Challenge Strada Bianca

[ltwtsculler91]

Originally Posted by earlfoss

Are people still having problems with Challenge tires blowing off the rims? I have read about some experiences with this across the hall, and can't seem to find if the issue has been addressed. The Paris Roubaix and the Strada Bianca look really nice, but these issues have been the only thing keeping me from mounting on my DT460 rims.

I've had zero issues on 4500 miles using Strada Biancas, and another 1500mi using Paris Roubaix. They are an absolute pain to mount the first time, but beyond that are great tires

[Zarathustra]

To begin: 4-5 years ago I got two pair of Challenge Parigi-Roubaix on special. *Very very* difficult to get on rims. Impossible without tyre levers & much muttering. Normally I roll tyres on with my hands or, at most, one tyre lever.

Initially also difficult to get off the rims. Then they stretched so much they'd almost fall off. This was because I took them off just about every day to repair punctures. Lots of punctures. Tiny—tenths of milimetres—pieces of wire or glass, and even stones. Stones! Cuts in them every ride.

I rode them the same places I'd ridden Continental, Vittoria, and other clinchers—and many tubular tyres—over many years puncturing 3-6 times annually. They wore out in c.600 km. I tried them at pressures between 50 & 90 psi but never enjoyed how they rode. I've still got the second pair in my shed. I've no interest in them.

Recently a local LBS persuaded me to try Strada Bianca Pros.

I've tried to mount one of them on HED Belgium Plus (c.21 mm internal), Bontrager Affinity (17 mm internal), and some extra-el-cheapo rims (17 mm internal). I've tried for around 5 hours, snapped one tyre lever & bent another so much that it is unusable, ruined one lot of rim tape, and I CANNOT GET THE TYRE ONTO *ANY* OF THESE RIMS.

Before anyone advises me how to mount a tyre, or asks if I've done this or that, please note that I've toured, raced, built, maintained & repaired bikes since I was 17. I'm now 62. Believe me, I know how to mount a tyre, and I've tried most of the methods described on-line about how to fit difficult tyres (I won't use talcum powder). I use good quality tools & tape. This is the first, the *only* tyre I haven't been able to get onto a rim.

I believe it has been made too small. Even if I could fit it, there's a good chance I won't be able to get it off—most likely in some remote & rainy place in the middle of the night. I have no interest in trying the second tyre. Even if I could get it on a rim, I have no confidence in its fitness for purpose. The first tyre confirms my experience that Challenge tyres are either poorly designed, badly manufactured, use sub-standard materials, or suffer from abysmal QC. I know it's a small sample, but I have a life to live, I don't want to spend it finding a functional Challenge tyre.

If only 10% of Strada Biancas have the problems described on this and other forums, and if the PRs are examples of Challenge quality, why would anyone bother with them? There're plenty of good tyres that don't require such effort.

CHALLENGE TYRES ARE, IME, EXPENSIVE BUT WORTHLESS, PRETTY BUT UNFUNCTIONAL, FRAGILE GARBAGE. That's G-A-R-B-A-G-E. Or, as we say in this neck of the woods, S#*T ON A STICK. Buy these tyres at your peril. I won't look at a Challenge tyre again.

BTW, I've ordered two new sets of Compass Stampede Pass XL. I've used these for quite a while now on asphalt and gravel and found them fast & reliable. Bon Jons are better, IMO, but they're a tight fit on my latest bike.

Good luck.

[pakora]

haha

I have nothing to add that hasn't been said but before the really large tires were in vogue and the two largest nice tires you could get in 700c were Paris-Roubaix and the at the time new Compass 32s, I nearly lost my mind mounting just one of the PRs on a H Son TB14. I didn't mount the other one and just rode mismatched tires. Cut at least one latex tube mounting the tire as well.

I did buy a bead jack as a result and have suffered no more! Also went to the most expensive and lightest Schwalbe tubes as an inflexible rule - they're great and light (and seem like a bargain at $9 apiece, which seems crazy to say).

Happily it got cut to ribbons and was dead in just a few hundred miles. I did get to fight it off to fix a flat at the side of a gravel road and it was even more difficult to get off and back on without a spray bottle of soapy water and gardening gloves.

I just checked where I got them - I bought them here in open packages.

I sold my remaining one here heh.

[Davist]

so, for a good file tread at ~32 I should be going to compass? I have a (cheep) 32c strada from Clement.. Or should I stick with (my normal) Conti and use a GP 4 season? I have challenge strada Bianca's and contrary to others, musta got a good batch, but they don't last too long (1500 on the front, 800 on the back) had a sidewall rip on a piece of shale, but no flat issues or mounting issues..

[velofinds]

Challenge tires have always exhausted me but never defeated me until just the other day. I gave up and put them on eBay, where they promptly sold.

[tctyres]

Originally Posted by Davist

so, for a good file tread at ~32 I should be going to compass? I have a (cheep) 32c strada from Clement.. Or should I stick with (my normal) Conti and use a GP 4 season? I have challenge strada Bianca's and contrary to others, musta got a good batch, but they don't last too long (1500 on the front, 800 on the back) had a sidewall rip on a piece of shale, but no flat issues or mounting issues..

I have no experience with Compass, but the Gravelking slicks use the same file tread. I did run a set of the SOMA Supple Vitesse -- nice rolling but really too fragile.

IMO, stick with the GP 4 Season 32mm tires. I have those. They are great,.

