Fast Tyres for CX Bike

[historic]

Help! Duathlon in a few weeks and plan to use my CX bike for the 40 miles ride of which it looks like approx 10 miles is on forest type tracks and rest on road.

I've currently got vittoria cross evo but I'm thinking something more road/ 'gravel bike' orientated might still give a bit of grip/ puncture resistance but be worthwhile quicker on the pure road section.

Any suggestions? Clincher or Tubulars without spending fortunes.

Or stick with what I've got?

[Laurel Green]

I have Schwalbe active Tyrago on my Boardman CX mainly used on towpaths but some on loose gravel/mud/grass and they seem to roll very well on tarmac. Should be OK as long as it's not too wett and muddy.

[Roman]

Vittoria Cross XN:
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/V...

Light and very quick on back roads and forest tracks - I've used them for years.

[SoliD]

I recently chucked some Vittoria Zafiro Pro 28s on my CX bike, it flies along now, really like them and they're very comfy! Probably quicker than my normal road bike on the flat, once you get up to speed just carries on going (Pinnacle Arkose 4 compared to Ridley Orion 1105B with some Mavic Aksiums)

[SoliD]

I recently chucked some Vittoria Zafiro Pro 28s on my CX bike, it flies along now, really like them and they're very comfy! Probably quicker than my normal road bike on the flat, once you get up to speed just carries on going (Pinnacle Arkose 4 compared to Ridley Orion 1105B with some Mavic Aksiums)

[richardxjr]

At £8.95 a pop / 430g / Kevlar band the Schwalbe CX Comp 30c at Ribble worth a go.

[bakerstreet]

My CX bike came with Conti CX SpeedKings. Flat on the main part with knobblies on the out edge. They are fairly cheap and worked quite well.

I eventually moved to 28mm Gatorskinns for road commuting and 35mm knobblies for canal path and the local woods.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Are there any bends or tricky sections on the off road bits?

If not I'd be tempted to go "as slick as possible" .

My commute features 8 miles of road and 2 of gravel tracks, I ride 32c Vittoria Radomeurs 2 and the car tyre style slick tread is really quick, until I need to make tight turns at speed and they under steer a good un, really quick in a straight line

I did try more grippy tyres, but they slowed me down too much on the tarmac and unless I was actually doing anything technical I didn't need the extra grip off road

Just my 2p anyway

[tuffer]

Roman said:

Vittoria Cross XN:
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/V...

Light and very quick on back roads and forest tracks - I've used them for years.

Thanks, just ordered a pair, have a 100 miler coming up in July so need all the help I can get in terms of rolling resistance.

[historic]

Thanks for the replies guys. Going to try the route in a couple of weeks with existing tyres which I think are the tubular version of the vittorias recommended by a couple already. If I think I can go 'more slick' then I'll try one of your other recommendations