Tyres for Cannondale CAADX Cyclocross

[tim0409]

Hi there,

I've always had basic bikes were I never really bothered about components etc., but last year I bought a CAADX 105. I love it (even though I haven't used it as much as I should have); it's predominately used on road (apart from a couple of gravel paths) and due to a bad back the frame geometry suits me better than an all out road bike but I wondered what would be suitable road focused tyre options (and maybe even an upgrade on the wheels?) . It's currently on stock wheels with Sammy Slick tyres.

Thanks

Tim

[Barchettaman]

Nice bike.

The best clincher road slicks are probably Continental GP4000s. They are available in 28mm width and should be OK on your wheelset.

Cheaper options include Continental GP 4Season, Ultra Sport, Vittoria Zaffiro, basically there are loads of wider road slicks out there. Look for tyres 28mm and wider.

[ShortShift811]

Good choice. I've got a CAADX 105 as my winter bike.

As above, if you really want to change, Continental GP's in 28mm are your best bet.

As I got better at riding, I found a bigger gain from switching the cassette and chainrings. Being a CX bike, it's much lower geared than a road setup and I found my legs spinning too quickly.

I've left the 35c Sammy Slicks on this year; they're not horrendous on the road and it gives me the option of exploring towpaths and trails at will. Plus it means the summer steed will feel like it weighs nothing when I jump back on next year.

Happy riding!

[SixPotBelly]

The 28mm GP4k is a lovely road race bike tyre, but with the extra clearance on a CAADX maybe something else? The Schwalbe G-One in 30mm guise, perhaps, if you want to keep the option for occasional gravel forays or the Vittoria 32mm Hyper if you want completely slick. Or the 35mm versions of either, if they'll fit. The larger the more comfortable, after all, which might make sense for someone with a bad back?

[Usget]

SixPotBelly said:

The 28mm GP4k is a lovely road race bike tyre, but with the extra clearance on a CAADX maybe something else? The Schwalbe G-One in 30mm guise, perhaps, if you want to keep the option for occasional gravel forays or the Vittoria 32mm Hyper if you want completely slick. Or the 35mm versions of either, if they'll fit. The larger the more comfortable, after all, which might make sense for someone with a bad back?

I've just bought a brace of 30mm G-Ones (running tubeless) on SixPotBelly's recommendation. I think Gruffy runs them too, or a variation thereof. I've only done one ten-mile test ride on them so far but it was enough to discover that they are absolutely lovely and I'm glad I invested. They're far from cheap though...

[Pamoothican]

I have spent weeks looking at tyre reviews recently, for my winter bike.

The roads round here are pretty rough so I wanted something with a bit of grip and for the possibility of jaunt on a bit of railway path now and then. I went for specialized Roubaix pro in 23/25 - they are funny sizes, but they do a 25/28 and 30/32 Larger number is the width lower number the depth, in relative terms.

What size tyre do you think you can get away with, are you looking at 28/30/32/, you probably don't need 35s for the road I'd seen some good tyres in the larger sizes but I was limited due to the closeness of the seat tube.

Plenty of reviews online, just try to get some for a good price. I was lucky getting mine for £16 each, they are back up to £29 now.

[SixPotBelly]

Pamoothican said:

What size tyre do you think you can get away with, are you looking at 28/30/32/, you probably don't need 35s for the road...

Need? No. Benefit from is a different question though.

I run 38s on what I use as my winter bike, because I can. Why give up comfort and grip when you don't need to? If speed matters* above all else then, sure, go for 28s but you probably wouldn't win a road race on a cyclocross bike anyway.

*though it is PH, so maybe it should

[TwistingMyMelon]

28c 4 seasons are good if you fancy spending £32 per tyre, great tyres, but a bit of a soft outer shell would worry me if riding on lots of gravel as they could get written off which is a pain as they arent that cheap

On my steel commuter ive just fitted these for £8 each: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-essential-commute...

I ride 3 miles B road/ 5 miles country lanes with loads of holes and then 2 miles mud and gravel and they are brilliant for price and do the job very well

I favour 28s over 32s, 32s limit mudguard options and run too close to the caliper on mine. Also I found they offered no real noticeable ride difference, I am quite light though, /.

[uncinqsix]

I'm tossing up between the G-Ones and Panaracer Gravel King SK for my CAADX. The Panaracers get very good reviews, and there is some suggestion that they wear better than the G-Ones.

[SixPotBelly]

uncinqsix said:

I'm tossing up between the G-Ones and Panaracer Gravel King SK for my CAADX. The Panaracers get very good reviews, and there is some suggestion that they wear better than the G-Ones.

I've got both for the Arkose, if it helps. The 40mm Microskin G-One and the 43mm (née 40mm) GK SK. I prefer the faster rolling G-One for the riding I do, switching to something else (Nano) if I'm expecting a lot of sloppy mud. I find the GK is faster on rough, rocky tracks than the G-One though, because of its greater volume and (I think) softer sidewalls.

You're right about wear on the G-One. The rear finished half-worn both times I did a 750km trip on G-Ones. I've haven't used the GK SK enough to make that comparison and I've read mixed reports. I've been looking at something else for a particularly long trip I have coming up, but I'm getting the impression that generally 120TPI tyres are better for low resistance with high grip and 60TPI better for service life.

[m444ttb]

I'm running 32mm Conti Gatorskins on my 2014 CAADX (albeit on some Kinesis Crosslight rims). I had 28mm 4Seasons prior to that and they definitely felt faster on the road but for my commute it hasn't made an awful lot of difference. I found the 4Seasons great for punctures right until they fell of a cliff. It was very clear that they had their time at that point.

[uncinqsix]

SixPotBelly said:

uncinqsix said:

I'm tossing up between the G-Ones and Panaracer Gravel King SK for my CAADX. The Panaracers get very good reviews, and there is some suggestion that they wear better than the G-Ones.

I've got both for the Arkose, if it helps. The 40mm Microskin G-One and the 43mm (née 40mm) GK SK. I prefer the faster rolling G-One for the riding I do, switching to something else (Nano) if I'm expecting a lot of sloppy mud. I find the GK is faster on rough, rocky tracks than the G-One though, because of its greater volume and (I think) softer sidewalls.

You're right about wear on the G-One. The rear finished half-worn both times I did a 750km trip on G-Ones. I've haven't used the GK SK enough to make that comparison and I've read mixed reports. I've been looking at something else for a particularly long trip I have coming up, but I'm getting the impression that generally 120TPI tyres are better for low resistance with high grip and 60TPI better for service life.

I went with the Gravel Kings in the end (in 35c). First impressions are very good - the bike certainly feels a lot more sprightly than it did with the OE Rapid Robs.