I’m using Schwalbe Super Swan cross tyres and they are awful for punctures – I’m having at least one puncture on EVERY ride!!! Admittedly it’s thorns but all my mates are on the same rides and not puncturing at all!

So, anyone got any recommendations for something a bit more durable? I don’t want to go super heavy but something with just a bit more puncture resistance would be good…..

Not Conti Cyclocross Speed tyres – I loved their grip, weight and roll on the road, but they too punctured often.

Same with the Schwalbes, but I have totally lost my patience!!

conversely, I have used conti crossspeeds as default tyre on cx/tourer for last couple of thousand miles, albeit mainly road/gravel, with only 1 puncture…

smart sam plus?

Been happy with maxxis mud wrestlers, however I would not change back from tubeless

Conti cxkings for me not really had any issues

What are people using tubeless? Have a set of 29er crests I want to use tubeless for a commutery bike

kenda kommandos

Rocket Rons on mine with Arch EX rims (which are overkill). Ride at 50psi (I’m pretty heavy though) and have no pinch flats any more and thorn etc punctures seal quickly. Wouldn’t ever go back to tubes.

What are people using tubeless? Have a set of 29er crests I want to use tubeless for a commutery bike

I’ve been running Bontrager CX0s tubeless on Crest 29ers, go up fine, work well, fast and surprisingly grippy in anything other than full-on mud. There’s a tubeless ready version as well, 1mm smaller for some reason, which is also working well, but costs slightly more for relatively little gain. I’m running something around 40-50psi and latex seems to have problems sealing at those pressures, but I’ve only flatted two or three times over a couple of years of regular use.

I find that at 50psi, you do sometimes need to briefly stop if you get a puncture to shake the wheel around it and get sealant in it but I’ve not yet had to actually put a tube in and only once has it lost enough air that I felt I had to add some more.

Sounds like a vote for tubeless then rather than changing the tyres…..I’ll look into the Stans CX kit…..

I find that at 50psi, you do sometimes need to briefly stop if you get a puncture to shake the wheel around it and get sealant in it but I’ve not yet had to actually put a tube in and only once has it lost enough air that I felt I had to add some more.

What sealant are you using, just out of interest? I think I’m on JRA’s Wheel Milk and did consider adding some glitter particles to it, but the bloody stuff goes everywhere and you look like a fairy princess as a result… I tend to carry one of those tubeless repair kits with me now, since I’ve bought it, I’ve never flatted – famous last words etc. Clearly it works as a deterrent.

Going back to the original theme, I once borrowed a Cotic X with the standard Conti cross tyres on, Race maybe, they were unbelievably awful for flats. I swapped them for Maxxis Raze which I liked, but the CX0s do me just fine now, though I don’t ride much off camber mud I suppose.

velocipede – as a word of warning, I tried a stans kit for my CX wheels before getting stans rims – I just couldn’t get the kit to work reliably with my rims (Halo Aerotrack) whereas it’s pretty straightforward with the Stans rims.

BWD – Stan’s though IIRC I’ve also used Joe’s. I don’t carry the anchovy kit, just a spare tube but I’ve never used it – yet…

Thanks. I’ll maybe try adding some glitter and see if that helps next time.

Polenta seems to be the new additive of choice instead of glitter. Certainly less chance of looking like a fairy.

Polenta

Could STW get any more middle class 🙂

Actually, is it organic?

conti cyclo-xking kevlar bead setup tubeless worked well for me, don’t get the wire bead version – rubbish!

I actually quite liked the conti cx race tyres on my X, they were fast to wear, but I did a lot of miles that summer.

Agree Razes were good – one puncture on them in the life of a tyre set and was a huge nail thingy that deflected off the back of the rim bed and made more holes on the way out. At 615am on a wet Saturday morning on my way to work…

Didn’t like the X Kings, didn’t even kill them.

Grand Prix 28’s have just gone back on and I like them lots.

I’ve got another set of (folding, not wired) CX Races which are going on a set of Flow 29ers for summer off road playing in the Peaks. Debating tubelessing them with tape, valves and sealant I have knocking about…

Just noticed D0NK.

Yep my X Kings were wire and they are rubbish.

nobody on Vittoria (xg) ?…guess I’ll be the guinea pig once they arrive

I also can recommend the Raze tyres but don’t go above 50psi for tubeless as they’ll fly off the rim. More of a fair weather tyre mind.

for crap weather and some light off road I use landcruisers – but they weigh in around 650 each!!!

I’m on the look out for somwthing almost as bullet proof but half the weight. I had thought conti speed or kenda small block.

they need to roll well on pavement too.

I believe clements make an adventure tyre that looks similar to the landcruiser (with the centre for good rolling)

also thought about some gravel tyres – these should roll well – challenge make a few of these – one of which had double puncture protection.

there are loads of schwalbe but they all weigh around 600 again!

