ModeratedUser

Hello all,

I'm wondering if you would be so kind in suggesting some cross tires for my wheels? The rim size is 622 x 15, so I'm thinking nothing wider than a 32mm, right?

Some parameters here;
-not going to use it for racing
-I live in SoCal and our chances of seeing rain, much less mud are next to zero!
-I'm gona be riding this on the road too. So I figure about 75% road and 25% dirt
-I'm no Tinkerbell on the bike at ~245#
-My PSI has got to be pretty close to max all the time

What did I leave out?

-Oh yeah, I'm cheap!

billh

geez, I have no idea. I road my michelin muds to work so I could practice in the park after work, but the tread wore down terribly on the road. I don't know of any cx tires that would take that much riding on the pavement.

I would suggest the panaracer ribmo PT, which are basically indestructible smooth street tires, think they would be OK in the dirt. I have the 38mm on my cx bike for commuting, but they have various widths.

helo

How about Continental Cyclocross Speed or Speed Ride. They come in 35 and 42 and run a bit narrower than listed. File thread and pretty fast on pavement. Don't worry about the rims, people have been running 29er tires on Open Pros.

1242Vintage

I have a set of Schwalbe CX pro light tires on my CX bike https://www.biketiresdirect.com/produ...e-cx-pro-light I use those for commuting and practice in the park on the way home and for weekend trail rides on fire roads and gravel. For racing I have Clement PDX tires mounted up on a different wheel set.

The are a narrow tire, 30 mm. They are light, roll well on pavement, and have a good tread pattern for dirt. The rubber seems to be a little stiffer so the wear rate is good.

One other point. I had a problem with one tire. Not sure if it was a defect ... or .... if I was just having too much fun. I hit a massive pothole dead center at speed (25 mph) and destroyed the sidewall. I figures hey these are CX tires and should take some abuse so I contacted Schwalbe, sent a couple pictures of the tire (not the pothole) along with how it happened and they sent me a replacement. Nice when a company stands behind their product.

I'm 195 lbs and run them at 50 psi.

Good luck with your choice.

Kopsis

What the OP describes is definitely not a Cyclocross tire. CX tires are designed mainly for grass and mud and happily compromise durability and comfort for racing performance. You don't need aggressive tread for gavel grinding and 75% road is going to trash CX tires fast. That's assuming you can keep air in them - you don't find much glass/scrap metal on a CX course, so flat protection isn't a priority. All of this violates the "cheap" criteria.

Just get a good touring tire. I like the Panaracer T-Serve which is available in sizes from 25c to 35c for a little over $40 each, but there are lots of good choices. A 32 or 35 will have no problem handling dirt trails and should provide a pretty decent ride, flat resistance, wet pavement traction, and long life.

Ghost Ryder

Don't bother with a CX tire if you're going to be on the road75% of the time. I usually use Continental Gatorskins, & Specialized Armadillos in 700cx28 when I want to commute with my CXer's.
Only time it gets sketchy is in loose gravel @ mid/high speed.
(As with almost any tires)

ModeratedUser

Yeah I'm kinda leaning towards street tires. I didn't do too bad when I was riding my road bike off road with that setup. Looks like alot of racers are using road tires too in my area here. I went to the beginning of the CX season here in LA and I saw lots of dudes with road tires. Granted it helps that everything was bone dry on the track.

Also I found this article posted on another forum and thought it would be relevant to this discussion. If I did go for some CX tires, I'd look for one of the tires listed as "File Thread Clincher". Not too worried about longevity if the price is fairly cheap like two tires for ~$50.

Thanks for everyone's input, it's much appreciated.

Mostyn

Look at Schwalbe Durano or Durano Plus; or the Schwalbe Marathon or Marathon Plus. Puncture proof tyres for X-Bikes used on tarmac.

Barrettscv 

I'm very happy with Vittoria Voyager Hyper tires for 75% street and 25% dry Gravel & off-road conditions. Very fast and smooth tire, even on gravel. These are also flat resistant and wear slowly.

If I need tread for loose earth, I use a Kendra Happy Medium.

fietsbob

WTB Allterrainasaurus 32/32.. are OK but, slick treads roll easier .

chriskmurray

This will likely be my next tire for the CX bike, although my ratio of dirt to road leans more in favor of dirt. If the dirt you are riding is mostly fire road, or other types of dirt that is not technical I would second the idea of a high volume completely smooth tire, you would be surprised how well it grips on dirt.

https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_ti...s/smart_sam_cx

roadbuzz

Ritchey Speedmax Cross Comp