Dabbling and meandering through the last few years , I have tweaked and changed rubber tread around a fair bit. Poring over reviews, desperate to get an edge and most bang for my training as well as a lot of racing and training. I am not an expert by any means, I thought I would do a dump of what I have found.
Basically rubber for cross seems to come down to Tread and Pressure.
Pressure...Grip, cornering handling ( notice none of that comfort crap)
Then Tread.. depends on the conditions.. Basically dry as a bone, (filetread) somewhere in between ( intermediates)or gloopy mud shit ( even then its different types of mud)...
So lets talk about pressure: How low can you go. Its important.. As a cross newbie its hard to get your head into running such low pressures, but a few sessions a playing , bleed a bit, play a bit more, you soon get the idea.
You got to go low...low enough to allow cornering effectively, but high enough not to pinchflat or roll a bead or go too squirrely..
To really get low and the best you have to go tubulars...
Clinchers for playing (convenience and price_, Tubulars for Business (performance. ) I know there is Tubeless, but I have no experience of running them and the only person I know running Tubeless has had no end of snags and burps)
Tubulars are supple so they grip and the sidewall deforms and rolls on cornering, this creates the grip and handling feelthat everyone raves about. the lower pressures and that flat glue bed means there is a hugely lower risk of pinchflatting.
If you read back through this blog you can read that I switched over to Tubulars early in the spring.. If you are going to race, Tubulars are where its at. Training on them is expensive, but through the summer was a worth while investment. I got some cheap intermediates (Grifos) on plain old reflex rims and ended up traiing and racing on them.
However, its not all been plain sailing. I have punctured my summer tubs, and instead of expensive repairs and risking regluing, I just wanged a load of sealant in there and kept on riding.
My Mud specific tubs ( Dugast Rhinos) were glued onto a shit set of Planet Xs that abruptly died. So all I had was those intermediates. These were superb through out the summer and the early season, until the mud got thicker and I had to start using a mud specific tyre.
Everything they say about Tubs is pretty true, though I never properly dialled in the pressure correctly but got down to around the 28 Psi Mark.. that low, cornering started to get a bit squirelly, and roots on circuit felt harsh and scarey(may be down to my rather abusive riding style) but around 30 psi seemed pretty sweet for me.
The two rides I experienced on Rhinos were excellent, mainly damp grass, local field and the Thruxton Circuit. I will undoubtedly be buying new ones to replaced the knackered ones that are sat in the garage.
I now have a set of Dugast Typhoons (Intermediates) to test. And two other sets of wheels ready to glue in the off season. A set of Rhinos on one and the other, a soon to be selected set of Filetreads.
In the mean time I hope to carry on messing with pressure in various conditions.
Still on pressure, clinchers have to be run harder: I seem to have found 37 ish psi for racing, but for training around the 40 and a bit mark. at that pressure the sidewalls don't deform as much and handling and grip is not as good. Oh yeah.. Pinch flats... Lots in training and a pain..
It then comes down to the Tread pattern, as I already mentioned, that depends on the type of mud you are riding in.
Tread patterns vary quite a bit, but generally there are the three types. File treads ( baldy in the middle with side nobs) and intermediate. ( side nobs with an intermittent central tread, the more continuous the more it lends to hard pack) and a mud. long spaced out spikes intended to cut in to gloop, bite and then clear balled gunk quickly. many manufacturuers have the same tread on Tub and clinchers ...
All treads have been ridden over the same circuit multiple times.
I started off with a well worn pair of michelin muds. Classic Greens...didnt really know any better really, but sliced a sidewall on glass down the woods and had to retire them. After a crap repair, I brought them out for a very wet summer cross race, but had a horrendous slithering mess with it. they were OK, but preferred other treads.
Wolf Cross. Good side nobbles for cornering in the dry. but dicey in the slick. Fast rolling on harderpack. wont buy another set though. just felt stiff. balled up quickly on claggy stuff.
Michelin Mud 2 . wear out quick on tarmac, a good intermediate, puncture prone. pretty quick on hard pack, but clogs easily in sticky peanut butter fragile sidewalls. Most reviewers rave about them being the best all rounder, but I am 'meh' about them.
Challenge Grifos . Good all-round tyre . so far my favourite intermediate . ( tubular and Clincher). doesn't clag up like Mud2s and more robust. not so supple cornering, but I can live with that. these are my go to tyre. If I had more money I would buy Grifo Open tubulars...
Schwalbe CX Pro .I bought these thinking they were a possible cheap mud tyre for this winter. But they have been a big disappointment. The tread pattern is pretty good, but they are very narrow meaning they corner poorly, they are not very supple and seem to carve into the loose. Very sensitive to pressure due to the lack of volume. I have punctured every ride on these, on more that one occasion twice. I hate them. Im not giving up on Schwalbes though , I will buy Rocket Rons for my next spin of Clincher Roulette.
Challenge LIMUS Open Tubular. open tubulars are basically really ezpensive clinchers. They are the same carcass as a tubular, supple sidewalls and light. with a latex inner they are really good. These were the mud specifics that I used to replace my Rhinos. Excellent in the mud, but very expensive, anything less than gummy shite, and they feel draggy, but they really are superb in the mud though, but I worry about them in training on crappy circuits. At 55£ a pop these are for sunday best .
Anyway thats my two pence worth
will keep you posted on those Rocket Rons
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