Sod’s law – I knew it would happen. Got a puncture this morning (@ 50psi). It did seal though I reckon it took a couple of goes and was down to 20psi by the end so I added a bit of air. Fine after that though and still way better than having to change a tube.

I use a combination of
Clement PDX – a mud tyre, but is actually quite fast on hardpack and has been reliable
Challenge Grifo – an all round tyre, but not brilliant in mud, pretty fast too – but not as adaptable IMHO as the PDX
I used to really rate Tufo Cubus Flexus tubs I did 2x 3 Peaks on them and loads of riding over the Surrey Hills
Herself has just got some X’Plor USH for her gravel bike, only one ride so far, was tough for her riding with people on 23s on the road… I’ve ordered some for Roubaix after Easter
Herself has Specialized Tracer on her CX bike, she’s been pretty pleased with them, seem fast.

Why are folk running CX tyres at 50psi?

Why are folk running CX tyres at 50psi?

becuase we are not talking about racing, but general riding.

Go tubeless, as mentioned.

I stopped riding my CX bike for long periods of the year due to thorns, the higher pressures and thinner casings of CX tyres meant way more flats than I ever got on my MTB with tubes. 7 in a ride and I lost my rag with it all : ) Now using Nano 40s set up tubeless at ~45 psi and have had one cut-flat in a year of riding hedge-lined flinty byways. Good all-round treads too.

are you all really heavy?

Around 17.5 stone, which I wouldn’t call heavy for me, but I guess YMMV.

Conti Cyclocross Speed and Race are different tyres, so be careful not to confuse as some may have done on this thread.

I fitted my wife’s bike with the Race version (more knobbly, like a mini MTB tyre) and they’ve not punctured once.

My Speeds (tiny knobbles) rolled brilliantly on the road – but I gave up on them recently after 2k miles / 12 months’ use, as I’d had 4 punctures in one week and 15+ over the year!

I, too, use Crest rims and that limits realistic choice to 35+ tyres. GP 4 Season was my favourite tyre before that and so I looked for another tyre in Conti’s range with Protection casing. I also looked at Schwalbe Marathon Plus Smartguard tyres, but these are nearly 1kg each!!

I finally replaced them with Conti Top Contact 37c, which don’t have side knobbles but are pretty much the lightest tyre with some puncture protection at 650g (still nearly twice the weight of Speed though). Expensive, too – but ace grip, longevity and puncture-free so far.

I have a pair of Small Block 8’s waiting to go on when my Conti CrossSpeeds wear out – look pretty similarly fast rolling..

Ah.. 50psi sounds fair enough then Badlywired dog. I’d run somewhere in the 37-42psi range for all round use including rocky trails, mid 20s for XC racing in muddy fields/non technical woods at 3st less than you.

nobody on Vittoria (xg) ?

ran one when I first went tubeless, trashed it (big pinch) after a week on a bit of gravel (not very tubeless compatible rims so I was running <40psi) I might give em another go at >40 on stans if you rate ’em.

I’d run somewhere in the 37-42psi

I used to run ~35 when I first got my cx bike, brilliant grip and so fast! right up til I flatted which was on average once a day on my not at all rocky 25mile commute. Soon started upping the pressures. 42ish front 47ish rear seems to work ok with only the occasional pinch flat. 50/55 if I’m running tubes. (13ish stone on 35c tyres)

nobody on Vittoria (xg) ?…guess I’ll be the guinea pig once they arrive

I’m running Vittoria XG Pro TNT on stans. Working well.

Ah.. 50psi sounds fair enough then Badlywired dog. I’d run somewhere in the 37-42psi range for all round use including rocky trails, mid 20s for XC racing in muddy fields/non technical woods at 3st less than you.

That’s very magnanimous of you.

I rate the clements clincher tyres mxp pdx among the best and most supple racing clinchers you can get. however they have absolutely no puncture protection (as they are race tyres)

most race tyres will be the same story.

I like the look of these – look tough and should roll well. http://www.cxmagazine.com/tire-review-challenge-almanzo-gravel-race-tire

but they look like dry conditions only (or good wet road / paths)

the clement http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/10/news/cyclocross/reviewed-clement-xplor-ush-conditions-tire_349577 looks like it would roll like a landcruiser, have enough grip for trails and weighs in lot less.

I’d just go a marathon especially as they do a 28mm but they weigh in around 600g!

I like the look of these – look tough and should roll well. (almanzo)

File tread is fairly common, huge variety out there with a little variation on the side knobs.

Michelin Jet S
Conti cyclo-x
Challenge chicane
Griffo XS
Vittoria Cross Xn

The USH looks like it would be useless in anything other than baked hardpack.