Best Cyclocross Tubular

[waypastfast]

Ok, so if you are going to buy ONE set of tubulars for cyclocross racing what would you use?? My top picks are as follows:

1. Dugast Typhoon
2. FMB SSC
3. Dugast Rhino
4. Challenge Grifo

Thoughts? Thanks in advance :)

[gavingould]

depends greatly on what the majority of your courses consist of and your riding style.

if it's generally dry dirt and grass, what works won't be the same as if it's generally wet grass or mud. lots of tight corners? more fast sweepers and straight line speed?

I've had Challenge Grifo and would consider the Dugast Typhoon and FMB SSC to be very similar. good all-rounders, but not what I'd call good in mud or hard cornering grip.
Of those I'd go for the Rhino, but mostly because being tall and heavy I need all the cornering grip I can get.

this year I'm trying FMB's Super Mud and Gripo XL. it won't really matter results-wise for me, sadly I'm at the fitness level where tires aren't a deciding factor.

[Admiral Ackbar]

i wouldn't think there is a "best". conditions dictate the ideal tread pattern over anything, no?

but i don't race or ride cross so maybe I'm wrong

[waypastfast]

This is true, but I don't have the budget this year for mulitple wheelsets so I am looking for one decent tire to do it all. And I know this is a stretch in cross.

[krismac23]

I wish I could get my hands on FMB or Dugast, right now the best for me have been
Challenge Chicane
Grifo

[ChrisG]

I've been happier with the Fango tread rather than the Grifo for a "one tire for all" situation.

I'm likely in that same situation this season, as well.

[Bruce K]

Fango or one of the Clement offerings

BK

[waypastfast]

One of my friends mentioned Fango front/Grifo rear.....?

[jblande]

I have 2 new FMB Super Prestige Sprint cyclocross 28mm and 2 used (less than 100mi, perfect no cuts base tape intact) 30mm that I would like to sell.

[nooneline]

I use, as my only set, a pair of Challenge Grifos. In the past I've also had Fangos as my only-pair-at-the-time.

Both are good. Fango is a bit more aggressive in cornering, but they're definitely slipperier in wet conditions. Since I'm light I can run my pressure reeeaaally low and that means that the Grifo actually becomes a pretty good tire for certain muddy conditions. I choose Challenge because for an only-pair I'd rather use them, since they're cheaper, than the FMBs or Dugasts.

I'd also look closely at the Clement PDX tubular. It was designed as a mud tire but has a good all-around rep. Plus, as an Only Tire, it's said to take sealant pretty well.

[gavingould]

i've also run Clements, PDX front and rear for much of two seasons, but last year flatted a couple times, even after sealant. then when i pulled the tires off in January to sell the wheels, found that the basetape came off the tires way too easily, so now they're either garbage or need to have new basetape put on. they were stored in a climate controlled dark place, but still dried out. two seasons may be an OK run, but i wasn't super happy about that.

[waypastfast]

After doing some reading the Clement MXP seems to be a good choice as well.

[Gummee]

As an only front tire, I'd go PDX over anything else I've ridden: SSCs, Grifos, Fangos, and some misc other tires.

Rears? Pick an all-round tread pattern and hope it don't rain/snow.

Last year I was running PDX fronts with Grifo rears and it worked pretty well for our Mid-Atlantic 'lotsa turns grass crits.' This year, I went and bought a few MXPs as rears. I guess we'll see how it goes.

Have a dedicated mud wheelset with a PDX front and Limus rear. This one's a 32/32 Mach2 Ceramic wheelset. If I can't stop with those, I ain't stoppin!

M

[EricEstlund]

If you are on a budget you may want to forgo the fancy rubber and get nice but more modest. Use the difference to put towards cheap pit wheels with a different tread.

[bcroslin]

I've run Grifos for years. Going to be honest, people put way too much thought into tire selection. Run something with a decent knobby for grip in the corners and you'll be fine. Every year there is some revolutionary tire that everyone clamors for and when you look at the tread pattern they're some variation of the Grifo or Rhino. It's not the tires that are going to make the difference. It's your fitness and ability to suffer for 45 mins.

Now tire pressure...thats a whole other story! :banana:

[rab]

As others mentioned, it can really depend on terrain so probably better to err on the side of caution - go a little more aggressive.
I have been liking a PDX front and Grifo rear combo for the past year, hooks up pretty well wet and dry conditions. Found the dual Grifo worked well in one region for a season but was not so great in a drier/dusty/rocky region, needed a more aggro front end to help bite in a bit more.

