I recently took the plunge and got myself a gravel bike for Winter riding. I’m enjoying getting out on the road and having the option to divert offroad onto some trails to get away from crap drivers.
I raced a cyclocross race on it recently and the gravel tyres weren’t so great in the mud, surprise surprise. They’re set up tubeless so I didn’t want to go through the hassle of switching tyres on the one wheelset and got hold of a 650b wheelset in the upcoming Black Friday sales.
I’ve not really gone too deep into cyclocross tyre choices before so I’m looking for recommendations for a good mud tyre to run. For UK cyclocross the limit is generally 33mm tyres, although finding that for a 650b wheel I’m not finding any options.
I’m not going to be challenging anywhere near the front so I could probably just go for a decent mud tyre that fits. As I understand it i should look for a 27.5in tyre. Any recommendations?
Do it the other way round, use the 650b wheelset for gravel tyres, where there is plenty of choice. Then get a set cross tyres for the 700c wheels. (Something like a baby limus will likely suit 90% of races).
Only for national level events, most local/regional events let you use any tyre (and usually bike) you want.
If you do want to race national trophy / national champs, and you’re in the elite race, you’ll really have to make sure your tyres are under 33mm (which also has to do with the rim width), because they will measure the tyres. If you’re a vet, they probably won’t measure, but the rules still say 33mm, and they might decide to check.
splash
Do it the other way round, use the 650b wheelset for gravel tyres, where there is plenty of choice. Then get a set cross tyres for the 700c wheels. (Something like a baby limus will likely suit 90% of races).
That’s definitely the smarter way to do it. Slightly regretting snatching up a 650b wheelset instead of holding out for a 700c one but needs must.
I’ve found some Schwalbe X-Ones which fit the bill; I’ll give those a try as I want to keep the gravel wheelset for club and winter riding if possible.
I’ve not ridden 650b’s before so it’ll be an interesting experiment. Limus or baby limus would’ve been perfect and are a great shout.