Challenge Strada Bianca Race TLR Tire

I did a lot of research on this tire and was excited to get them mounted and use them at SBT GRVL. I got one ride of 12 miles out of them. During the ride, they were supple and fast. Immediately after the ride, however, I discovered that one had picked up a laceration all the way across the tire tread, down to the casing. On a paved, closed bike path with no hazards. It was a very costly and painful lesson that put me in a bind just hours before hitting the road for Steamboat Springs. I really wanted to love these tires but I can't trust them and recommend that you don't either.

I'm providing a review update on these tires after about 500 miles of riding. The tires are finally holding more air and I only need to top them off with a few pumps to get them to my preferred Tire Pressure. I did add 1.5 extra ounces of sealant which seemed to help. I have found at my weight I need to run 55 psi in the rear and 50 in the front. On wet pavement or light gravel I will drop down to 50 rear and 45 in the front. Luckily I have not had an punctures and overall performance seems really good. I have picked up some Strava KOM's using these and broke a few I had accomplished on Conti GP 5000's. Going from hard stiff Conti in a 32c to a 36 subtle Challenge has been a wonderful riding experience and the subtle ride is amazing. I'm riding faster overall due to more comfort. I do believe I may be at the upper end of rider weight for these tires due to their forgiving sidewalls. I do have tread wear after only 500 miles and b the time I reach 800 miles the center tread pattern will be worn away on thread tire. I don't see this being a problem due to the tread being very light to begin with. Once the center wears away they will be very similar to the WTB Horizon tire. A few things I wish this tire had, I wish Challenge had tread wear indicators on them and I kind of wish they had just made the center part of the tire slick with the tread pattern on the sides that way you don't notice the fairly quick wearing of the center tread pattern. I would rotate the tires but due to how hard they were to mount on my setup I'm not going to suffer again trying to rotate tires. If I can get 1500 plus miles on these I would buy them again.

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.

This is the third and final review of this tire. I have about 1000 miles on them and unfortunately the grip has worn off and they are starting to flatten in the center. The front tire is still in pretty good shape but the rear wore very quickly. Once the tread had worn off I discovered wet roads or very hot roads with some oil build up would cause the rear tire to slip easily. This caused more cautious riding than I had in the beginning. Due to fast wear and the lack of grip once past 500 miles I can't recommend this tire if you spend of your time on pavement. As a very light gravel tire for occasional use or for race only use they should do fine. I never had any punctures but I have a few small cuts that did not go all the way through. I have also noticed that the rubber compound seems to have hardened over time. I love the way the tire looks but for a everyday tire on mostly tarmac I would not recommend them. I am switching to the Pirelli Cinturato Velo TLR in a 700 x 35c. The Pirelli is a far superior tire in my opinion. Challenge could have a solid winner in this tire if they just made some changes to the materials used and added a puncture barrier in its construction.

Nice riding tire, very subtle and really tames road vibration. I ran these with a tube for one day before setting up tubeless. They were easy to install and easier than my previous GP 5000's to install with a tube and at 50psi the ride was very nice and the tires performed excellently. The next day I set these up tubeless with my Bontrager rims using Bontragers TLR system and sealant. The bontrager rim strips took away enough room to make the installation a total bear because the tire was very hard to get on. Perhaps rim tape may have been easier due to more rim depth. Once on the rims the tires popped the bead using 80 psi of pressure. I never noticed any sealant leaks and no weeping through the sidewalls. The ride quality is excellent and they grip the road nicely and performed nicely on a mixture of terrain. Unfortunately the tires will not hold pressure overnight. Each day they drop to 20 psi or less. No sealant has been noticed nor any air bubbles so I'm just guessing these tires don't hold air efficiently when set up tubeless. Disappointed considering how well the tires ride on my Trek Domane. I'm 6-1 tall and 200 lbs. I have to run these tires at 50 psi in the rear and about 45 psi in the front.

I've been riding these tires for just over a month with 210 miles. I purchased the 700x40's tan walled. They look great on the bike and mounted up easily by hand on a set of Spinergy GXX wheels. They do seem to have a problem being tubeless. One tire mounts up tubeless and will maintain pressure for three days then have to be pumped. The other won't seal for more than a few hours before needing air. I just tubed that tire and all is well. The tire weights are right at spec published, light tires for the size. I would recommend these tires.

I love riding these. Even though they are 36c they still feel fast even running 50 psi. Can do light gravel and dirt roafs with ease and have plenty of traction. They do wear a little quicker than I thought they would but are very supple and have good flat protection

Love this tire. Great comfort and durability. Use mostly on road and light gravel. Handles dirt/gravel roads with ease.