Continental Dual Fight Semi Slick.
Schwalbe CX Pro cyclocross tyre.
Specialized Houfalize CX tyres
Continental Montana.
About £10
This tyre is the poor mans version of the Continental Cross Country (see review later). The Montana is an excellent tyre with excellent rolling ability, it has good mud clearing ability and it grips well just about every where. If it has a downside it's weight, it's a fairly heavy tyre. Excellent value for money. I Beleive this tyre is now no longer available.
Heavy, lethal in the wet, slippy on sand, only place this was of any use at all was on Tarmac. A very terrain specific tyre, OK for riding to work.
Michelin Wildgripper lite S
About £29
This tyre looks excellent, it comes in a very attractive green, and it is incredibly light. This tyre is OK in most situations, but not excellent. The model I had was 2.1 section it was marked up as Front specific. For me it let go on loose sandy surfaces far too easily, frankly it scared me on occasions. It made lots of noises as though it was gripping but never really did. It clears gloop well. I decided to try the tyre on the rear, it did say it was front specific, but I figured it couldn't be any worse on the rear. Strangely it made a good rear tyre, and it did grip well in loose sandy stuff, and in mud, however it did have a tendency to let go, then hook up again almost instantly. As a front tyre it scared me too much, as a rear it was capable. This tyre is terrain specific, I just could not find the right terrain, and it's expensive.
Continental Cross Country.
About £23
Light well constructed tyre, with attractive gold side walls. This tyre just does it all. It rolls very easy, it grips in any condition, clears mud well, simply the best all round tyre I have used. It's a dual use front/rear tyre, just get the direction of rotation correct. The Cross Country allows you to carry speed into corners because it inspires confidence, that means less hacking out the saddle to build the speed back up again. I thought £23 pounds was a little steep, but after using this tyre for 6 months or more I now consider it to be excellent value, sometimes you do get what you pay for.
Continental Double Fighter Semi Slick.
About £20
Another Light well constructed tyre from the German manufacturer. The Dual Fight also comes with attractive gold side walls like the Cross Country. Frighteningly fast tyre, rolls like a road tyre, grips well in most dry weather conditions, and is passable is the slime. But this is a Semi Slick, and as such it is a compromise, it wouldn't compete with the Cross Country in the mud, but it would be hard to catch in the dry. My only problem was initially I was carrying too much speed into corners, once you learn to control it this is a brilliant tyre for those dry sunny single track days.
Schwalbe CX Pro cyclocross tyre.
Light and very fast cyclocross tyre, but there is the problem, these tyres are light, and therefore thin in constuction, Rizla thin. These tyres would be fine for racing on hard packed or grassy courses, but if there are any flints around then watch out, because the side walls will get nicked. I had both tyres slashed by flints, after a while this gets very unfunny, and expensive, as these are not a cheap tyre.
Michelin Jet CX Tyre
Another light and extremely fast CX tyre, that really is far to thin to offer any resistance to damage. On the road this tyre goes like the wind, offering better grip than a normal road tyre, without loosing too much speed. But again I have to say it is thin, and light, and too easily damaged for everyday use.
Specialized Houfalize CX tyres
Resilient tyre with decent rolling ability, and plenty of grip in pretty much any conditions. In dry hardpack it rolls well, with plenty of grip in the corners, and in muddy conditions it clears the mud from the tyre very quickly, no clogging means more grip, and that is exactly what it does. On the tarmac it may knock the edge off a little, but it's the price you pay for all the positives that the tyre gives.
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