Cyclocross Racing - Racing Tires

okay, so this question goes even further into niche obscurity than my questions about high profile carbon wheels for CX. I have the cane creek aros 58s now, they are in the hands of the door man at my building today. I need a pair of tubular tires to glue onto the rims. I have my 1st wheelset, kings laced to velocity escapes with the tufo elite tires, which have been amazing all-rounder type tires. I bought these fancy wheels to prevent mud buildup, so naturally they will be for wet days. I am trying to decide if they will be primarily for muddy courses.

Is it a better idea to buy tires where the tread pattern is made more for muddy wet sloppy conditions, or to put more general condition tires on the rims?

I got fancy wheels, I have a feeling I am going to want to ride them all the time. The midwest is fairly dry in the fall anyway.....I am thinking either Dugast Flying Doctors or Challenge Grifo Cross Tubulars

I am bumping this thread so all corners of the world can chime in regarding what tubulars they choose for whatever conditions exist. I am looking to pick up a set of "all purpose tires" (which sadly do not exist really) and have researched various manufacturer websites, and I am tired of hearing from the manufacturers.

I have heard the the cornering abilities of the TUFO tires are not all that great, and I have no unbiased feedback for Vittoria regarding the Tigres and the silver ones. Anyone have anything to say about the durability of sidewalls?

Thanks for anythig you can throw in on this topic - I really want to get a move on some tires soon! The season approacheth!

I bought a pair of Vittoria XGs last year. They've been ok, but the biggest issue I've had with them is the basetape coming off in areas. I just bought a pair of Grifos for another set of wheels and I'm planning on using those as my primary tubular tires this year.

yeah - iwas looking into the Grifos, but no 32mm can I find...

I can vouch for the Grifos because I used them last year and they were the best tire I ever used. The tread does not particularly look aggressive but they really stick well and corner amazingly well. I use 34's but I know they make them in 32's.

Running Grifos and Muds this season unless something changes my mind. CX starts two weeks from Sunday for me. Ha!

grabbed the Grifo Challenge 34s

thanks all!

Your gonna love them. Report back with your critique.

Well, when I picked up my new Grifos and mounted them I found that the tread was pulling away from the sidewall slightly. Shop told me they are having a problem with many of the Grifos, didn't charge me, and told me to run them until a new batch came in. Glued the tread down with Gorilla Glue and it looked good. Raced them this weekend and they are pulling apart again. LBS is now saying they are seeing the problem on this batch too. I may switch to Maxxis MiMos on the shops recommendation.

wow - that is not so awesome news. keep us posted as to how this will be corrected (as in what the manufacturer intends to do about it)

Will do. Long live Gorilla Glue!

Get some Dugasts and be done with it. They weigh at least 100 grams lighter per tire than the Grifos and are much better against pinch flats. Also, consider FMB tubulars. They are excellent and have a slightly more aggressive tread than a regular Dugast Typhoon. They also weigh a bit more, but no where near a Grifo. I personally run Typhoon 32mm tubs on my main wheels, then have some Rhinos on a second set. Pit wheels are some tubulars with tufos and some clinchers with Muds, depending on the race.

I'm running clinchers.

I have had good experiences with Grifo tires and have ended up with a set of Grifos in a 30mm (there is a story, but . . . ). Am I going to notice alot of difference vs the 32s that I normally run? I have a set of 32s as well that have seen a bit of use and will be a backup set.

ok - I am going to try Flexus tires this season as the Grifo Challenges provided a few factors I dont think should be included for the price of the tire.
1. Two different tread patterns. One tire I bought has an extra set of cornering knobs (yes!) and the others only have one set of knobs. Not a huge thing, but inconsistent for sure
2. one new tire held zero air. again, lack of QC is a bit annoying (turns out the shop I bought the tire from warrantied it and open the casing only to find a slit in the tube...odd).
3. tread rubber pulling away from casing. this is probably the most annoying. yeah, it can be fixed with rubber cement or shoe-goo, but again - for the tire price, I would expect a bit more.

anyone else run into these or other problems with Grifo? Or is my luck really that bad?

I ran the Challenge Grifo clinchers. I didn't have any problems with them. For the money they aren't bad.

So far, no real issues with the Grifo's that I have. One does leak down to zerop overnight, but I think it may be a valve issue, and i haven't taken the time to swap valves out to confirm. If not, a shot of Stans may be in order.

I've seriously considered trying the Flexus, but have read that they suck in the mud. Only one race last year presented any mud conditions, and you would have needed bogger tires to overcome the slop that was on the ground. That said, the Grifos did a damn good job in it. On the flip side, the Flexus is supposed to be like gum on hot pavement when it comes to dry conditions, so I may still be in the hunt for a set. Grrrrrrrrrrr. choices, choices.

heck ya - maybe I am just too picky about stuff...heard all kinds of stuff regard flatting, etc on Dugast...BAH! Dammit!

auk - just buy me a set of Rhyno 32s and we'll call it a day. k thx

Sure, now do you want the special white version or will the standard fare do? All I ask in return is a set of FMB's with the Racing Ralph treads. We'll call it our early xmas exchange.

um, I don't speak Schwalbe?

Racing Ralph tread:

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/images/products/tires/l_img_racingralph_35mm.gif

I'm going to be running these (clinchers) this season but it would be great to have the same tread on some training tires as the race wheelset.