what the best wheels for cyclo x ?

[rickstyle]

i live in france, very mud in december, i search a pair of wheels strong but lights, for price max900 euro
my leight is 67 kilos, in lbs ?
i m slim

thank a lot

[Racing Aardvark]

900 euros max? hell, that's nicer than anything I would use for cross, and it's my main focus!

I pretty much stick to standard tubie wheels, light and reponsive. I have a set of Rev-Xs I trot out for certain courses, but I don't see the need to use, say, Zipps for cross. At least not in Colorado where you're banging off rocks on most courses.

[Cyco]

How much are the Reynolds Cross wheels in France (or whereever they can be delivered from)? The Lightweights are a bit beyond your budget, but not buy to much.

You could also go traditional and build up some Ambrosio F20s onto Tune/Soul-Kozak/Hugi hubs with DT Aerolites/Sapim CX-Rays.

[rickstyle]

the reynolds cost 1600 euro in france

thanks

[Samu Ilonen]

Lightweight's are best but in budget, I would use Ksyrium Elite's. I had them in my cross bike. Very stong and nice. Next cross bike will ahve them too.

[Joel]

Corima Aero 28h with Record hubs or Ambrosio Nemesis with DT Hügi 240s

[ndbike]

For the past three seasons I've been using a set of Tubular Mavic Helium road wheels for 'cross. They work great. Light weight and strong. For next year, I'll be using Bontrager Race-X-Lite tubular wheels as I'm switching from Shimano to Campy for CX and I don't want to mess around with conversion cassettes. Any good tubular road wheel will make a good 'cross wheel.

[Boonen]

If you are serious into racing cx then go for aloy tubulars like ambrosio f20 or fir sc120 for more stiffness, with record, DT240 etc. hubs. and get a good selection of tubulars. (ksyrium SL's are seen a lot as well, but wouldn't be my first choice) I would go with normal dugast tires, but if you race on races with a lot of stones and you are likely to flat go for the one's with silicum sidewalls.
If you are on a budget, good tubulars will make much more of a difference, than say carbonfiber wheels.
Better to have 2 sets of wheels so you can have different tubulars and anticipate to the weather and course, than only have one expensive racingset with tubulars that don't fit the race you are doing. Remember that cx is about the most expensive disciplin in cycling and you need (and use) a LOT af spare material.

[deejay]

I use the bontrager race x lites and have been very pleased with them. i agree about the tubs, dugast give a great ride and can be run at low pressures (but do need looking after carefully).

[Bowie Net]

Hello!

I am using Campa Chorus ( hubs) / Mavic Open Pro (rims) / DT Swiss Comp (spokes). This wheels are very robust. You can using them on the roughes Trails. The weight is 1690g.

[Dr.Dos]

Chronos are not up to the abuse of cyclo-crossing neither are Soul Kozaks (are they up to anything anyway?). tune, DT Swiss or Shimano/Campy hubs, bladed spokes, Mavic Reflexes because of their width are the way to go.

Spend more money on tires and remember that if you compete at a higher level you need everything x2 at least.

[dlight]

@ Boonen:
Remember that cx is about the most expensive disciplin in cycling and you need (and use) a LOT af spare material.

Just curious on why? Is it because you break more equipment? Spare wheels can get expensive though.

thanks

[520 Dan]

I think he means because you are hard on equipment and because CX courses have some of the highest levels of unpredictability (if that is a word) Muddy courses, snowy courses, all grass hardpack courses ect.

[Racing Aardvark]

Just curious on why? Is it because you break more equipment? Spare wheels can get expensive though. thanks

There's 2 schools of thought on wheels, etc, but if you really want to compete you do have to have 2 bikes. That's a lot more $ than road or MTB.

2 thoughts on wheels:
a) have 1 set (for each bike) with a versatile tire for all terrain use. Adam Hodeges-Myerson used to trumpet using Tufo 34s and just adjusting his tire pressure to the course.

b) have several wheels with different tires for use on different types of terrain. You can have optimum tire/wheels for each type of course, but now you're REALLY talking big $.

[dlight]

@Racing A.

what tires are you running for colorado. my team mates have been running ritcheys for training and tufos mostly. they usually have two set of wheels at each race. i've never really ask about it until now.
since i'm not going to race this year except maybe at the end of the season once i learned more about cross racing, i'm thinking of sticking with clinchers. what's a good all around tubular? a friend swears by dugast but his races are in a different state and it's a lot muddier there.