I'm looking for a cyclocross tire according to the descriptions below. I'm using them mainly for riding in the Washington DC regional area, which includes endless miles of varied paved and unpaved pathways both in the city and into the countryside. All feedback is greatly appreciated.

- 700x28cc or 700x30cc
- low rolling-resistance center tread for fast, hard conditions, but treaded enough on the sides for solid cornering off-road
- folding beads that can be mounted or dismounted easily (i.e., I will not need a crowbar)
- can be pumped to a high PSI, anywhere from 85-95 PSI
- lightweight

I'm currently riding Hutchinsons, the stock tires on my Cannondale Cyclocross, which are great off-road, but too spongy and squishy on road and hard-packed trails (they only go up to 70PSI).

thanks,
Jpearl

basically what you are describing is the Ritchey Speedmax. A great tire, and cheap.
I use em for training. They arent the best for racing because they are pretty bad in mud and other sloppy conditions, but they are perfect for city/path/dry dirt/etc.

Thanks for the feedback. I did some research and the Speedmax seems to be the ideal tire. I read some reviews by a few guys, and some of them actually race the Speedmaxes, running the 30cc's at lower PSIs on muddier courses, and using 38cc's on dryer courses. I'm thinking about the 32's as a good compramise, which also just happen to be available at my LBS.

BTW, did you get any use out of your bike(s) during the transit strike up in NYC?

no more than usual. i dont use the trains to get to work, so the strike didn't pose a problem there, but it definitely put a damper on my christmas shopping! even though it crippled the city i thought it was kind of exciting and very strange. i've never expereinced anything quite like it. i got out and did my training rides as usual and it was actually kind of fun to ride the city streets and see so many bikes.

I second the Ritchey Speedmaxses. Got them (700c x 30) on my cross bike right now , and ride all over DC with them. Great for the C&O Canal Towpath. Just be careful on sharp, paved corners - the knobs stick out to the side a bit, and if you lean the bike over too far on pavement it can get squirmy.

Vredestein Camp Cross

Clincher

Will take up to 110 psi

Great tire.

700x 28
-or -
700x30

What's the highest PSI those Speedmaxs can take, and is mounting them on the rim easy to do with the folding bead (and do you have the Comps or Pros)? I'm looking to order a pair from one of the shops in the area. C&O is a great path to ride, there's also some good unpaved stuff in Rose Park and Rock Creek Park. The Capitol Mall is fun to play on also.

Thanks in advance for answering my questions about the tires.

I'm running the speedmax 32s on my trainer/beater/road bike. The downside I didn't see mentioned is that the edge blocks that give you good cornering in dirt make them a bit squirmy on fast paved corners.

I think they're good up to 110psi. Enough that it really doesn't matter.

Mounting wasn't a problem for me. Your mileage may differ, depending on the rim.

I can pretty heartily recommend them for anything except racing in mud.

Ron

+1

Easy to mount, no levers needed. I ride them just about everywhere and I even raced on em a couple times this past season on the hard, fast courses (Sterling, MA and Highland Park, NJ). I run them at a high psi around NYC/NJ and haven't had any problems (so far). Been training on them for a couple years -- best thing about them as that they are cheap. Seems like you can always pick up a pair on Ebay for like $25.

I'm having good luck commuting on my MIchelin Sprints. They're the old green style.
I've rather enjoyed them, having had flat problems with the 26" version on my MTB.
As a previous poster noted, having knobs on the sides makes them a big wiggly on turns on pavement.
But that's to be expected.
Based on that, I think the Michelin Jets would be a good tire as well as the Speedmax.
I had SpeedMaxes stock on my CrossCheck but didn't ride them a whole lot before I took them off.

I've got the Comps (ha ha that sounds like I'm sick) and have no trouble mounting them on Mavic CXP-33 rims. I have also mounted them on Open Pro rims, very easy on and off, don't need tire levers. I don't think the tires have a folding (Kevlar) bead - pretty sure it's steel.

I have pumped them up as high as 80 psi without a problem, I'll bet they could take more, but they're pretty hard at that psi. When it's icy/snowy out, I run them at about 45 psi and ride over the frozen slushy stuff with confidence. Pinch flatted on a pothole at that low pressure once, though.

I have also raced with them on a non-muddy course, and I thought the tires were just fine, but I'm not very fast when it comes to the racing.