anyone use cyclocross tires on their commuter?
 

As I've mentioned before, I'm gonna use my Bianchi Bay City '07 hybrid commuter for some light touring. Touring aside, what about some semi-knobby tires for commuting? I'm gonna have some Mavic A 319 rims laced up. They accept 28-47 mm tires. I know I won't be able to ride fast, but then again, I'm commuting, not racing cars. I do have the option of buying them and switching between my commuting tires and the cyclocross. Please feel free to comment.

I've been thinking of doing the same. Let me know how it works out for ya.

Yes. I use Continental Twister Pros in 38c. Nice & light and can go fast if need be.

I ran Vittoria Randonneur Cross (700 x 28) on my touring bike - switched from x 37 Schwalbes. Felt about as secure cornering and lighter enough to make acceleration a bit better.

I didn't ride enough in gravel or dirt to really notice a difference in traction there, but it is a more aggressive - dirt oriented tread.

I ditched the cross tires that came on my old Fuji after the second time I rode them. They didn't roll well,got squirrelly in fast turns,and had no puncture resistance(rear flatted). Replaced them with a set of Specialized Infinitys which rocked. Higher pressure/smoother rolling,zero flats(I've never flatted any of my Flak Jacket tires),and still some tread for rolling in grass/trails.

Are those folding tires?

My IRC Mythos XC Slicks wear too fast when I ride too much pavement on them. I don't think I'd get an entire year (1500-2000 miles) out of them if I left them on after cyclocross season. My Ritchey Speedmax's (now on my dad's bike) fared much better.

I rode my Kona JTS quite a while with the stock Nokians. I didn't see a huge drop is speed from them so I wasn't in a big hurry to replace them. I eventually did though, and I would never intentionally buy cross tires for a commute.

Not really a 'cross tire, but came with my Tricross: Specialized Boroughs. Perfect for commuting.

I think the conventional wisdom is that knobbies of any size reduce traction on hard surfaces. There is nothing to recommend them for road riding. I replaced the 32c CX tires that came on my Bianchi Axis with 28c Continental Contacts. Fast, sticky, and good puncture resistance.

Also, wouldn't good commuting tires pretty much equal good touring tires?

I've thought of getting a pair of those for crappy weather riding and gravel trails.

Then, I remembered that I've got a third bike (for now ;) ) that I wouldn't mind getting into the snow, so why should I subject a nicer bike to salt & grit?..

Eh, I still might buy the tires...

Me, too
 

I've been thinking along the same line as I have to cover 12 miles of crappy Missouri road and a big chunk of hard-pack, "rails to trails" surface with some loose gravel thrown in.

I had a nasty, low-speed fall riding my 700 X 23c tires in June - snapped my hip like a twig, so now I'm all Cobalt-Chrome on my left side.

What IS the best tire for that that combination if riding surfaces?

I use Vittoria Cross XN Pro's. They are fast and have worked well for commuting. They are better for dry conditions. My commute route includes paved trails and dirt trails so this tire is a good selection.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c8...1/DSCN3330.jpg

I just saw those Vittorias the other day, too -- do they work well enough on dirt, etc? They look like they make a lot more sense than knobbies on pavement, too. I don't need big lugs anyway.

I ride hilly dirt trails and paved trails with dirt on them all the time. They don't do well with wet dirt or clay trails. They seem to work ok with grass singletrack. They are fast for commuting (only a little slower than my road tires).

I've used the Forte SpeedTrac tires on my flat bar road bike for several years. No problems so far.

I'll have to go the opposite on this. I've got the Mythos XC (42mm) on my fixed CrossCheck and I've logged well over 2000 miles on them with no visible deterioration.

But everyones mileage will vary.

Great tires though

Good mud/snow tires. but I will go contrary to your contrarian expereience ( :p ). Mine started to wear out pretty fast with road use. Less than 1000 mile sof road use and maybe 400 of road and the rear is close to needing replacement.

I have the 35mm version.

What pressure are you running them at? I've got mine at max plus I tip the scales at about 235.

Those things are expensive! I think around $50 each. I have some on another wheelset and I have noticed a considerable drag with them over my other wheelset (original Roval wheels that came on the Tricross) that has Conti Ultra Gatorskins 25's. I do use them for dirt roads and such and they work great.

Ive been running these on my Winter Bike

I run Schwalbe CX Compe 700:35's for commuting...they roll fast and handle really well on both the road and trail.

On my wet/snowy weather bike, I run a Specialized Borough in the front, and a Specialized Houffalize in the rear. Seems to be a decent compromise between speed on pavement and traction on snow/gravel/mud.

My Bianchi San Jose came with WTB All-Terrainasaurus tires. If my commute was over dirt roads/snow, etc, I might have left them on, but it isn't, so I didn't.

Depends. I tend to run the rear near the max and the front a little lower (because the rear is mor ein danger of pinching out). If I was, say, riding home from a cross race I'd likely have them at pretty low PSI, but that's sort of a special situation.