Cyclocross - Commuting Miles on CX Tires

I, like many others, have built up a bike to serve several purposes. My original goal was to have a solid commuter, but now I've put some Michelin Jets on it and absolutely have to try my hand at racing CX. Since I used my spare wheelset to build this bike, I don't have seperate "commuter" and "cyclocross" wheelsets.

Will I absolutely wear out my CX tires with 20-30 miles a week of light commuting on the road?

I suppose I COULD put my city tires on my road wheels and keep my CX wheels for races/training but then I get into a whole Campy/Shimano cassette can of worms.

I'm a little reluctant to put too many road miles on my Jets. What's the reality?

I, like many others, have built up a bike to serve several purposes. My original goal was to have a solid commuter, but now I've put some Michelin Jets on it and absolutely have to try my hand at racing CX. Since I used my spare wheelset to build this bike, I don't have seperate "commuter" and "cyclocross" wheelsets.

Will I absolutely wear out my CX tires with 20-30 miles a week of light commuting on the road?

I suppose I COULD put my city tires on my road wheels and keep my CX wheels for races/training but then I get into a whole Campy/Shimano cassette can of worms.

I'm a little reluctant to put too many road miles on my Jets. What's the reality?

I have some Michelin Jets too as well as a set of Mud 2s. After commuting on the Muds for too long (they were all I had at the time) I did start to notice premature tread wear. No, it hasn't send me flying into the tape in any races, but I have noticed it. I ended up picking up a pair of Jets that I've run a few times. They're a nice tire that make my "take the scenic route/questionable route" style of commuting a lot of fun and they're good enough for the occasional sketchy singletrack adventure or cx practice before work if I'm too lazy to swap out to my race tires (I opt for better traction over faster rolling w/ race tires).

I think if you plan on racing next year, commuting on those Jets will wear through them too much. Those tires have a subtle tread that won't last forever being ridden on asphalt everyday. That being said, maybe you can commute on the Jets (and do some mid-week rides on them) and use Mud 2s for the weekends this year. I know up in Ontario things are starting to get sloppy and the Muds are a much better race tire for these course conditions. If you're only relying on them for occasional (non-race) cx use you'll be able to enjoy them for ages and it won't be a hassle to swap them out w/ the Muds since the tires fit exactly the same on rims and take the same tube size.

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Bontrager CXRs here. I have about 300 miles and my rears are very visibly worn from a combination of commuting and singletrack riding. The front still looks new.

yeah you'll probably wear off the knobbies well before you'd wear out a sturdy road tire. but i'd just say that's a reason to run cheaper knobbies, not to avoid them altogether. ritchey speedmax pro are an EXCELLENT value. they're light, hold up well and are less that 30 bucks each most places.

I've recently noticed some pretty serious wear on my rear Ritchey speedmax. I was riding it a lot on the pavement (too lazy to change). The front still has a lot of life left in it though.

Skidding is probably the quickest way to kill a treaded tire, but sometimes it can be unavoidable during an urban commute.

For what it's worth (I am JUST starting out in cx - or cycling at all for that matter), I just read an article that said it isn't that uncommon to run a MUD2 in the front and a Jet in the back?

Someone else might be able to help with whether that is a decent set up for either race or commuting (or both, although it sounds like the rear gets way more wear, so it almost seems like the reverse would be better for preventing wear -- not for control, I'm sure). The guy at my local shop just suggested that I put Mud2's on front and back, especially since I'm brand new and need to be much more focused on controlling the bike than going super fast in my beginners class races. I'm looking forward to my first race on the new bike in two weeks, since I ran my first race ever last weekend on a borrowed mtb...not that bad, really, but I'm sure the new lighter bike with cross tires will be better.

DR

my Continental Twisters are showing some wear, but i don't intend to change them: i've got a lot of dirt, cobbles and brick paving in my commute (as well as asphalt).

I used to be fine (read: not incredibaly excited) about riding my Ritchey Speedmax Pros on the road, but now that I've been racing them, I hate riding them on the road. In general, CX tires like the Speedmaxs have high, soft knobs on the sides that are great for digging in to fast corners on a CX course, but are squishy and unstable when cornering on the road.

I would reccomend saving your CX tires for CX racing and using a pair of road tires for the road. CX tires have very specific tread patterns, and are simply not as effective when worn down on the road, as my CX tires have become from too many road miles.

just buy a cheapie pair of commuter tires and get good at changing them.....

Cross tires are terrible at road. As has been said, those knobs are awful for cornering. Just change the tires. I use Panaracer Urban Maxx tires for commuting (most of the time) and am very impressed. They are a lot easier to fit than HS308 Marathons :(

On the othe rhand I'll be using a slightly worn set of cross tires for general winter use with the idea they'll be decent in snow n' slop. Also, I use my cross tires on the road because a lot fo my rides are a mix of pavement and dirt. I might ride 10 miles to the start of a logging road, rid out on that for a while, ride back, hit some singletrack, etcetera. Cross tires are bad on the road, yeah, but they're at least better than mountain bikes. Definately use a higher PSI than you would in a race. Go to the max your tire says or even a little more. Helps with speed and cornering.