Ride News

The Oregon Stampede has updated some information on their site and you can check out the fine details on this self supported ride here.

Also, the Canadian "Ride Of The Damned" has announced a date change to June 23rd due to sanctioning issues.

Catch up with all the latest on the date change on their site here.

Challenge Tires Strada Bianca Tire: Review Intro & First Impressions

Challenge Tires grew from a heritage of hand made tubular road racing and cyclo-cross tires which have gained many fans over the years. Now the company is reaching out to gravel road and back road riders and racers with the Almanzo Open 30, and now the Strada Bianca Open 30 tire, which we have been testing already. The Almanzo Open 30 review can be seen here.

Tech Intro: Challenge previously called the Strada Bianca the “Eroica”, but took the opportunity to rename the tire when it updated the design with its puncture protection system dubbed “PPS”, and with a deeper tread section for durability and longevity. The tread remains the same, with its file tread roots based in Challenge’s Parix Roubaix tire.

Challenge Tires Strada Bianca

The Strada Bianca, like all of Challenge Tires models, is hand made and the construction is either tubular, or in this case, an “Open Tubular” type. This really shines through when you mount them, which I will get to in a bit, but otherwise indicates the tires are compatible with clincher type rims. Challenge does not have any recommendations for tubeless usage, so these are meant to be used with tubes.

The PPS puncture protection belt

The casing is Challenge’s “SuperPoly” casing with 260 threads per inch. The “PPS” belts are placed on the inner casing and underneath the tread itself. You can actually see the inner belt and it appears as a red band. The casing has a very thick, flexible Aramid bead. Our samples have the “skin wall” look, but the Strada Bianca is also available with black walls as well. The “layers” of this tire are easily discernible as you hold it and the hand made nature of the construction is evident. This is most true when you examine the PPS belt on the inside of the casing.

The Strada Bianca is listed as a 30mm wide tire and our two samples weighed in at 340 grams and 360 grams respectively. These tires were mounted with standard butyl tubes on the set of HED Ardennes + wheels reviewed here. Those rims have an internal width of 21mm for reference.

Mounting the Strada Bianca tires is a bit more difficult due to the way the tire is constructed and its tight fit. Fortunately, the carcass is stretching as you force it on, or there would be no mounting it at all! Also, the tire carcass is entirely flat, and the tire wants to retain that shape as you try to mount it. This makes mounting it something of a “challenge” as well. In fact, when you get it mounted it sits flat on the rim. It looks all the world like a tubular tire that has no air in it mounted on a tuby rim. The tire does air up nicely and seats the bead securely with no unusual issues.

The Stradas lend a retro-tastic look

The recommended air pressures for the Strada Bianca are 55psi-110psi. These samples were mounted and aired up to the minimum recommended pressure and they measured out to a shade more than 32mm wide. (Stated width is 30mm) This may have been because we are using a wider rim, but it is obvious looking at the Almanzo Open 30 right next to the Strada Bianca that the latter has a bigger, more voluminous casing than the Almanzo. MSRP on these tires is $76.00 for the Open Tubular versions tested here.

First Impressions:

The Strada Bianca looked fantastic on the HED Wheels and mounted on the Black Mountain Cycles “Monster Cross” frame, they lent a classic, retro vibe to the bike. (Again, for those that are not into that look, black walls are available.) I really liked the look myself. However, looks are one thing, riding the tires is quite another.

The tires have a traditional “file” tread, (read: essentially slick tires), and with the rounded profile, I was quite curious to see how this might play out on loose rock, dirt, and sandy gravel over hard pack. Aired up to the minimum out back and just under at 50psi up front, I tried these on pavement, dirt, mud, gravel, and chip seal. Most riding has been on a variety of gravel ranging from clear, packed in roads to roads with rubble all the way across and everything in between.

