Come see our rides! PSL and CX is coming!
It's no secret that all of us at Boyd Cycling love to ride. While our roots are planted in the road scene, we enjoy all types of riding.
We also work with a bunch of super talented cyclists in many disciplines. Some of them recently rode an extremely hard gravel event in Tennessee and brought us inside the race. Yes, they were pulling their phones out and recording videos while riding away to victory. Sometimes life is unfair!
It's August 6th today, which means we are in the heat of the summer. I don't know about you, but something about temperatures in the upper 90s (or upper 30s if you're reading this from abroad) just makes you want a Pumpkin Spice Latte. . .right?
OK, we can hold off on pumpkin everything for a little while. However, let's not hold off on cyclocross! While it's not quite here yet, it's time to start thinking about your gear. Looking at cyclocross wheel selection, we have 4 main recommendations.
#1 Pinnacle CX
The Pinnacle CX is the absolute best option for a dedicated cyclocross wheelset. When we looked at making a cyclocross tubular, we asked how we would make the wheel if it were purely for cyclocross. With a super wide 29mm width, the rim bed has a 32mm radius so cyclocross tires have perfect edge to edge gluing. You don't have to build up the rim bed with multiple layers of glue to get good tire seating.
#2 Black and Tan alloy tubular
Similar to the Pinnacle CX, the rim bed radius of the Black and Tan is 32mm for perfect edge to edge gluing. However, being an alloy rim the width is a little bit narrower at 23.5mm wide. For cyclocross racers who realize the benefits of tubular tires, the Black and Tan is an excellent option for racing on a budget.
If tubulars are not your thing for cyclocross, or if you want to use the wheels for gravel also, then the Pinnacle hookless set is perfect for tubeless cyclocross racing. The hookless design creates much better impact resistance and helps spread out the tire for better protection against sidewall cuts. There is a growing population of people who are racing CX on tubeless instead of tubulars, and the Pinnacle hookless is my ideal choice for this!
#4 Altamont Lite alloy clincher
Similar to the Pinnacle hookless, the Altamont Lites work great with tubeless cyclocross tires. Use this wheelset for road, gravel, or CX at any tire pressure. If we had pressure from corporate investors they would likely tell us to stop telling people that one alloy wheel could be a great option for three different disciplines. We're cyclists though, and know that not everybody has the budget to outfit full bikes for lots of different riding. This is where the Altamont Lites really shine as a do-it-all wheelset, no matter what tire, no matter what pressure, no matter what condition.