobs for better traction. They have also just introduced the Cubus which is a much knobbier tire that looks like it would be good in the mud. And like everyone else and their brother, Tufo has the Dry Plus file tread for you to slip around on. Tufo tires are hard to glue. The base tape absorbs a lot of glue and is extremely tight, so getting onto the rim can be very difficult. Once they're on though, they're straight as an arrow. Overall, I do not recommend Tufo since there are so many other better choices out there.

Gommitalia is an Italian poor man's Challenge. Same tread with a little different casing. I've heard there are quality issues. No one really uses these anymore.

Schwalbe has the Racing Ralph which looks like one of the best treads I've seen in a long time. But they redesigned the tread for 2009 and it resembles nothing of itsʼ predecessor. Iʼve yet to even see the tubular version in the flesh, so I canʼt really say anymore than that.

Clincher Tires:

Challenge in their infinite wisdom was one of the first to offer clincher versions of all their tubular tires. So for those of you wanting to ride what the pros ride, but donʼt want to drop the cash on tubular wheels, Challenge offers the Grifo, XS, and Fango in clincher versions. If I were riding clincher wheels, these would be my first choice.

Continental makes some of the best tubular tires in the world, but they also offer a broad range of clincher products. In fact, I think some of their clincher treads like the Speed King Cross would make really bitchinʼ tubular tires. They also offer the Race and Speed treads in clincher form.

Geax made their name in the mountain bike world, but they do have two ʽcross tires available. The Mezcal 34 looks like their version of a dry hard pack tire while the blade is definitely designed for the mud and comes in either 29 or 33.

Hutchinson really got a boost in their ʽcross lineup when former Elite National Champion Marc Gullickson retired from racing and went to work for them. Gully immediately went to work on the Bulldog which is an all around tire that could be used in mud. He has since introduced the Piranha which is more of a dry condition tread. While these are clincher tires, they are also tubeless ready and will be discussed further in the next section

IRC has the Mythos which is just a 700c version of the mountain bike tire with the same name. It had itsʼ place years ago, but I think it has since been passed by.

Kenda never really took ʽcross seriously in recent years, but now they come to the table with the Tomac Small Block 8. This looks like a fun tire to run on dry grassy courses, but not in the mud. Kenda also has the Kommando which looks to have widely spaced knobs, but I canʼt confirm itsʼ performance in the muck.

Maxxis is another MTB convert that has kept pace with the growing sport of Cyclocross. In 2005 Maxxis introduced the Locust CX, and its 6-pack tread design allows the tire to roll fast on pavement and provides great traction on the wide variety of terrains encountered in a Cyclocross event. For the off camber sections that are sure to be found on every good Cyclocross course, the Locust CX has squared shoulder lugs to provide the best traction and allow you to take the line you want. The Maxxis Raze is a fast rolling center ridge tire. The lugs are spaced wide enough to shed mud, snow, and ice easily. The Maxxis Larsen MiMo was designed by Steve Larsen to handle all the elements that Cyclocross can deliver. Ridden to numerous victories at the US Gran Prix and other top events in the US, the Larsen MiMo has quickly become one of the most popular tires on the market. The round knobs shed mud easily, while penetrating the soil for maximum traction. Each knob is ramped on the leading edge to lower rolling resistance.

Michelin is one of the pioneers in ʽcross tires. They introduced the now legendary Mud back in the day when they used to be green. This tread was the perfect choice for mud. It shed anything that got in itʼs way due to the spacing of the lugs and the slick compound. They also had the sprint which is a file design for fast dry conditions. The sprint has since been retired and replaced by the jet. Iʼm not a huge fan of slick ʽcross tires although I had a pair and the Jet is not a tread I would put in my stable. The Mud has evolved into the Mud 2. The tread pattern is slightly different, losing some lug and making it a more all around tire. Michelin also dumped the green compound in favor of black.

Panaracer offer the Cinder X and the CrossBlaster. Both utilize short small block knobs. They could be used in most conditions as they look like they would shed mud ok, but they may not offer the same kind of bite as a taller knob like the Michelin would.

Ritchey has been one of the most famous names in all of cycling. Tom was not only a pioneer of the modern day mountain bike, but was and still is actively involved in the sport of ʽcross. They never really expanded the tire line much though and still only have the Speedmax and the Excavader. Great for dry to loose conditions, I wouldnʼt take these out if the clouds look too grey.

Schwalbe again offers the Racing Ralph in addition to the CX Comp, CX Pro, and the Smart Sam. Like Ritchey, none of these tires look well suited to wet or muddy conditions, but offer good grip in hard pack to loose courses.

Tufo again goes for uniqueness in their clincher line. They take the same tubular tire and attach a hook to install onto a clincher rim. Again, the tire contains no tube and is fully enclosed. Perhaps the only clincher tire to offer the true feel of a tubular.

Like Challenge, Vittoria makes the same tubular offerings in clincher form. If you like to race on tubulars, but train on clinchers, Vittoria is definitely the best bang for your buck in this combo area.

Tubeless:

Right now, the only two companies doing a tubeless ʽcross tire are Hutchinson and Stanʼs. The Hutchinson tires are those reviewed above.

Stan's has developed the Raven to work in conjunction with their NoTubes sealant system. Now virtually any tire can be used without an inner tube. The Raven is made of 120 TPI nylon. It has a dual compound rubber for exceptional grip. It has low rolling resistance and can be run at lower pressures without an inner tube. It requires the Stan's Sealant system to be run without an inner tube.

Notes:

If you are going to go with tubular tires, the gluing process is key. A bad glue job equals a rolled tire and that equals a trip to pit or the parking lot, neither of which usually find you collecting the dough. There are several types of glue on the market, but only two are worth mentioning: Continental and Vittoria Mastik. Both are yellowish glue that goes on clear. I like Conti the best. It goes on smooth and doesnʼt gum up. I like to use tin handle acid brushes to apply the glue. You can buy these at most hardware stores. The best method I have found is to put the glue in a clear plastic cup (something like a jello cup works great). Stretch the tire on the rim for at least 24 hours if not more prior to gluing. This will help ease the mounting process. Inflate the tire until it starts to roll inside out. Pump it up enough so that the base tape is facing up when the tire is laying flat. Apply a layer on the tire and let it sit 24 hours. If mounting onto a new rim, apply a coat of glue to the rim and let it sit 24 hours. Apply a second layer and let it sit 24 hours. Repeat on the rim as well. Put a final mounting coat on both the rim and the tire and mount immediately. While the glue is still wet, check the tire for straightness and readjust as need be. Put about 20 pounds into the tire and give a spin. You can adjust while inflated. Once you get it as straight as you can, roll the tire on the floor pushing straight down with hard force to help ensure good bond at the edges. After this, take the tire up to about 80 pounds and let it sit for at least 24 hours.

If you are going to run deep carbon wheels, do yourself a favor and spend a few bucks on good quality valve extenders. Iʼm not talking about the chincy type that just screw onto the existing valve. Get the type that requires you to remove the valve core from the valve stem. This type threads onto the valve stem and you replace the valve core on the extender. This allows you to maintain control of the air going in and out at the end and will never require using an Allen wrench to let air out of your tires.