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Fay's passed by and I walked in my back yard to check things out. I sunk to my ankles in my back yard grass, so now I'm wondering what is the widest, toothiest tire for a cyclocross bike? (Yeti says a Michelin Jet 40c is the largest that will fit.)

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The Jet is a sand tire or fast track tire. You might be thinking of the Mud tire by Michelin

The best mud tire so far is the Dugast Rhino although lookout for a new mud tire from Challenge
That was just a size thing, not an application - when I asked Yeti support what the largest tire size that would fit they said the Jet 40c was the largest they'd tried that still had sufficent clearance.

Makes me wonder two things though: where did they dig up a Jet 40c (largest I've ever seen is a 30c) and why in the world would would Michelin make a fast track tire that big & heavy?

Thanks for the info on Dugast (never heard of them before) though I lean more towards clinchers, probably because that's what I'm used to - I started racing XC mountain bikes.
40? The Jet is as 30 ... but I think actually a 34 ... no such thing as 40 Jet. I've been waiting on the new Challenge ... is the mud tire the Seta or the Fango? And what are the features? The only thing I've seen is the prices which are $$$ for the Seta and $$ for the Fango, which I'm assuming is the old Grifo. Anybody know what the features and weights are? While the Dugast is the best in the business I like the Challenge Grifo I got this summer for a number of reasons: Low cost, toughness, sweet performance, and the fact that Challenge is a great sponsor of Cross here in the U.S. All good reasons to buy in my book.
The Seta is more for dry courses although you should be able to run it in the mud just be sure to wash it right after the race. Silk tires need to stay clean. The Seta is the standard Grifo tread.
The Fango is a new tread and in my bias opinion a very high tech tire tread. It has a leading edge, a sculptured mid-section and a trailing edge. I think we finally have a very modern tread for cyclocross. It shouldn't be like the Dugast Rhino which is a grass collector but still a great tire for the mud and snow.

Getting back to the original issue I think you'll like the Michelin Mud tire as a good all-round tire or if you really want a supple casing which MTB tires still have yet to discover that a lot of traction comes from the tire casing reacting to the terrain is the Challenge Open Tubular. As the name implies the tire is made from a tubular casing which provides a very supple ride with better traction at lower tire pressures. It's been a good tire for gravel which there's loads here in Colorado Springs and great for mud and pavement. We occasionally ride the tire on road group rides with no problems. The odd thing about this tire is it's very hard to pinch flat. I ran a lap at Koksijde by mistake at 16psi hitting rim all the way around the course and it still didn't pinch flat my road tube. I also had good luck over roots and cattle guards in the forest outside of Kalmthout, where the first World Cup of the season starts. I'm not saying 16psi is the way to go but I have yet to see a clincher running this low and not pinch flatting in the first 50 metres of a ride.
I just read a bit on Open Tubulars - sounds like an interesting concept I'll have to investigate.
I just set up a set of tubeless wheels with the hutchinson bulldog tubeless tire. the casing goes a bit wider then a 35, maybe a 36. But it is an agressive tread. I used it yesterday in practice and on the soft tacky stuff it was brilliant andin the grass it was surprisingly quick. I ran the front direction on both tires, but still rolled really well. It hooked up when I was sure it was going to fail. Maybe 34/35 psi rear and 33 in front. I am just playing around right now, but no air loss. I go 225lbs so I was pleased.
Just saw the new Challenge Fango (here). Certainly looks like a sweet mudder. My only thought is that those side knobs will throw a lot mud onto the bike ... but that's what the B bike is for, right?
The "new" Michelin Mud (black tread) is perhaps one of the best tires available. The green one was nice too but is a tad wider.

I have two sets of the Grifo clincher and it is an amazing tire. Rides so super smooth and has a huge casing, which means lower pressure. I'm very excited about the Fango since my supply of green Michelin muds will be exhausted this year.

The new (black) Michelin Jet is more or less junk. It's a commuter tire with vestigal side tread. The old (green) version is/was quite nice with big treads on the side and a diamond tread center.
in case anyone missed our story today on the fango, it's here.

pic:

don't use up the greens! save a little tread and sell them for hundreds on ebay!
the skinniest one you can run... then you are sinking down to the grip not floating on the slip

At Great Glen 24 hour Mt bike race i ran the cross bike for one lap and there was a good bit of mud. Challenging on the mt bike but it disappeared under the cross bike. I was running Specialized S Works Baldys (34c) and even as a 'semi-slick' they gripped in the mud and were awesome... relative to the mt bike...

I've had good success with some Vredestein 28s in the mud. The stick and corner very well and never pack up. The Racing Ralphs (clinchers from last year) tended to pack a bit of mud up esp at Putney with the peanut butter clay stuff they had there. Not going to be my first choice is sticky mud, but wet sloppy might be okay. Team mate at great glen used them on his cross bike for a lap and he had success with them.
The skinny tire to get through the mud might make sense in some conditions, as long as it is not some bottomless pit (this is FL).

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