Clincher tire question

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Permalink Reply by Chris Mayhew on December 8, 2009 at 12:48pm

They are a slower rolling tire, for sure. that's almost always going to be the tradeoff though since tread is what gets you thru mud but when it squirms it slows you down.

Have you tried Fangos? They are not great mud tires but they are pretty good and roll very well. (in part because of their very nice casing). Thought about Dugast Rhinos?

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Permalink Reply by Beth on December 8, 2009 at 1:27pm

Dugast Rhinos only tubies? I am on clinchers now. I know there's always a trade off, I'm looking for the best of both worlds (isn't everyone on a clincher!)

For true mud, I can pull out the Mud2s. We have a lot of situations with dirt, grass and then sections of that peanut butter mud that is soooo sticky and hard to cut through so I guess I'm looking more for an all arounder at this point.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Mayhew on December 8, 2009 at 1:34pm

Yeah, the Dugasts are tubular only. I'm not sure if you're joking in your parenthetical but tubulars are considered de rigueur if you are being "really" serious. (I am still on clinchers though!)

Sounds like you need a more well rounded tire. Again, I'd suggest Fangos which are not true mud tires but are pretty robust. Even the Grifo is a really robust tire and can be used in a variety of circumstances.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on December 8, 2009 at 1:48pm

I know, I need to be on tubulars but I just upgraded the bike to a lovely Blue CXC and need to probably add some gearing to my sorry ass legs....and only have a bit of the season left so I think that the tubulars will probably have to wait. I meant that everyone on a clincher is looking for the best of both worlds, not that most people are on clinchers. I know the cool kids are on tubulars. You know when you type sometimes things just don't come out right :-) I'll check out the Fangos and Grifo.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Mayhew on December 8, 2009 at 2:21pm

I don't know that you *need* to be. I'm not ! And I completely understand what you mean now that you explain it. No worries.

Yeah, give both those tires a whirl. I'd try the Fango first.

And maybe look into latex tubes. They take a bit of care when installing but they will be a bit faster and more pinch flat resistant which puts you closer to the advantages of tubulars.

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Permalink Reply by Hamilton on December 8, 2009 at 2:35pm

No worries Beth, most people I know use clinchers. The problem with finding the "One" tire for all conditions is that there isn't one. May be best to find two sets of tires. One for dry conditions and one for mud. There are still conditions within conditions, but it sounds like you're on a budget. You're either going to compromise with the one tire that works best for the conditions you face the most or have two or more sets for dry and muddy conditions.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on December 8, 2009 at 3:48pm

At this point I'm leaning Mud2s for mud (which is good because I have them already) but for a mix maybe Grifos or I'll check out the Fango too. The Hutchinson Piranahs are good on DRY. I had no problem with them there but we always get that sticky red clay going on around here. It's a wheel sucker!

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Permalink Reply by Mike on December 11, 2009 at 8:59am

A couple sets of Mud 2's with challenge latex tubes & stans is pretty tough to beat. One trick is to use older tires with the center tread worn down (usually the first part of a tire to wear down, as you spend way more time going straight) for mixed conditions races and keep the new set for the sloppy stuff. I've seen good results (like I dork out and do a bunch of laps on different set-ups) running an older, smoother center tread tire on the back and a brand new one on the front in everything but extreme mud conditions. Sort of a do-it-yourself file tread, but for some reason way better than the michelin Jet, which has never worked well for me.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Mayhew on December 11, 2009 at 11:25am

That setup is actually really practical. I've done it a few times and I think you could do it more often than most people think.

The new Jet is even worse than the new Mud. The old green Jet was a file tread but wider and had huge cornering knobs. Wicked fast. The new black Jet only has vestigial knobs.

What would be really sweet is a file tread based on the Fango. Maybe I should start riding the trainer on my virtually unused Fangos.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on December 11, 2009 at 11:30am

I considered the Mud2 up front with a Ricthey Speedmax Pro or Small Block Eight in the back....

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Permalink Reply by Nick Salerno on December 12, 2009 at 5:58pm

i also started with mud2's for muddy conditions because everyone said it was "the" tire. i ditched them and went for a set of hutchinson bulldogs (i don't run them tubeless) for the mud and couldn't be happier! the tread, in my opinion, shed mud really well (better than the mud2) and they have great side biters! when the tire is spinning, you can see two distinct grooves to either side of the center that separates the middle knobs from the side biters. i've used them also on courses that were mostly dry with equally good results. i have cornered as hard as i could with them and never slid out and i could hear the grass ripping beneath me. before you invest in the tubies, and since we're heading into winter, it's a good time to experiment with clinchers and save the tubulars for racing. good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Steve Kirk on December 30, 2009 at 8:31am

What did you decide to do in the end?

I too found that the Mud2 tread seems to clog up in sticky mud. It's rare we have any pavement on courses in our league, and many people seem to use the Mud or Mud2 tires exclusively.

I personally like the new Vittoria XM in sticky mud, but I doubt you will find it any faster rolling on pavement as there is no centre strip of tread to speak of.

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