We have some loose, steep gravel climbs where I ride. I definitely prefer more grip when climbing up these. Sliding out while going uphill is no bueno.
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Yes. Sure, grip doesnât matter much when the surface is moving beneath you, sometimes itâs even counter-productive⌠but it matters when it isnât, which is a lot of the time, even for fractions of a second during a very gravel-y corner.
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This is where I noticed a massive difference in riding Vittoria Terreno Dry 50mm vs a Race King 2.2 on back to back weekends on the same course. The gravel was hard packed but with some loose stones over top. Everytime I stood up with the Terreno Dryâs the rear slipped badly that I immediately had to sit back down. With the extra drip from the knobs and physically bigger RKâs, there was no slippage at all. Night and day difference.
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I ran a slick at big sugar this year and it didnât seem any worse than anything else in the gravel and felt great on the pavement. But it all depends on conditions as previously mentioned.
Joe
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Isnât that the whole point of cyclocross though? The idea is that everybody is on a sub-optimal setup. Using a drop bar MTB and MTB tires feels like going against the spirit of cyclocross (pun intended).
Kind of a tangent, but I have no issues with MTB tires or drop bar MTBs for gravel races. Optimizing the best setup for the course to get the fastest times, thatâs all cool. But I actually think they should still be illegal in CX, at least for anything above a cat 5. Youâre new? Cool, race whatever bike you have. But anything higher go back to CX bikes with 33s. Itâs supposed to be hard and not the most optimal setup. More about skills and power, not bike setup.
Back to this topic, what is the biggest tires people are getting on the Crux? I feel like going fat.
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To anyone interested, trying torreno dry endurance casing 2.0 rear and Mezcal XC trail casing 2.1 front. Plenty of clearance left on the stig front and back.
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Following the thread I think people are getting 2.1 up front & 47mm back.
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I fit a 2.1 in the rear of my crux but would run it on dry terrain only. Maybe 2.5 mil clearance max on the chain stays.
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âIsnât that the whole point of cyclocross though? The idea is that everybody is on a sub-optimal setup. Using a drop bar MTB and MTB tires feels like going against the spirit of cyclocross (pun intended).â
Exactly. If they dont set tire maximums then CX becomes a mountain bike race.
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What does everyone think about the Kickstarter ant tyre pressure sensors. Disappear into vapourware or realistically gonna arrive?
These?
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/outride/outrider-a-tire-pressure-sensor-for-bikes
Have only spent a few minutes looking, so I might have missed some things.
Not a huge fan of using a proprietary data stream instead of ANT+. Even though I have a Garmin bike computer and could easily add the data field when itâs ready.
Not sure if the price when they come to market will be cheaper than currently available options. The Kickstarter prices look great, but those are early bird discounts�
Speaking of Stig and Rudy fork.
Classy combo of Racing Ray and Racing Ralph both in 2.1 fits great for the winter rocky mudfest.
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So just received mine from Germanyâ>thanks for the link. Took 1.5 weeks from order date to my door, $30 shipping and international change on my card. Ordered 4 race kings and that came out to be $54 a tire. Be hard to beat that. Also just received an email that bike tires direct has them in stock if anyone needs them faster
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Newbie question! For context, gravel rides on my Crux usually have at least 60% pavement and lots of hills. My gravel is really rough.
A Race King at 25 PSI has 15.7 watts of rolling resistance. The Terra Speed 45mm tan wall at 23 PSI has 18.9 watts of rolling resistance. Does that mean when riding on the road at similar pressures, the Race King has 3.2 watts LESS rolling resistance and should therefore be faster on the road?
You need to think also the aerodynamics of the tyre, not just the rolling resistance.
The Swiss side comparison:
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Yes. Race Kings roll really good on pavement. I did a ride on 47 Pathfinders then Race Kings and the Race Kings rolled noticeably faster.
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I personally would not trade compliance for Aero (within reason of course). Plus I just run Aerobars which have a much greater affect than tires/frame.
Maybe my brain is not functioning correctly, but would you run a 2.2 tire at 25 psi, and a 45 mm tire at 23 psi? I was typically under the impression that you should run larger width tires at a lower PSI.
I âthinkâ youâd need to compare like a Race King at 25 PSI vs a 45mm Terra Speed at 28-30 PSI.
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I was just quickly trying to find a comparable low tire pressure for both tires.
Itâs wild to me that a wider and knobbier tire with the same black chili tire compound has lower rolling resistance.
It is the casing that makes the difference more than the compound (and definitely the tread).
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