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Recent Reviews
These are great. They roll fast, are grippy in the corners both on road and off, they are very comfortable, and they are durable. They do leak a bit of air when not in use (about as much as latex tubes do), but who doesn't check their tire pressure before every ride? Yes, the beads are very tight when new, but I found this is easy to overcome by using three tire levers. I get the tire mounted as far as I can with my hands, and then lay the wheel down and stick one lever between the bead and the rim at "two o'clock" and hold it with my right foot to keep the tire from working itself off, and then starting at about "eight o'clock" I work the other two levers in sequence to "inch" the bead in a clockwise direction towards the third lever. Easy peasy. And once the tire has been on for a week or two, it's as easy as any other tire to remove and reinstall.
I have purchased and ridden two sets of the 36s.
Took a long time to get these tires to seal on Campagnolo Shamal wheels. Kept bleeding through sidewall and losing 10psi an hour. Was using Silca sealant system @ 45-50psi.
After I finally fed it enough sealant to hold pressure, these tires were an incredible ride on pavement and buff gravel. They disappear beneath you.
BUT.. They accumulate cuts like no other and fresh tires would puncture after 200ish miles for me.
Makes for a really unconfident tire choice. I was constantly worried about being too hard on the tires when choosing lines or when planning more remote routes.
I would avoid if you are anything but the most serious and risk tolerant competitive racer.
If you had trouble mounting Challenge Strada TLRs, just wait until you try these! Ok so these are absolutely horrible to mount just like the Stradas but I have come to expect this. I have my technique down and after that initial mount, they stretch out a bit and are really easy to remount in my experience in case of flat or just swapping tires
I have now put around 4k miles on these things and have to say, the ride quality is definitely improved vs. the Stradas and they are quite durable for how supple and fast they feel. I took them on gravel roads and all sorts of pavement conditions without any issues. Main tread has a very durable and long lasting center strip. The sidewalls are not durable obviously but that is why these things feel so damn good. I
Price is a bit high imo but I am sure these will come down on sale eventually. I would definitely buy again but have so many tires to run.
I wanted a tough tire that rolls fast, and has some grip for a few gravel races. Like the other review mentioned, these tires are not easy to get on the wheel. Because they are hand made, they are virtually flat when they arrive. I mean they are a ribbon of rubber with no shape. So you need to get one side on the rim, and it will start to take shape, then you will fight to get the other side on. There is no point in buying these tires unless you plan to go tubeless. Any attempt to change a tube, or add a tube on the side of the road would be fruitless. Thankfully, these are tough tires, and not likely to need any help one mounted and sealed. They were surprisingly easy to inflate and seat once they were on the wheel. I did lose air overnight initially, but then over inflated them again, and shock out the sealant, and they were just fine. These are fast rolling, tough and grippy. I love these tires, but do not plan to mount them without a friend on hand.
And they look awesome too.