cyclocross tyres on a roadbke?

thehamo · 23-08-2010 11:41AM #1

Hey, quick question.

Can you put cyclocross tyres onto a normal roadbike? They bike im using now has 700 x 23c slick tyres on it. I did Gaelforce West on Saturday, and even though the bike held out, i had to go very slow at parts. So is it possible to replace the tyres with cyclocross ones for future reference??

Lumen · 23-08-2010 11:47AM

Almost certainly not.

seamus · 23-08-2010 11:49AM

Depends on the bike. Rear tyres generally aren't a problem, but some (many?) forks won't have enough clearance for a CX tyre.

2 Wheels Good · 23-08-2010 11:43PM

Depends on the bike I would think, did GF last year on my roadie with touring tyres 700x28s, not much space left for more. (Did it on my mtb this year with slicks)

thehamo · 13-09-2010 08:47PM

would it be possible to put a cyclocross fork on to a road bike so there would be enough clearance for a cyclocross tyre??

mtbireland · 14-09-2010 11:08AM

yeah a cross fork will work...but you will probably have to change your brakes on the front then.. and even then I would doubt you will have clearence on the back of the bike.... only one way to find out though.!

blorg · 14-09-2010 11:54AM

Even if you had frame clearance on the back the standard reach caliper brakes would not clear. Long reach calipers would require different frame measurements and even then would clog with mud if you were using it off road. It may just be my imagination but I think I have heard of people replacing the 700c wheels with 650c for more tyre clearance and using long reach calipers. To be honest though for your use you probably just want wider slicks rather than CX tyres which are really optimal for mud/off-road only. Many road bikes will take 700x28c and virtually all 700x25c. The jump even from 23 to 25 makes a significant difference to the ride. Far from optimal but I have done heavily loaded touring on Italian strada bianchi with 700x25c tyres and survived. I wouldn't do it again given the choice but I wouldn't tour with knobbly CX tyres either. You just want a bit wider.

cyclocross tyres on a roadbke?

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