I'm planning to ride in the woods a bit this fall, to stay off the road when visibility is bad. To finish off my budget build I need tyres, preferrably with tan sidewalls. Challenge Grifos are getting good reviews, but is there anything out there that's more of a crossover tyre, and also handles urban utility duties nicely?

In case there's no beefy tan tyre I'll probably go with the Conti Cyclocross Plus.

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Bikes: Raceur, Beateur

Rivendell Jack Brown tires are 33.3 mm and have tan sidewalls. Not exactly light, but pretty much go anywhere if your frame can manage the bulk (which I assume it can as you mention the Grifos). Hampsten likes them...

This would be a good option for you.

http://www.jensonusa.com/!3TKNxGt!KYv9w ... um=organic

Yeah Grifo XS could be great, but I'm wondering how it handles the urban transit from/to the dirt roads.

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Bikes: Raceur, Beateur

Grifo XS are amazing tyres. They're great on the road and on all sorts of off-road surfaces. They're quite wide as well, and they're skinwall.

Comparing them to the Vittoria XN (they're almost identical but the Vit isn't skinwall) the Grifo XS has a slightly more aggressive diamond patter - they'll actually become better on-road the more you wear the center of them down to a smooth contact patch. They also have a bigger overall volume than the Vittoria which is what you're looking for when you're as heavy as me!

Go for them. They come in a more expesive Open Tubular design and a chaper 60 or 90 tpi version. Both are fine.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... haltyrf280

not to pick on this shop but it's one place that offers them...

I Find grifo xs to be punture prone on asphalt. Both in clincher and tubular versions. Then again, everyone seem to have different luck with different tires.

Grifo XS worked very well for me. I used them mostly for commuting (3 times a week, 70 km each) for months. No problem so far

Been using the Grifo XS for some time now, thumbs up. Not much glass where I ride, and it beautifully copes with everything else. Rolls very well on tarmac too.

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Bikes: Raceur, Beateur

Grifo XS is a good choice and now we also have 2 new tires designed for Gravel racing.
They are the Eroica and Almanzo tires and these are equipped with PPS 2.
PPS 2 (Puncture Protection System) is a double protection that is placed on the inside of the tire
and visible to the eye. An extra layer of our puncture proof material protects the tubes from penetrating
objects.
Under the tread there is also another strip of puncture protection.

They are slightly smaller than Grifo XS but still a good volume. Section of Eroica and Almanzo are 30.

http://www.challengetech.it/products/ro ... 0/00521/en

The Erocia has the same tread pattern as the Paris Roubaix.