  The ride of these tires is smooth, just like we found with the Almanzo Open 30′s. The casing is supple and mutes almost all high frequency vibrations and isolates the rider from the sharpness of expansion cracks and rough chip seal. Out on the gravel, the file tread did not seem to be an issue, but on dirt, and especially steeper climbs on dirt, the traction was tenuous. Add in some moisture and the result was a loss of traction unless you were deliberate and careful with your moves and pedaling.

 But these tires were not meant to be used on mud and dirt. On their preferred surface, these tires were pretty good at negotiating many conditions I encountered on gravel. Only the loose, fresh gravel and any gravel patches that were deep would cause issues with control. Swapping lines at speed was doable, but dicey. That said, it was more comfortable doing so on the Strada Biancas than it was on the less voluminous Almanzos. Ride feel was mostly very nice, but the occasional “ping” from a stray rock would remind you that these are skinnier tires despite the smooth, supple casing.

 On smooth gravel, hard packed and clear roads, the Strada was every bit as fast as the Almanzo, and in the looser stuff it had a bit better feel of stability than the Almanzo does. It didn’t want to ping the bike around as much. That extra volume and width is where you gain the stability from here. The Almanzo does have a much better bite on dirt and is more stable in mud than the Strada is though, so if that sort of condition is common place on your rides, I might pull out those tires instead of the Stradas.

The Strada Biancas will be put through more rides and then there will be a Final Review coming in a month or so. For now, these seem to be a little better tire than the Almanzo for comfort and stability, at a similar weight,  with performance that feels as fast as the Almanzo Open 30. Only poor weather conditions or rough, fresh gravel seem to be the downside for these tires at this point. Stay tuned.....

 Note: Challenge Tires sent over the Strada Bianca tires at no charge to Gravel Grinder News for testing/review. We are not being bribed, nor paid for this review, and we will strive to give our honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

Challenge Tires Announces "Strada Bianca" Tire

Challenge Tires has done some tweaking on what was formerly known as the "Eroica" tire and switched the name to "Strada Bianca", which is also the name of a famous European road race that features several  gravel road sectors in it. Following is the press release:

For immediate release
May 7, 2013

The gentle crunch of white gravel provides the soundtrack of your ride as billows of dust blow through Tuscan vineyards in your wake.

Strada Bianca, Italian for “white road,” refers to the classic white gravel that cover hundreds of miles in Tuscany. As our line of gravel tires expands and adjusts to meet the needs of gravel enthusiasts, Challenge's 30mm herringbone tubular and open tubular tire takes on a new identity to embody the spirit of gravel racing as the Strada Bianca.

The popularity of the legendary 27mm herringbone Paris-Roubaix led Challenge to develop a tire with more volume and comfort but the same fast-rolling tread. In partnership with its namesake, the Eroica vintage race, the lightweight tire gained an avid following from the rapidly-growing group of gravel enthusiasts and it continued to evolve from a high-volume Paris-Roubaix to a true gravel slick.

As it transformed to meet gravel-specific needs of durability and longevity, the tire gained a double layer of puncture protection (Double PPS), deeper rubber and tougher 260TPI SuperPoly casing. As its popularity grew, the expectations of its namesake race shifted, which inspired an appropriate reinvention as the Strada Bianca.

The Strada Bianca is available in classic black with tan sidewall or all black. It joins the 30mm Almanzo file tread in Challenge's line of supple, fast-rolling handmade gravel tires. Ask to see Challenge’s gravel tubulars and open tubulars at your local Challenge retailer.

Specs:
Size: 700x30c
Casing: 260TPI SuperPoly
Bead: Aramid, folding
Puncture protection: Double PPS
Suggested pressure: 55-115 psi (4-8 bar)

MSRP: Tubulars $109.00USD and Open Tubulars $76.00USD Available now.

Gravel Grinder News has received a pair of these and will be doing a review. Stay tuned for more on these tires soon.

Note: Information used in this report and images shown are provided by Challenge Tires. 

Inspiration 100 Posts Registration Info

The Inspiration 100 will be taking registration for its September 7th event by poat card starting July 1st. Only the first 100 entrants for this free event will be allowed to ride, with any cards received over 100 being put on a Waiting List in case of drop outs from the main roster.

