Life In The Saddle

​When you're looking for the best tyre for bicycle touring, you're demanding a whole host of attributes... You want a tyre that will grip well and inspire confidence, even when fully loaded. You want a tyre that will roll fast, so you can munch through the miles. You want a tyre that is puncture resistant, because changing a tube on a fully loaded bike is a right faff. Finally, you want a tyre that will last; because by its nature, bicycle touring is hard on your kit. The new Clement X'Plor USH tyres are part of the 'Adventure' range from the French/ Italian brand. They are tyres designed to excel at back-and-beyond touring; ticking off all the attributes above, in the process. The USH X'Plor model is the 'hard-pack' touring tyre; it features a tread pattern that is at home on asphalt, but equally capable of handling gravel sections. I selected the Clement X'Plor USH as my tyre option for my upcoming ' Coasts and Cols ' tour; it was an ...

Clement Pneumatics are known for their top-end cyclocross tyres, which have shod the wheels of many past and current champions. In recent years, they have also started adding some new diversity to their range though; with the introduction of the X'plor tyres (something I'm keen to try on my Kona Private Jake), as well as the Strada LGG road tyre, and now the new LCV road race tyre. The LCV is named after Lucca, a picturesque town in Tuscany, which has hosted some of the most prestigious races in the road cycling calendar. The name is intended to suggest what the LCV is built for... road racing. The LCV tyres use a mixture of threads-per-inch, as well as a puncture protection belt and herringbone file pattern tread; the result is a supple casing, but also a tyre that should handle all road surfaces, in all conditions. With Clement's great reputation on the cyclocross circuit, I was keen to see how the new LCV stood up to the UK roads... The results have been good. I ...