Cyclocross - Tire and Top mount lever selection

I'm building up my crosser and was hoping I could draw on the experience of you experienced guys.

First, I need to pick a tire. The first race I'm going to use this bike in has 27 miles of well maintained fire road, climbing 5000' in 9 miles. On the descent, there is about 5 miles of fire road that is rougher, with loose baby-heads and some embedded "hammer head" rocks, etc. Not really technical, but a few hairy corners and lots of rocks in the rough section. I rode it with my fork locked out and the tires at 60+ on my MTB with no bothers. I don't want to pinch flat or wreck my sidewall, but I would like to pick a reasonably optimal/fast tire. The first and last 5 miles is very very fast, almost paved. Any tire selections? Has anybody tried the tufo tublar clinchers? Any thoughts +/- on these?

Second, I'm going to add some top mount levers, and clamp them on the "narrow" portion of the handlebar. Do the empella levers fit the thinner portion of the bar? Any suggestions/preferences/experiences/blantant plugs for any particular lever?

Thanks guys. I'll post a picture when I get it done!

murph

Tires: For your race, get the cheaper ones. go for the Tufos (red/yellow sidewall). They won't pinch flat. The Elites (yellow/black sidewall) are awesome but the silky casing is easier cut by those rocks.

If you want to go cheaper, the Kenda Kross Supreme are good for the terrain you're describing.

Levers: Tektros. You can't beat the price and they plain work. Don't need to spend bucks on these.

Thanks for the quick reply! Any recommendations where I can get tufo's quick? cyclocrossworld says out of stock and my LBS says 3 weeks.

Try Bicycletires.com (http://www.bicycletires.com/tek9.asp?pg=products&manuf=30).

The Empella levers do fit on the smaller portion of the bar. They work great and look good too. You don't have to spend a lot on these but, they have a lot more cross style than Tektros.

Plus your supporting a company that's about cyclocross not mass production.

Good point about supporting the cross specific products... Thanks for everyones input - I'm going to give the second level Tufo clincher-tubulars a try. I'm going to get this built up, sell my road bike, and buy a second set of wheels for some skinny tires.

Thanks all!
murph

Has anyone tried the Tufo tire sealant? How does it work with the tubular-clincher or tubulars?