Im not a cx rider but i have a tourer with Hunt cx disc wheels. The tourer came with v lightly treaded 32mm Contis.

the rims are 26mm external and at the front there is about 20mm of clearance at either side of the rim before you touch the fork leg. With the guards off there is even more to the crown.

its a similar story at the rear with maybe 17-18mm clearance before you touch the stays.

the ride in question is about 180ml over 2 days. 25% offroad, with some of it on crushed slate paths.

there’s also promised mud. But its mostly tracks i believe.

will a cx tyre go in? The retailer said it would take upto 35mm with guards, but i thought a cx tyre may have projecting nobbles.

can anyone recommend me a tyre in about 32mm please?

Just seen 33mm Racing Ralphs……are they ok for this sort of thing?

Just looked at my bike. 20mm either side of the fork sounds like alot to me, more than my bike. I have had 35mm small block eights on just fine with ok mud clearance unless it was a real CX race style bog fest

There is about 140 mikes of road….. the rest is tracks and slate paths. I am trying to find the best compromise

I’d probably stick with what you’ve got or maybe go for something like a Spesh Tracer if you wanted a bit more grip off road.

Challenge Gravel Grinders.

Just did my first Audax on these – very comfy a roll very well on the road.

How wide are those gravel grinders?

they are a reasonable 38.

I use conti cyclocross speed very fast on the road and ok on gravel paths etc on offer at wiggle

+1 for ContiCross Speed – I have used them on my last 2 CDF’s, for everything. I had planned to swop them out for backroad touring but they roll so well on tarmac that I didn’t bother. They are pretty capable off road too, as cx tyres go…

I would go with a 38-40mm tyre – file tread centre with side knobs – bigger carcass provides more cush, lessens risk of snakebite punctures plus rolls better.
The problem with CX tyres they’re designed to work on soft, relatively benign conditions, with limited puncture-protection and restricting yourself to 32-33mm doesn’t provide any benefit IMO.

You might be better off with a slick or nearly slick like a Marathon Supreme or Vittoria Voyager hyper. Sounds like the mud won’t be that significant, so the benefit of faster rolling tyre everywhere else might be worth a little slipping on the occasional mud patch.

I followed someone on a ride in January who was on probably 32c near-enough slicks – like a wobbly line cut through the rubber, no blocks at all. 20 miles, 50% road, the rest was muddy doubletrack, wet woodland singletrack and a couple of steep, greasy chalk climbs, I was amazed how few problems he was having – barely any slips. And he wasn’t a riding god, just an occasional cyclist – even a “person-who-rides-a-bike”. He turned up on what he had – a town bike BSO. Made the rest of us feel distinctly over-treaded!

Further reading: http://janheine.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/why-we-dont-make-gravel-tires/

Edit: and for a long 2 days, if it’s going to be wet/muddy, full guards might be a great idea.

Plenty of CX tyres in 32 and 33. You just need to look. I think that is stil the UCI limit which is why they exist.

I’ve got some vee ones which look very similar to small block 8s.

I’d recommend the conti cross speeds. They’re not at all good in the mud but they aren’t a million miles away from slicks on the road (where you will be most of the time). They certainly manage cinder,gravel paths ok. You can get by on the mud just be careful when cornering or braking.

They are my go to tyre for mixed surface long distance as speed is most important. Did the sanstone way on them, C2C and coast and castles (all long day rides), plenty of other CX centuries too.

We’ve done a fair bit of riding on Clement X’Plor USH tyres – 35mm. They fit in my old Carbon CX race bike with no problems.
I’ll probably be riding Paris-Roubaix on them in 3 weeks time.

anyone tried the Conti CrossSpeeds against the Clement X’Plor USH, both in 35mm guise ?

I followed someone on a ride in January who was on probably 32c near-enough slicks – like a wobbly line cut through the rubber, no blocks at all. 20 miles, 50% road, the rest was muddy doubletrack, wet woodland singletrack and a couple of steep, greasy chalk climbs, I was amazed how few problems he was having – barely any slips

I ride a mix of 50/50 road/offroad using 23c tyres. Fast corners can be a bit hairy but other than that they are fine. The only thing I need in a tyre is that it is tough as get a lot of flint/sharp stone punctures otherwise.

(I have to point out that I am a riding god so that may have a bearing on it)

Few good deals at http://www.planetx.co.uk/c/q/wheels/tyres-and-tubes/cyclocross-gravel-adventure-tyres that might be suitable, I’ve read those Panaracer Gravelking SKs are supposed to be better than G-Ones, but I can vouch for those Marathon Cross being excellent on the road and pretty good in non-sloppy off-road.