5 great tubeless ready cyclocross tyres

With more tubeless ready clincher rims becoming available to the aftermarket wheel builder and tubeless ready fitted as standard to new cylocross and off road drop bar bikes we thought it would be good to highlight a few popular tubeless ready cyclocross tyres for riders. The advantages of going tubeless include being able to run at lower psi gaining traction in challenging muddy conditions. Less chance of a DNF with sealant in the tyre to minimise the chance of punctures. The ability to use one set of wheels with multiple tyre choices. It is a bit fiddly to swap tyres but a mid season swap from intermediates to heavy duty mud is not that bad! And finally – no more pinch flats as the inner tubes are left in the garage!

Need a set of tubeless ready cyclocross wheels – then click here for our instock pair.

We have also posted a How-To-Setup-Tubeless which can be found here and a tubeless setup kit can be supplied too.

The Modern Classic

Gaining in popularity in the UK are the rejuvenated Clement brand and after a long wait the PDX is now tubeless. As a classic mud-shedding tyre the PDX shows its strength best on soft, sticky mud. The PDX was named after the airport code for Portland, Oregon, a hotbed of CX racing and heavy rainfall. The Clement PDX features an open tread pattern to shed the mud and a more aggressive side knob stand to give you confidence to lean hard into corners and the designers specifically shaped the leading edge of each knob to provide extra traction when you accelerate out of a corner. When you ride harder surfaces the PDX’s center knobs keep the tyre moving fast, rather than letting it get bogged down by traction where it isn’t needed. Downsides are they are hard to find currently and £45 per tyre.

  • A mud-shedding tyre ideal for soft conditions.
  • Tread pattern provides traction and quick acceleration.
  • High TPI for suppleness that rolls fast on rough terrain.
Clement PDX tubeless tyre

Clement PDX tubeless tyre

The All Rounder

Maxxis Mud Wrestler – the Mud Wrestler is the newest addition to the Maxis line-up offering outstanding performance in the wet conditions that frequent this challenging race discipline. The centre knobs are continuous and ramped to roll fast, while the aggressive side knobs cut through the nastiest mud and snow. Along with rolling fast, the Mud Wrestler sheds mud with ease thanks to its open tread design. If you are looking for an all-conditions race tyre, then the Mud Wrestler is for you.

Maxxis Mudwrestler

Maxxis Mudwrestler tubeless ready

Maxxis’ Derek Bond explained, “We redesigned the bead, it’s not exactly a UST type, but it’s more of a square profile.” Looking at the bead, it’s definitely more pronounced than a standard clincher, although a bit less boxy than a Hutchinson tubeless clincher. The Mud Wrestler TR also utilises a carbon bead to reduce stretching and consequently burping. Looking inside the tyre, you can see there’s some reinforcement by the bead and up the sidewalls for protection against punctures and sidewall tears during tubeless use. Maxxis also changed the rubber compound to be compatible with any sealant. Bond emphasises that cyclocross racers should “have the ability to use any sealant without any kind of issue whatsover.”

Dry to Damp conditions

WTB Cross Boss – gaining in popularity with riders is the Cross Boss from WTB.

Volume, speed, and consistency. The Cross Boss’s even centre tread shelf provides smooth and fast acceleration while more open side knobs help clear muck. A rounded, high volume profile designed ground-up for tubeless usage provides plenty of room to modulate tyre pressure while dual compound, Dual DNA rubber and defined cornering channels keep riders grinning for more turns. From single track to the circuit, the Cross Boss is here to bring it.

WTB CrossBoss cyclocross tyre

WTB CrossBoss cyclocross tyre | Hand built by Strada www.stradawheels.co.uk

CX Magazine Ed’s award for 2015:

“The WTB Cross Boss is a wider, tubeless-ready clincher for the masses. The Cross Boss measures a true 35mm on a 18mm (internal width) rim and had a great all around tread pattern. The slightly taller peripheral knobs square the profile just slightly and bite in when you lean into a corner. Its bead profile and diameter sets up well with many tubeless and non-tubeless rims we tried-but not all.”

The Mud Tyre

Vittoria Cross XL Pro TNT – the Cross XL Pro is suitable for wet and muddy conditions. The open tread offers a high mud evacuation and impresses with maximum grip in mud and speed on compact grounds. The tread features aggressive, widely-spaced knobs to shed mud and grip firmly in acceleration, braking, and cornering even in the most challenging weather conditions. The XL Pro has a new tread pattern with a 150 TPI casing which gives increased casing flexibility and rolling efficiency.

Vittoria XL Pro tyre

Vittoria XL Pro tyre | Hand built by Strada www.stradawheels.co.uk

Key features – 

Low-pressure 150 TPI (threads per inch) tubeless compatible casing.

Grips in the mud, rolls fast on the pavement.

440g

Slick raised central tread pattern ideal on dry roads.

Maximum cornering grip from large side blocks.

Long tread-life.

Puncture-resistance belting under the tread.

The New Kid on the Block – Schwalbe X-One

The X-One is a new tyre from tubeless experts Schwalbe. The X-One has a general purpose tread pattern, the Microskin (monofilament woven fabric) layer helps with mounting, reduces weight and increases puncture protection. Triple compound rubber is used for the highest quality tyre. 360g. Schwalbe have declared the X-One has half the rolling resistance of the popular Racing Ralph.

Schwalbe X One cyclocross tyre

Schwalbe X One cyclocross tyre | Hand built by Strada www.stradawheels.co.uk

Need a set of tubeless ready cyclocross wheels – then click here for our instock pair.