UKC

Has anybody had any success using 26C or above tyres on cyclocross rims? Any tyre recommendations?

After consulting previous forum threads and starting one a year+ back, i went with an Arkose Three. Great Bike. I've a triathlon soon, which in of itslef is not unusual but I have a good friend there who will be riding a full-on aero road. I'm trying to reduce the speed deficit as much as possible between the two of us. The 35C Marathon Plus tyres I currently use are great/bomb proof but weigh a tonne.

TIA

In reply to Voltemands:
Any 700c road tyres work fine on CX rims, for example I have used Durano and Cp4000II 25s

In my experience the Contis roll better but the Swalbes grip better.

In reply to Voltemands:
Get the internal width of rim and then see where it is on the "Which tire fits safely on which rim?" table at Sheldon Brown.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

http://tandem-fahren.de/Technik/Reifentips/index.html

I have 28c tyres on internal width ~13mm and ~21mm rims. The latter is a bit naughty, the former is a timebomb according to the German version.

In reply to Voltemands:
Mavic aksiums on my new cx bike. Took off the schwalbes x one 33's that were on there and fitted conti gp 25's road tyres.
No issues.

Check ribble out as they were the cheapest and the contis come in different widths. Find contis are lighter than most others with good reviews for puncture resistance.

In reply to Voltemands:
Mr TC has some Challenge Strada Bianca tyres on the Hunt wheels on his CX bike for road use - he really likes them but says a) they're a sod to get on as they come flat, and b) don't be tempted to use latex inners as they don't get on together (the bang when one went terrified the dog, who had to go and hide under our bed for an hour). He's just used this combination (with normal, not latex, inners) for a triathlon in the Lake District with all the lumpy road surfaces that entails, and reported that it worked well.

In reply to Voltemands:

From what I can see online the rims are described as 'suitable' for tyres down to 28mm although I suspect you could go to 25mm and then you'd be giving away nothing in that area to a full racing machine.

You can buy various top-end tyres in 28mm such as the Continental GP4000S, my favourite the Michelin Pro 4 Service Course only go to 25mm, but the slightly less racy Pro 4 Endurance variant comes in 28mm.

In reply to Voltemands:

I have a Arkose 4 same wheels i think and have run 28c Gatorskins with no problem and like others have said you could probably get down to 26 but beaware disc brakes and really skinny tyre's can be a bit hairy!

In reply to Voltemands: Thank you all for the really useful information!

In reply to Palmer:


Great stuff. Well, the info regarding same rims etc, not the last bit.

I'm no engineer, but am imagining that they are more skittish? Skid easier, due to the increased braking power but decreased surface area?