Hey hey,
So we are alittle into this cross season and it's been a season of struggles with equipment for me. I had bought some TLR handmade baby limus and I cannot get the frigging things onto my wheels (that's another story). I had gone back to my Trusty vulcanised Limus TLRs which has been thwart with disaster. The tyre would not stay up last weekend prerace so I ended up riding my spare rear wheel with a Terrano mix on and then on the line yesterday, the rear lost all its pressure and caused me a ton of faff. There's been a ton of sealing and resealing gone but after two failures I need a consistent alternative. I have been looking at the Vittoria Terreno Wet TNT and the Bontrager CX3 options but wanted to get some views. The Vittoria gets okay reviews but the tread pattern just doesn't seem enough to deal with the worst of what North West England Cyclo-cross has to offer 😬
Schwalbe X-one Bite for me. Clears mud really well, with resulting good grip.
Very tight to get on though, bit harder than the Baby Limus in my experience. On the upside they blow up with just a track pump for me.
I think you would be surprised at the Terreno Wet, I've run them through Scottish winters and I've seen others on here (Garry_Lager I think) mention that they out-perform their appearance.
I like Vittoria mainly for relatively consistent, faff free installation, apart from the Barzos on my MTB but I think that's due to the fickle Bontrager rims...
Vittoria wets are very good tyres, fit tubeless easily and cope well with mud
I also like the vittoria wets. Shed mud well so the relatively low profile isnt an issue. Very reliable.
My son ran Vittoria wets on his pit bike which only had one set of wheels and he rated them from mildly muddy upwards only really finding them lacking in the slop or very slippy conditions.
On his main bike (and my only bike) we both run schwalbe x-one all-round with pressure reducing as it gets muddier and then schwalbe x-one bites for the really slippy days. One observation about the bites is that they do have incredible grip but are not the most supple feeling and can also be a bit draggy if conditions don't quite warrant them. For that reason on some courses, we have started to mix and match when not sure with the bite on the front for grip in the corners and all-round on the back.
All three tyres have been easy to fit to a variety of tubeless rims.
I had Vitoria wets on my whippet.
It wasn’t until I put my Bontrager Muds on that I realised how rubbish they were.
Also they are not a patch on the Schwalbe CX Pro.
Where you at Beacon park yesterday joedilla? I was on terreno wet tubs on my main bike and they coped with the course no prob. Had a set of dugast rhinos on the second bike, unimpeachable mud tyre, and didn't think they were noticeably better (they prob would be on an even heavier course). Realise you're talking tubeless but the tread is the same on the vittorias and it's spot on.
Ran tubeless for a few seasons and always chose a limus tlr for the NW - great tyre. Have you changed rims or something as you say they've been reliable?
I was at Beacon Park yesterday, came 4th in the V40's. I use Schwalbe X One Bites for the mud, although others are using a Limus to good effect. Maybe it's just me but I think most mud tyres are going to be good, it's confidence in hem and bike handling skills that help at the end of the day. Courses can be incredibly varied throughout the day, so I wouldn't get too hung up about variations between brands mud tyres.
with the bite on the front for grip in the corners and all-round on the back
works for me.
"Where you at Beacon park yesterday joedilla?"
Yeah I was there, great event. How did you get on?
So my Limus TLRs are the same as last season on the same rim but for whatever reason, I'm losing a ton of air. I've reseated the tyre with more sealant and done all the usual tricks but it's just not holding up. Love them for grip but I feel I just can't trust them now 😬
I'll have a look at availablity and mull over the options.
On another note, has anyone ever had issues with handmade TLRs? The pair I've got are miles away from getting on the rim.....
I have a pair of unused Terreno Wet at home, does that help the decision?
I like terreno wet for most races, limus are good, esp on the front when it's even wetter and schwalbe x1 bite when it's soaking (but I find the schwalbes will clog if there's either heavy mud or any cut/strimmed grass around)
I had a good race @joedilla - my arse did not touch the ground at any point (in contrast to guys I was racing with), which helped with a few places. Rolled in 12th V40. Congrats @BenjiM with top five that is a great result.
Hard long laps - excellent course though, liked the bit they added through the woods toward the end of the lap.
Cheers for the advice guys, Ill keep you update when a plan comes together..... I have a spare set of wheels so I might do a Vittoria set and maybe a Schwalbe X-One/Bontrager set......
Ill try and say hello at the next one, Joe Donnelly in the Seniors (usually dressed in all black kit like the misery I am).
Look forward to catching up soon!