I’m really happy with the Vittoria Cross XN I’ve been riding for the last few months, but now it seems they’re discontinued as a clincher.
So I’m after a tread pattern as close to the Cross XN as possible.
Conti do the Cyclocross Speed…
but reviews say that they’re a puncture magnet so the jury’s still out.
Anyone know of similar clinchers around 30-35mm?
Schwalbe Sammy slicks? 35c.
Sammy Slick CX | Schwalbe North America
Schwalbe Sammy Slick Tyre | Buy Online | ChainReactionCycles.com
Folding, file tread, pretty light.
Yeah spammy slick was what I was running on the cinelli (when I had a cross bike). Highly recommended, fast for sealed roads with good puncture protection.in fact I like them so much I’m getting a pair of 26" size for my MTB.
Also the Michelin Cyclocross Jet. If they are anything like the muds they are closer 32mm.
Oh yeah Clement LAS also - the file tread gets bigger as it gets further out.
Really looking forward to trying out Clements PDX once my muds needs replacing.
Now you’re going too far! I already couldn’t make my mind up so I was ready to order a pair each of Conti Speed and Sammy Slicks and now you give me another good looking option 
No worries. Just buy them all and give me what you don’t like.
i’ll help you with the overstock 
i can recommend the Jets… at least for the trails as they are right now. i’ve had a lot of fun riding them for the past month and they have about 2-300kms on them without any discernible wear. having said that, the moment it rains im swapping them for something with more side knobs as the peanut butter thick mud of inner trails will render the centre tread useless pretty quick and im not one for burnouts when powering up out of corners.
those LAS (and the PDX) look amazing. me want.
plus one for the sammy schleck. light and fast.
OK thanks guys. A pair each of Sammys and Continental Speed are on the way. They should keep me going for the rest of the year.
And feel free to post good sources for Vittoria Cross XNs. Jenson have them but at ~$120 a pair delivered I’m not jumping at the chance.
I have some XN’s that I don’t ride very much (about 85-90% tread left). I only use them when I ride my cross bike to work. When I finally get around to building up some A23’s I have plans to use a more commuter style tyre. I will give you first dibs on them.
Cool thanks. In return I’ll start up a blog that focusses only on your generous spirit and considerable physical endowments.
Pretty sure the world won’t need two of those.
I’m shortly getting a Crux which I’ll be used for commuting (road/bike path) and also CX action. Are the sammy slick appropriate? I think I’m essentially after a tyre I can off-road on which won’t get chopped up/worn out from commuting. Ideas?
I just put some challenge on my roadie, if the CX are as good as the crits, they win.
IMO, Sammy Slick is perfect for this.
I recently got the 26" Sammy Slicks for my hardtail and they rock!
I commute with Sammy Slicks on my Kona, a really fast rolling tyre and they do well on fairly loose gravel. Pretty predictable when the front starts sliding out, the corner tread then grabs fairly well. I thought I found the perfect tyre… then I rode in mud, pretty stodgy stuff that caked a nice layer on top of the tyre, so it didn’t shed the mud well at all. It was impossible to put the power down as it kept breaking traction on the rear.
Good tyre for compact dirt, just not when it gets muddy.
I don’t think there is a tyre that does both really well.
Yup. They are a good tyre, I will be sticking with them for commuting, if I were to race on it though I would want something with more traction for mud/dirt as they do tend to lose traction on an incline (This is on the SS). I tried running a lower pressure and got this as a result… x2 punctures within 10 metres of each other.
Hmmm, I wonder why? 
^ Love the image Ezy!