Mavic Crossmax SLR 29 + Clement Crusade PDX Clinchers

Ask anyone what the ultimate CX tyre round Herne Hill Velodrome is and you get a lot of huffing and puffing. The ground is full of rubble and you don't even want to risk running a nice tubular round there. Further to that, you probably don't want to run any tubulars round there -a punctured tub is still a punctured tub. 

Pop on a clincher I hear you say... Well, with only 33mm or so to play with, you have to inflate them so hard, that you rattle your brains out. Otherwise you risk what happened to me in the summer series where some piece of concrete caught the sidewall of my Challenge Fango and that was it, game over.

However, I think I may have inadvertently stumbled upon the ultimate combo... Clement Crusade PDX 33mm. Now that 33mm is an understatement and although I haven't measured them, they come up massive. They have an aggressive Rhino-esque mud tread and will probably be a touch slow elsewhere, but round the rough environs of the velodrome, I was grateful of their bulky carcass. At the Supercross the next day, I lost out a bit as their centrally-aligned tread pattern lacked the forward drive, especially as I had to run them a bit harder than tubs.

The hoops are Mavic Crosmax SLR 29ers and are phenomenal. I've been running Shimano XT 29ers for training (1 set of tubs and 1 set of clinchers on the disc bike). However, the Crossmax wheelset is over 200g lighter and is plenty stiffer too boot. There isn't much more you could ask for from a wheel other than lightness and stiffness -comfort isn't an issue as a.I have a massive 35mm tyre on it and b.who cares anyway... They are also UST-ready and this is an area I am really keen to investigate. I may start by attempting a bastardised conversion using the Clements first. Watch this space...