The Future of Cyclocross is Disc?

After spending an entire summer longing for cyclocross season to come, I'm finally getting close.  This has been an interesting year too, with all of the new technology coming and the UCI now allowing disc wheels.

But this got me thinking, what's really the benefit of discs?  They aren't light, in fact they weigh quite a bit more.  I'd guess a disc wheel could resist sand buildup that a shallow rim could accumulate, but does that make up for the weight?

Let's get past the weight issue and move on to durability.  If a disc wheel can get a hole punched into it in a wheel bag, how is it supposed to stand up to a mass-start race where crashes are inevitable?  This one already has a hole in it, and the season hasn't even started!

And what's this about improved braking?  I don't claim to be a plastics expert, but this braking seems like it'll be the same as any other carbon wheel.  I've heard claims of better braking in adverse conditions, but I'm just not buying.

This particular disc does have dimples, but aerodynamics don't really matter in cyclocross.  The braking isn't going to be better on a disc wheel than any other carbon wheel.  Disc wheels are heavy.

After much thought I think I'm going to skip disc wheels for cyclocross.  I don't get all of the hype....

New Review: Schwalbe Sammy Slick 700x35

I long for a good file tread.  One that provides minimum rolling resistance but good cornering grip.  Not asking for a lot, right?  Right.

I've long enjoyed the Challenge Griffo XS for training, but cornering with that is akin to riding road tires on ice.  The casing is supple so the ride is smooth, and man does it roll fast.

Not long ago I put a fair number of miles on the Clement LAS, which was awesome.  Great volume, very fast rolling, supple enough, and a nice shoulder that provided some great grip.  Come to think of it, my only complaint was that I was never able to set them up tubeless, but they weren't rated for that anyway.

So here I am, with a file tread I like, but that doesn't mean I should stop there.  Schwalbe's Sammy Slick appealed to me because of the shoulder it offers as well as the luck I've had in the past setting Schwalbe tires up tubeless.  I haven't tried that yet, but the tight bead of these tires I'm hoping will easy to seal up.

The tires are labeled as a 700x35, but set up on my Mavic R-SYS SLR's the casing measured a tiny 31mm, the widest point on the tread was a dismal 32.8.  Bummer since I was digging the idea of a 35mm tire.  Even more of a bummer, the tires are very short, meaning they have very little volume.  Advertised weight was 360g, mine were 325g and 355g.

On a very smooth course, I could see these tires being exceptionally fast.  Unfortunately, on a bumpy course the lack of volume would either force you to stay with low pressure and risk a pinch flat or raise the pressure and forgo grip and comfort.

I'm only a couple of rides into these tires, but so far I can say they roll exceptionally fast when the going is smooth.  The shoulder also grips quite well for a file tread, even when I was doing some hot laps at my favorite hidden gem along the North Branch Trail which offers up a lot of gravel.  The tires are pretty light, so they do spin up fast.

The Sammy Slick strikes me as the perfect tire for The Des Plaines River Trail or if you find yourself hitting some gravel roads.  You'd fly on a smooth and grassy cyclocross course, especially if that course offered some off-camber turns where most other people running file treads would find themselves slipping around.  Unfortunately because of it's narrow size and small volume, I wouldn't recommend these on a bumpy course where the risk of pinch flats would be very high.

Clement X'PLOR USH Overview

It's becoming increasingly clear how much our crew enjoys gravel road racing. Being CX-crazy, it shouldn't be a surprise we like this type of racing, but we needed something to keep us rolling in the spring/summer.

Right out of the box I had to weigh them.  I was nervous they'd weigh a ton, but at 438g I'd say they came out ok.  I weighed two different tires, both were within 5g.

Clement must be seeing a lot of this action, which is prompting a couple of new gravel road-specific tires coming soon, the USH being the model we're reviewing here. The USH is labeled as a 700x35c, and measured in at 34.43mm mounted to some Alpha 340 rims, which seems pretty much right on.

The tread is a really solid center section, very similar to a tire we'd sell to someone looking for a beefy city tire. Outside of that, though, is where the tire shows some CX-influence. The shoulder is a pretty gnarly diamond pattern.

From my first couple of rides, I can say these roll quite fast.  They of course aren't as fast as a Corsa CX, but they roll far faster than a Clement LAS.  I have yet to get any hard cornering in on them, but so far cornering on the road has been really confidence inspiring.

I can see a tire like this being excellent for anything from road to limestone to light trail riding.  With it's bigger brother, the MSO going on test as well (keep an eye out for another post) it seems Clement may have hit another homerun.  We'll know more soon.

Please feel free to ask questions on this one.  Clement is looking for feedback from us, and I'm happy to try this out in various conditions you think it may be useful in.