[TimAZ]

Clement MXP is a good all rounder, if you can only drop in on one set of tires. I like the cornering side chevrons better than a Challenge Grifo. Side walls come pre sealed on the Clement tires, if you had planned on doing that with another tire.

[acorn_user]

Planet X has some great deals on cross tubs right now. They have Schwalbe Racing Ralphs, which is a treat pattern I like. I have limited experience, but the best tubs I've ridden are the first gen Racing Ralphs on Challenge casings. They were fantastic. I prioritize grip because my bike handling is no good :)

[eBAUMANN]

clement mxp

tread is excellent on dirt and rolls shockingly fast/smooth on pavement.

the stiffer tubeless casing makes for a much easier mount up when gluing and centering the tread is VERY easy. I will never EVER wrestle a challenge/dugast/fmb again, unless I'm being paid ;)

[bcroslin]

clement mxp

tread is excellent on dirt and rolls shockingly fast/smooth on pavement.

the stiffer tubeless casing makes for a much easier mount up when gluing and centering the tread is VERY easy. I will never EVER wrestle a challenge/dugast/fmb again, unless I'm being paid ;)

There's so many people raving about the Clements that I think I'm going to check them out this season. I have a set of Grifo's that are on their last legs and need to be replaced. I ride clinchers so if I don't like them I can easily swap them out.

Anyone have any experience with the mxp's in thick spongey grass?

[gavingould]

everything i've tried is slow in thick spongey grass... could just be that i'm fat and slow though.

i rode an MXP on the rear in last season's final couple races, it's a good all-rounder. actually rode MXP clinchers in a relay cross race yesterday and was pleasantly surprised, but the course had pretty much nothing technical, no elevation, it was 95% dry so the only wet was maybe 20ft total of spongey grass.

i like the Clements, but found them prone to flatting. they do take sealant very well though, i revived 2 PDX tires with Stan's and Clement's sealant. Unfortunately after 2 seasons, the base tape peeled right off my older PDXs.
Maybe I'll send them to Tire Alert for new base tape and keep as spares.

[nooneline]

heh - EVERYTHING is slow in thick spongey grass!

[fmbp]

I was in this same scenario last year. 1 do-it-all tubular wheelset. I decided to go with PDX's, front and rear. They rolled fine for me on hard-packed surfaces and they hooked up extremely well in corners relative to the Grifo patterned Vittorias that I had used for the previous 2 seasons. I also felt like they didn't bottom out nearly as easily as the Vittorias, so I could run a lower pressure without feeling like I was trashing my rims.

Full disclosure, though, I did flat the front wheel riding up a rocky incline in a race. Dumped a ton of sealant in there and it finally held for the remainder of last season. The tire still holds air, so if I get a chance to race this fall, it'll be put into service.

[eBAUMANN]

I was in this same scenario last year. 1 do-it-all tubular wheelset. I decided to go with PDX's, front and rear. They rolled fine for me on hard-packed surfaces and they hooked up extremely well in corners relative to the Grifo patterned Vittorias that I had used for the previous 2 seasons. I also felt like they didn't bottom out nearly as easily as the Vittorias, so I could run a lower pressure without feeling like I was trashing my rims.

Full disclosure, though, I did flat the front wheel riding up a rocky incline in a race. Dumped a ton of sealant in there and it finally held for the remainder of last season. The tire still holds air, so if I get a chance to race this fall, it'll be put into service.

i dunno if i would recommend a pdx for "all-around" use due to what makes it so great as a mud-tire: its (relatively) "open" tread pattern and aggressive knobs. while an aggressive tread like this is great off-road, its borderline dangerous when cornering on pavement, as the tall/long side knobs tend to fold/slip when weight is leaned onto them on a surface they can't "bite" into.

[sparky33]

MXP. Really liking the no-fuss of Clement tubulars. Traction is impressive, much better than Grifo. Rolls well. Rides smooth. Done.

MXP clincher set comes along as spares.

[Gummee]

Rode my PDX/MXP combo yesterday in some practice CX races.

I think I need about 0.5 psi in the back, but overall I liked the way both worked in the wet-ish grass I was riding on

M

[waypastfast]

So it has come down to either the MXP's or the Dugast Rhinos. Anyone who has rode both have any thoughts? Thanks. We race mainly in grass and soft dirt up here in Calgary. Lots of guys here riding the Rhinos and swear by them. But the MXP is so new no one has a set.