Tubeless Cyclocross Tires

[ZOOMZOOM123]

What are some of your favorite tubeless cross tires?

[rockdude]

Not answering your question but tubeless is not ready for prime time. If you are serious about cross you need to go tubular.

[bcroslin]

I'm running Stan's Ravens on my MTB/CX rig and so far I'm very happy. I'm about 165 lbs and I run 23-24 psi in the front and 25-26 psi in the rear.

I won't argue with rockdude about tubulars but I will tell you that in my last race I watched several people blow out tubulars on a steep ride-up with a root in the bottom and even though I hit it 3 out of my 6 laps my tubeless tires were fine. And when I say hit I mean felt the rim bottom out.

Tubeless are different than tubular are different from clinchers and if you accept that you must run a tubeless tire at a few psi above what you'd normally run a tubular you'll be fine.

[ergott]

I've always raced with Michelin Muds. I've always done D2R2 like rides with Jets. Neither are tubeless, but I've had no issues with them on Stan's rims. Cross pressure was as low as 18-20psi (25psi was better) and gravel riding done at 40psi. I race around 165-170lbs.

Hard for me to wrap my head around the naysayers that say it's not ready for prime time. No system will guaranty 0 issues. I know people that muck up tubulars, clinchers and tubeless.

[misterha]

I agree any systems has it flaw but tubular being the most successful but gluing and rolling is never fun. I'm using specialized captain cx 2bliss with a stans conversion kit on some stock clincher and its going well so far this season. Next year I'll use tubeless specific rims such as the new HED beglium+ rim or pacenti sl23.

[pakora]

I haven't actually run them tubeless yet, but I'm loving the tread and the grip of the Vittoria XGs. The tubeless version is a little less supple than the normal version because of the sidewall, but the super soft tread really hooks up.

[ZOOMZOOM123]

Thanks for all the replies! I tried Stan's rims with Hutchinson Piranha tires two years ago, and that combination made me want to never run tubeless again. Getting the tire to sit properly was the biggest pain in the a$$, with one shop even blowing out the bead.

I plan to order a disc wheelset with the new Hed+ Belgium rims. Any tire combinations I should look out for?

[carlineng]

I personally had a bad experience with burping air on my tubeless setup (Velocity A23/Kenda Slant Six). I'm 150 lbs., running around 30 PSI. Burped air both in practice and on race day, both on off-camber turns.

Like people say, every system has points of failure, but given all the hype around tubeless, it's disappointing to hear so many people having problems. Also, everyone seems to have their own magic way of getting it to work -- different conversion kits, extra layers of tape, various rim/tire combos. I haven't come across a setup that consistently works well for many different people.

Tubulars seem to have a lot fewer variables when determining the setup.

[pavel]

I'm 150 lbs.,



where are you hiding it all?

[deluxerider]

I've done about 15 races on Stan's Iron Cross rims using Clement PDX tires and Stan's sealant and I have had zero problems. I highly recommend it. Great feel and great grip.

[carlineng]

where are you hiding it all?

Sandbags in my jersey pockets.

[misterha]

Another determining factor would be the sidewalls for tubeless, a softer sidewall are less like to burp.

[notoriousdjw]

I've had good luck running WTB crosswolf TCS tires on Stans Alpha 400 rims. They aren't the fastest on a dry course but good when the going gets muddy (MFG series in Seattle area). I'm running 2 layers of tape and have run high 20's for pressure (I weigh 175lbs).

Tubeless was an easy choice for me because it has worked so well on my mountain bikes. That also led me to try road tubeless which has also been completely trouble-free.

[rphetteplace]

My fiancee' runs stans podium mmx tubeless 26" with Schwalbe CX pro 26 and runs then 23psi dry and 19 wet. No burps and have been perfect. Granted she only weighs 97lbs.....

[RacerJRP]

I have been running Kenda Slant Six tubeless ready tires on my Ultegra 6800 tubeless wheels and have had pretty good luck. 1 burp on first ride, but since then they have been good. They are not even close to feeling as supple as a good tubular but they are way ahead of a tubed tire.

[DfCas]

I tried Hutchinson Bulldogs on a Stans Arch rim and had burp problems under 40PSI. I found I cound use lower pressures with tubes. If I raced cross, I think tubulars are the way to go, so you can run 20-25PSI.

[Lovetoclimb]

cross racing aside, as I use tubulars for that, how about tubeless for gravel roads and general way out type of exploration. Carrying a tube or 2 is possible, but I have flatted 3 times before on a 5 hour forest service ride. fortunately I had 2 cross tubes, a road tube, and a frame pump, but before the "ultra-cross" season next year I plan to set up my Industry Nine wheelset tubeless. So 45-55 psi for my 160lbs. Anyone have recommendations/naysaying for tires in that arena?

[ChrisG]

I've had fantastic results running the 2nd gen Hutchinson Bulldogs (carbon/kevlar bead) tubeless on Open Pros. Used these for two seasons of racing, running pressures low enough to be banging the rims, and never burped.

That being said, that setup is now relegated to training wheel status and I'm racing on Major Toms and Grifos.

[d_douglas]

I've had no problems, but I don't race. My rims are Ion Cross and tires are rRacing Ralph's (or Rocket Rons). No issues ad I weigh 200lbs ; in fact they have worked great!

[muchness]

I just set up my US Velocity A23s with Orange Seal tape and sealant, running Vittoria XGs. Only a few trial runs so far, but low 30s with 150 pound me seems to be fine. I'll probably be running high 30s for rocky trail riding.

I did four layers of tape, primarily because the rolls i got are 18mm, and I had a bit of trouble getting a good rim-bed seal the first time around.

The front was airtight without sealant, I was smiley when that happened. The back spit out a little sealant, but things congealed within 15 seconds. The rear is an A23 OC, the valve sits at a bit of an angle when tightened down. We shall see if the OC's drilling has any negative effect on sealing.

I ran the tubes on a ride yesterday, at ~45psi. The tires were nice and sticky compared to the Conti CX Speed 35mm I had been running before.

[Lovetoclimb]

Not answering your question but tubeless is not ready for prime time. If you are serious about cross you need to go tubular.

If you are doing Ultracross tubeless is the best bet IMO. Look at CX Magazine and VeloNews, they did a pretty comprehensive write up.

[bcroslin]

I need to chime back in on this. I managed to burp my rear tire a week ago while racing and it cost me 2nd place. My advice is to make sure you run a little more air in tubeless CX tires than you think is necessary. In my experience you can run a lower pressure in a clincher than you can in a tubeless tire in CX. I'm sold on tubeless for mountain biking and even for road but because the tendency in CX is to run low pressures you're asking for trouble.

I'm back to clinchers. I rode my old Challenge Grifo clinchers tonight during practice and they actually felt better than my Stans Ravens. Still not quite as nice as tubulars but damn close.

[Rekalcitrant]

I've had mediocre experiences fooling around with tubeless for cross. Several combinations of rims and tires. It was always easy to make them work at higher pressures, but at the kind of pressure I would want to race on in the muck I got burps on tree roots and such and didn't ever have enough confidence to use in a race. So I gotta agree with Rockdude. I'm hoping the tech improves; otherwise I guess I better start saving for a switch to tubular.


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[oldpotatoe]

Not answering your question but tubeless is not ready for prime time. If you are serious about cross you need to go tubular.

What he said.