For more on the Inspiration 100, please see their site here.

Winter Puts A Damper On Some Early Season Gravel Events

Winter is loathe to let go of the Upper Mid-West

A long and drawn out spell of Wintry weather has put a damper on some of the early season gravel events held in the Upper Mid-West. Successive cold and snowy blasts have dealt many organizers some additional head aches and worries. Earlier an Iowa Spring Classic was post-poned in March and will be taking place only this very weekend in Cumming, Iowa.

News has reached us that the Strada Fango, scheduled originally for this weekend, is being post-poned due to inclement weather conditions. Gravel Grinder News will provide the rescheduled date when we get it here.( UPDATED: The event is on fpor 4/28/13 until further notice)

Another Upper Mid-West event scheduled this weekend, the Mammoth Classic, is also postponing its event due to the same situation with Winter snow falling in the area and causing poor and unsafe conditions for gravel riding.

Fortunately Winter is scheduled to subside for the time being past this weekend. Stay tuned to your Gravel Grinder News calendar and this page for any updates. Also, do not forget our Facebook page where up to the minute news is posted for gravel fans everywhere.

Gravel Race Sesto Calende - Pavia: Italian Gravel!

Of course, gravel racing is not a U.S invention. Gravel has been the surface for most professional road racing dating back to the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. In this tradition we present Sesto Calende - Pavia. It is an event that hopes to recreate a race that was put on in the early 20th Century on gravel in Italy.

This time the event is set to take place on June 30th and you can check out all the details, (site is in Italian), here.

Editor's Note: The event poster is one of our favorites to date!

Gravel Grinder Gear: Panaracer Pasela Tires

Panaracer Pasela 37mm Tires: 

In bicycle touring circles, the Panaracer  Pasela is no stranger. In fact, it has an almost legendary status with cyclists who have praised it for its low rolling resistance, puncture protection, (Tour Guard), and long lasting tread.

Gravel Grinder News picked up a pair of the largest Pasela TG tires offered at 37mm for testing and review.

Tech Intro: The Pasela is offered in several sizes with and without Tour Guard and in wire bead or folding Kevlar bead models. The 37mm tires here are the Kevlar folding bead tires and are listed as a 120TPI casing with the Kevlar belt which gets you the "Tour Guard" designation. The Kevlar belt is highly resistant to punctures.

The Pasela models are marketed primarily to tourists and urban/commuter cyclists, but are they good for gravel roads as well? This is what this review seeks to find out.

The two samples here at GGN weighed in at 460gms each. The tires were mounted to Velocity A-23 rims and at 45psi measured 36.9mm wide at the widest part of the casing. Admittedly, this is less pressure than the tires are meant to run, so the size seems spot on to me.

The Pasela has a fairly typical tread for a modern day touring tire with a pattern that has an overall chevron appearance and is fairly shallow. The tan sidewalls, (light brown in color, really), lend a classic look without being too bright. The overall shape to the casing is a shallow "C" on the A-23's.

First Impressions:

With a reputation preceding it for a nice ride quality, I was looking forward to a nice, amazingly smooth ride. However; it must be noted that I was coming off the Challenge Alamanzo tires, which are amazingly smooth, (test/review seen here), and my perspective may have been skewed by this somewhat. Or was it something else altogether?

The first ride was not bad, but it was not as inspiring as I had hoped it might have been. Subsequently I took the Pasela on a couple of gravel rides, one at 35-40psi, and the other at 40-45psi. The higher pressure was more agreeable, but something else seems to be going on here. The tires seem to be "coming in" as I ride them more, and I am noticing a better feel to them now that I have had several rides on them.

So I am holding off on saying much more on these until I can put them through some more gravel rides. I will chime back in with an update in a couple of weeks, hopefully.

Note: Gravel Grinder News purchased these Panaracer tires for test/review and is not being bribed, nor paid for this review. We will strive to give our honest thoughts and opinions throughout.