ronbridal

I want to pick up a new set of clincher tires for training this year. The tires may even get some action in the wheel pit of some races. That said, I want something with an aggressive tread and a little more width than my current training tires (Vittoria Cross XG Pro's), which seem to be much narrower than the claimed width of 32mm. Any suggestions for a training tire that would also be suitable for racing?

RB

danimal

for training tires I like Conti Twisters myself, and if it's bang for your buck you're looking for, the Ritchie Speedmax's are hard to beat.

ronbridal

Yeah, I've looked at the Conti's. That was the tire I was leaning toward. Do you consider them to be a good all-around tire?

cam117

Personally, I hated the Ritchey Speedmax Cross Comps that came on both my cross-check and fuji cross pro. I got some Micheline Mud2s and haven't looked back since. I think you probably just have to run the Ritcheys at a really low pressure in order to get even decent performance in the corners.

If you want to see how the Ritcheys handled on slightly wet grass, then check out this video of me in a cross race from last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LdYzwjd-n8

shapelike

These things look ridiculously aggressive (IRD CrossFire): https://www.interlocracing.com/tires_cx.html

I'm going to try these out in the fall (Schwalbe Racing Ralph): https://www.schwalbetires.com/node/1789

I used Michelin Mud 2s last season at about 35PSI and they were fine (I weigh about 145#).

jfmckenna

The Muds come highly recommended. I've got a set of Maxis size 35 that are nice all rounders. I used those on my pit bike and race on tubes.

The seed max are great tire but they are designed for fast dry courses and really good on pavement. I did one race last year on them because the course was like a crit!

Dabbo

Maxxis Raze for dry
Mud for wet

M_S

I was going to spend money upgrading stuff on the bike before fall, but this thread brought me back to reality. I think I'm just going to get a bunch of different tires for various conditions instead.

Thanks for bringing me back down to reality.

I ordered a Speedmax in 700 x 40 yesterday. Obvioously not a race width, but I'm using it on the rear with a Panaracer Fire Cross (45mm) on the front for an upcoming short track series. I'm skeptical about the tire, but it was cheap and there are very limited options in the 38-40 size range.

Back on topic, WTB Cross Wolfs might do pretty well for what you described. They aren't the most durable tires, but they aren't bad. Good, aggressive tread for hardpack but still really fast rolling and they're wider than stated--I measure mine at exactly 35mm, not the claimed 32. Just don't expect any sort of traction whatsoever if it gets muddy.

damocles1

Kenda Small Block 8...