Facts matter.

Access to well researched information is vital in making informed choices.

Or you could be like me and fling it to see where it lands.

CiclaValley is threatening to meet his yearly minimum for cyclocross races (one) this weekend at Santa Cross and if the neck keeps improving, there’s a chance of this happening.

 

 

As you could tell from the previous sentence, I have not competed / practiced / prepared for this is anyway, which is in some senses the essence of cyclocross.

Still, if I have one shot, let’s make it a good one, especially after I just missed the podium last year.

Now my cross was shelved for a couple of months as I was too lazy to readjust my gears, but it was recommissioned last month as this simple fix gave me my only functional bike for a ten day period.

It subbed as my commuter as the Parade of Repairs took its quarterly toll on my steed, so I was just happy to ride something serviceable.

So now that I’m aiming to do this bike race, I’m having thoughts about what tires currently at my disposal I should use.

I have a mish-mosh of choices as I normally grab cheap tires when I can get them.

Right now I have a WTB 37c Riddler on the front wheel I recently put on as my commuter tire.

WTB Riddler 37c

 

I’ve only done a tiny bit of dirt on it riding up Franklin and hitting some of the patches on Vista del Valle.

So far, I like the tire in terms of its grip and feel, but I’m wondering if it’s too wide to race cross?

On the back of my bike, I have a Kenda 35c Kwick that’s been on for awhile.

 

Kenda Kwick 35c

You can see that it has some comfortable wear on it and its about the time to consider a change.

It’s served admirably, but I’m pretty sure that was one of the tires I had on when I made my lackluster attempt up Mount Wilson Toll Road.

So there is a bad taste in my mouth.

At the moment, I do have an extra of each tire, so I could throw one on to make a matching set, but I still have another option to consider.

These WTB 32c All-Terrains have been hanging on my shelf for the past couple of months after little use.

 

 

WTB 32c All Terrain

 

I had them on my steel gravel-bike commuter which is even heavier with both front and rear racks attached, so riding on these tires weren’t as fun as I had hoped.

They are knobbier than the others and they felt like they were slowing me up on the road.

When I swapped those out with my lightly treaded 38’s, it just felt like I was riding with a different type of slogginess, but at least it felt smoother.

Having switched from my gravel bike to the cross the past month feels like a world of difference moving at much better speeds.

The question is, do I go with the skinnier and presumed faster tires for the race?

Mind you, I’m in peak holiday eating form right now, so those bikes are carrying a little bit extra weight.

Will the narrower tires be too thin for a guy like me and they’ll spin out.

The right thing I should of done is never write this article at all and actually try them on for myself.

Seeing how I’m lacking any motivational skills, if anyone has a solid opinion, other than you should have bought something else, please chime in!