[Big Dan]

Some tire and wheel combinations are not worth the hassle.

[ERK55]

Originally Posted by Big Dan

Some tire and wheel combinations are not worth the hassle.

I think there is something to be said for this.

--I second everything about Challenge tires: I've struggled with both the Strada Bianca's and Almanzo's both of which were tough to mount. But they eventually went on.

--However, the only time I completely gave up after an hour and a half was trying to mount a 32mm GravelKing on a HED Belgium plus rim, despite using all the usual well known maneuvers. Completely impossible. I think I mentioned this once before here and was greeted with skepticism. I slapped on some 30mm WTB exposures instead and they went on one two three.
The GravelkKings are still in a box somewhere.

[Zarathustra]

Originally Posted by Davist

so, for a good file tread at ~32 I should be going to compass? I have a (cheep) 32c strada from Clement.. Or should I stick with (my normal) Conti and use a GP 4 season?

I've had good experiences with Compass Stampede Pass XL and Compass Bon Jon Pass XL 35 mm. I've found them as good as 4xSeasons for durability & reliability and faster to boot. But note: YRMV, I've read forums where people condemn Compass tyres as the work of the devil. As I said, the BJPs are exceptionally good if you can get them to fit. You could try the normal weight Compass tyres if you feel you need some extra protection, but I've only once damaged a sidewall, and that was on an asphalt road in the dark: I rode into a long crack in the parallel direction to the road and scraped the cords on the side of the tyre. I believe any tyre would have been damaged. I rode the tyre for another c.2000 km before I thought I should change it.

The Compass tyres share some features with other tyres that Panaracer manufactures (Grand Bois, Pasela, Gravel King, for instance) but according to Jan Heine & Panaracer use different materials & construction techniques. Certainly, they ride & last much better than Grand Bois tyres I've used. I've been getting between 4000 & 7000 km out of a tyre (the differences seem to be related to the batch of tyres, the terrain & roads I've ridden, whether I've been bike packing &c. I'm 80 kg and usually run my 32 mm tyres somewhere between 45 & 60 psi depending on road & load.

See the article at https://janheine.wordpress.com/2018/03/06/how-are-compass-tires-different-from-panaracers/ or just the quotation below from Panaracer:
“The Gravelkings and the Compass tires are two different types of tires. The reason that Compass tires are so successful is that Jan and Compass have a clear vision for what they want in a tire, and Panaracer has the technology to deliver that. The materials and the construction of the Compass tires vary from the Panaracer line, because of the performance that Compass wants to deliver to the customer. The components that go into the Compass tires, and the processes to make them, cost more, hence the price difference. Both are high-quality tires, but the ride and performance are different. If you’re looking for the most supple tire that incorporates all cutting-edge tire technology, you’ll choose Compass. If you’re willing to sacrifice the ultimate ride quality Compass is known for, to get a little more puncture and sidewall protection, then Panaracer has you covered there.”

[Zarathustra]

PS: If you do decide to read the article about Panaracer & Compass tyres, be sure to read the comments. Many of the questions raised about them here are raised there.

[pakora]

I have had excellent luck with the Compass and Grand Bois tires, but had a couple of missteps as well.

In a pair of Grand Bois 32s of I believe the first generation, I got a sidewall cut that seemed egregious to me - 2mph crash on railroad tracks in the rain. The other two I flatted once or twice in so many smooth miles I accidentally wore the rear to the cords (I'm not great with turning my bike over to check wear when there's fenders ). 4-5k miles, mostly on asphalt.

That bike became a commuter bike (and my only road bike for a year) and I replaced them with Gravel King 32s. No flats to my memory and again wore through to the cords. Again 4-5k miles, mostly on asphalt.

With a pair of Compass Switchback Hill (650b 48s) I have 2000 miles on them, tubeless and with hundreds of miles of rough gravel and dirt, including Dirty Kanza, where I flatted a single with a big cut through the middle of the tread (the only flat on these tires). One of three tires wouldn't mount tubeless, but Compass recommended a second wrap of tubeless tape. I just tried my spare tire and it mounted. Rear showing a little wear, front showing virtually none.

Dollar for dollar the Gravel Kings are the best "cheap" nice tire I've ridden, but the Compass tires are worth the money to me, with tubes or tubeless, the best hors categorie. Yet to try Schwalbe Pro Ones in larger sizes on my sunny day bike, but I'm curious about those and the Conti 5000s in 32.

[Zarathustra]

Originally Posted by pakora

Yet to try Schwalbe Pro Ones in larger sizes on my sunny day bike, but I'm curious about those and the Conti 5000s in 32.

I tried 28 mm Schwalbe Ones (the tubed version) in September–October-ish 2015 (was this early in their release—??). I got them cheap—which was good, 'cos I took them off after 2–300 km of repeated flats and squirel–y handling.

After reading glowing reviews, I was very disappointed. There were some dissenting views, which made me wonder if there was a lot of variation in QC. These, of course, were not gravel tyres; but they put me off Schwalbe for a while (haven't bought any since). I'd give Schwalbe another chance if I couldn't get Compass, because I haven't seen as many complaints about them as I've seen about Challenge tyres and I may have just been unlucky.

If they hadn't been out of stock online when I looked, I'd have tried the 32 mm Continental 5000, as I've had good luck with Contintental.

BTW, unsurprisingly, I have heard nothing from Challenge since I complained to them. (I was polite.) I'm not holding my breath that I'll get any response.