crossing over

[Dave B]

Are there cross clincher tires that would fit on a normal road bike? I know cross bikes are set up to have a larger tire with greater clearance in the stays, but as i only have the road bike are there tires that might work?

Discuss

[sg8357]

Depends on how old a road bike you have available.

I have a 1970s Crescent Pepita (think Px10), that easily
takes Michelin Jet cross tires. Good for a dry course,
since there is not lot of mud room. But fun to ride
fixed on dirt roads. The Jets are 30mm actual size.

Aside, any of you heathens organize Xmas eve or day rides ?

[Too Tall]

Depends on your bike esp. the fork / brake.

Look at Ritchey SpeedMax Cross. If you can fit a 32 it's Fat City all day long :)

What do you want to do?

[Dave B]

I have a Vamoots

There is a practicing course I found about 90 minutes away that is pretty casual for beginners and advanced, thought it would be great to practice a bunch of times to see if Ilike it efore i try to get a cross specific bike. They allow cross, road, and mtbs.

I didn't think a FS mtb would be best, so I was curious about the vamoots.

[J.Greene]

I have a Vamoots

There is a practicing course I found about 90 minutes away that is pretty casual for beginners and advanced, thought it would be great to practice a bunch of times to see if Ilike it efore i try to get a cross specific bike. They allow cross, road, and mtbs.

I didn't think a FS mtb would be best, so I was curious about the vamoots.

MP,

no need to drive 90 min, find a city park or big school yard. You can easily make a course in about 10 minutes that you can have fun on. If you want barriers to practice on, $5 in pvc pipe will do the trick.

JG

[Dave B]

I hadn't thought about that.

I suppose, but I also wouldn't mind learnign more from riders who know more.

Figured if there are people doing it in groups it might help someone who is as green as they come. But sure I can practice here at my school.

Will give me a good reason to tear up my old soccer firlds! :D

[Dave B]

Just remembered I have a set of tubular wheels JGHALL hooked me up with. I know it is less likely, but are there cheap tubular cross tires?

I might be able to try the tubular thing out after all.

[J.Greene]

I hadn't thought about that.

I suppose, but I also wouldn't mind learnign more from riders who know more.

Figured if there are people doing it in groups it might help someone who is as green as they come. But sure I can practice here at my school.



Velonews has some pretty good video of how to do dismounts and mounts on their website.

Practicing the technical stuff is fun with friends, but training is not a team sport for cross.

JG

[djg]

Are there cross clincher tires that would fit on a normal road bike? I know cross bikes are set up to have a larger tire with greater clearance in the stays, but as i only have the road bike are there tires that might work?

Discuss

Yeah, it depends very much on the road bike. Heck, some road bikes will barely tolerate genuine 23s, much less 25s, and some have room to spare. It's both about the bike itself and about the brakes (and the bike's constraints on the choice of brakes). So: it's great if you can fit 32s, but you could see if 28s will fit just to check it out -- I wouldn't go smaller, but there are 28c tires that you could take out to the local park or whatever (I dunno if I still have a tufo D28 to give away -- offered it a while ago and got no takers, so I might have pitched it, but I can look if you want). You could try measuring your clearance to get a rough idea (it's hard to get a precise measurement, and tire measurements vary anyway, but it might give you a decent rough idea how much clearance you have -- you'll want to know about clearance at the brakes and also behind the bb).

[Too Tall]

What DJG said. If the course was not muddy I'd use a Tufo D28...oops I have at D2R2 twice and Iron Cross.

[Dave B]

Someone on the Moots forum said only a 28C that was smooth is the largest that would fit.

I appreciate the info, truly.

I might have to find somethign cheap to start, which might also be a smart thing as I am sure falling/crashing is part of the learning curve.

It isn't like sweet bikes will stop being made.

Hey if I practice for 6 years I can finally get a Sachs.....now where did I put that deposit money.... :D

[J.Greene]

Hey if I practice for 6 years I can finally get a Sachs.....now where did I put that deposit money.... :D

The same daily ammount that Sally Struthers asks for would put you on that sachs in 6 years.

JG

[benb]

Try on the MTB first... lock out the shock and fork if able & you desire.

Cheaper then trying to fit cross tires to your road bike, way less chance of breaking anything, and even if you want to race the MTB will probably be allowed at a beginner level.

[Fixed]

mtb aren't they always ? cheers