Hi all,

I would appreciate advice on CX clincher tyres please. I’m new to cross racing and not entirely sure which tyres to go for. I can’t afford tubs. Might be able to go tubeless down the line.

Currently using 35mm Kenda Kommandos on my 29er but they seem to best in proper wet and muddy conditions so looking for something a little more capable all round.

I’ve read that Challenge open clinchers are good and have similar qualities to tubs. The Challenge Fango appeals as being best for dry and muddy courses, whereas the Grifo seems to have less tread which with my lack of racing experience makes me a little nervous.

The Vittoria XG pros seem to have good reviews?

I’m a long time Maxxis fan on my MTB but no idea how their cross tyres shape up?

Ideally I want one or two tyre sets given limited budget.

Thanks in advance.

Standard clincher (rather than open clincher) Grifos are great in the dry and reasonable in the mud too, although they don’t clear that well.

I’d give them a go as the ‘other’ tyre to go with your Kommandos. Worth being able to mix different back and front in different conditions.

vittoria xg pros here – great tyres that roll quite well – and seem to cope with the slop, also running them ghetto tubeless with great success

Standard clincher (rather than open clincher) Grifos are great in the dry and reasonable in the mud too, although they don’t clear that well.

What’s the difference between standard and open clincher? I’ve only seen Challenge open clinchers available?

Thanks.

TNT Vittoria XGs here, very good & easy to run tubeless.

I have a set of XG Pro’s in the garage that I must get round to trying one day, I’ve been using XN Pro’s all year, it’s not very muddy round here (just sandy).

Grifo Open’s are great tyres. Very grippy in the dry and reasonable in the wet. These would get my vote every time.

XG Pros here as well. Used for on/off road mixes (‘MTB Lite’) rather than CX racing.

mdb – Member

Standard clincher (rather than open clincher) Grifos are great in the dry and reasonable in the mud too, although they don’t clear

that well.

What’s the difference between standard and open clincher? I’ve only seen Challenge open clinchers available?

Thanks.

Not sure. You can get open tubulars but I thought all clinchers were open

Just bought a pair of Maxxis Raze. Going to put them on and have a go next week. Only £30 a pair so not the end of the world if they are bobbins.

I’ll throw in Mud 2’s, happy to use them for everything.

You can get open tubulars but I thought all clinchers were open

Manufacturers like Grifo and Deda use ‘open tubulars’ to refer to clinchers that are made from the same materials used for their tubular equivalent, mainly the good quality, high thread count casings. Just marketing speak really.

The open tubular a are good but are race day only kind of tyre as the cotton casing need looking after.a me the tread is stuck on rather than moulded into the casing. I found you can run them a bit softer than standard rubbery side wall clinchers. Meant to be a halfway house between standard clinchers and real tubs.

I used Challenge Griffo at about 20psi at rapha supercross on Sunday and they were nice and grippy. Had a nice smooth ride like tubs, but with more worry when bottoming onto the rims going over tree roots and kerb edges. I’m keeping my Michelin Mud clinchers for proper horrid conditions.

Open tubulars are made in the same way as tubs but are clincher in fit, thus they need a tube, they are not however clinchers as they do not go through the vulcanization process that clinchers do during manufacturing, and as a results normally have a higher TPI.

Not marketing speak.

Clement pdx are good. Clear mud well, good shoulder. Nice volume. The mxps look good for intermediate but not used them personally

I honestly thought clincher was just American talk for tyre i.e a casing that was hooked onto a rim? not a manufacturing process.

Download the latest Bike Shop Show podcast for further details, here:
http://bikeshopshow.drupalgardens.com/content/bike-shop-show-eighty-three

grifo’s are a classic tread – an allrounder…I find they dont clear brilliantly (although I have the cheap version)

mud 2’s are great and only out of there depth in the really thick mud…I run these the most.

Clements pdx – I used these for the first time on sat – very good, although they are very aggressive idealy for the worst conditions. they hooked up real well but the cornering was a little sketchy. this thread pattern is similar to the limus.

I usualy run the above around 35-30psi.

if I could only have 1 set it would be the muds.

mich mud 2’s here as well. they are good all rounders and best of all they will work very well tubeless. They are a little out of there depth in proper mud but work well in most conditions. road use will kill these very quickly.
I’m interested in trying some clement pdx and mxp, maybe one of each, apparently work tubeless but not tried them yet.

Rocket Rons when it’s muddy, and Racing Ralphs for all other duties, very tempted to trying some of the new Challenge Chicanes which are a file tread with an aggressive side tread for when it’s really dry. Out of interest many people use the Limus just wondering how you find it for clearing the mud.

Pdx rewards commitment as the mtb mag cliche goes. it has a bit of a bald spot between centre knobs and shoulders to help it roll I guess as the treads pretty aggressive for cross but once you get to the shoulders it digs in again. Mxp looks a bit more gradual.

Not marketing speak.

Yes, marketing speak, because ‘open tubular’ is an oxymoron. A tyre is either a tub or an hp (to avoid the ghastly Americanism of ‘clincher’). What they’re trying to convey is that the tyre is made using a high TPI cotton (or silk) carcasse with a cold fixed tread, like a tubular, but fitted to an open rim with a bead rather than being sown up and glued to the rim.

As Challenge explain it :

Tubulars and open tubulars: Tubular tires are, well, tubular. They are sewn shut around a seamless latex tube, already in a tube shape, and are mounted and glued directly on a rim, rather than around a tube. However, they require a purpose-made tubular rim that would usually only be used on race day to precent damage. Open tubulars mount like a standard clincher, but are made in the same artisan handmade process as the tubulars and are not stiff like most clinchers, maintaining most of the ride quality gained from a handmade tubular.

Non-vulcanized: Ultimately the major difference between a handmade tubular or open tubular and the majority of clinchers is that it will avoid the heat and pressure process called vulcanization, which most tires undergo in production. It is used to bind the materials, but compromises the ride quality when the rubber gets tougher and dried out. Challenge tubulars and open tubulars are hand-glued, and the latex and rubber maintain its ideal quality.

It’s the ‘artisan handmade process’ see?

Pdx rewards commitment as the mtb mag cliche goes. it has a bit of a bald spot between centre knobs and shoulders to help it roll I guess as the treads pretty aggressive for cross but once you get to the shoulders it digs in again

agree…in the corners they loose a little traction before the shoulder lugs bite.

33mm wide and at least 10-20 cheaper than the Challenge Limus.

with regards to the open tubs…dont think you can run tub pressure…you still have the tube at risk of a pinch!