ChallengeGetaway PRO TLR Gravel Tire(Return to Product Page)

These are clearly a top tier tire and they score well at brr.com. Though, the rumors are true, they are a Challenge to mount. I've changed a lot of tires in my day and I'm a machinist so I have a "mondo set of tools". I set these on American Classic Hurricane alloy wheels. Doing this without inventing new cusswords or throwing things across the garage required: a stout pair of irons, a pair of small clamps to act as stops, Schwalbe tire lubricant, and no way were they going to seat without an air compressor. Prior experience with cantankerous tires helped a lot. Worth it? I think so!

I'm not sure I'd believe the reviews that give this tire 1 star. Although these are on the more tricky side of mounting, it's definitely doable and actually easy once you get the technique down. It took about an hr for the first tire to work out the method. Then 15 mins to mount the other.

First, I'd watch this installation video by Challenge Tires https://youtu.be/1N9a1tqYky4 . Next, I'd pick up some tire bead wax (Shindy Tire Bead Wax).

The key is Japanese tire bead wax. You wax one bead and slide it over the rim so the whole tire is over top the rim and centered. Don't push any beads into the rim just yet. Then wax the other bead.

Now you can mount one bead making sure you're going into that center channel. Get as far as you can go using your body weight to stretch the bead as much as possible. Don't work too hard though. Once you can go any farther strap an old pedal strap to one side right where the bead is entering the rim. Basically you're trying to pinch that side so it doesn't move. Get the strap really tight but also make sure the metal parts of it aren't digging into the rim. Then you can work on the other side of the rim w a tire lever. If the other side migrates refit the strap so it pinches the bead so it can't move. Repeat on the other side.

Rode these at a not-muddy but also not-dry cx race and they performed excellent. Great traction despite small knobs. I ran them at 18 psi (138 lbs bike+body) which lower than the recommended pressure of 25-45 psi. No squirm. The rear rim kissed the ground a couple times with no issues. Great all-round tire that I'll be keeping on for the winter.

Have been very pleased with Challenge tires over the years. Was looking for a fast tire for not so gnarly race courses...something with more bite than a Pathfinder and less bite but more speed than a Mezcal or Hurricane Ridge. Wanted 45's, wanted super supple. Read every review out there on about every tire out there, landed on these.

First things first...there's NOTHING magical about mounting up Challenge tires. More challenging than some perhaps, but just not a big deal.

Second, I expected these to run true to size to slightly small from what I read. On 21.6 ID rims these hit 47mm. They are BIG 45's.

Third, they beaded up nicely, held air no problem, no sidewall weeping, minimal initial weeping at the bead line with fitment.

Fourth, they are beautifully round and centered. No concerns with handmade variability on this pair.

Fifth...if it wasn't 10:17pm and raining I'd be riding already...can't wait to try these out tomorrow.

In my experience, Challenge are so supple that the ride feel is at least +5mm from a comfort standpoint, and the grip is outrageous. Hope these are as good as the rest of their tires I've used.

Yes they're expensive, but if they hold up I'm good with that.

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.

Super fast, lots of grip and they look amazing. I've absolutely hammered these tires and haven't had any issues or punctures. I've ran them on chunky gravel, river rock, sand, mtb single track, rain and snow and they performed better than any previous tire I've had. Set up tubeless on a set of 25mm internal width wheels the 40mm measures 40.7mm.

Don't listen to the people that say they are hard to mount. Make sure the bead is centered in the rim channel, use a tire lever and you won't have any issues.

My next set will be in the 45mm, a little extra cushion never hurt and these roll quicker than I initially expected.

Great grip, light, and very low rolling resistance. So far I have about 1.5k miles on one set of tires. Very fast on pavement and great handling in rough gravel. Does fine in light mud. Expands to 42.2 mm on 25 mm internal rims. Currently my favorite gravel tire. Faster and, for me at least, better wear than Terra Speed and Rene Herse Snoqualmie Pass. Only cons for me are the sidewalls are yellow, not tan, and they come perfectly flat instead of curved, which makes them trickier to mount.

Good grip. Felt fast.

tire is so undersized out of the box that I was debating whether it was a mislabeled 650b. the TREAD needed to be stretched over the rim, let alone the sidewalls. I've mounted dozens of tubeless tires over the past decade and these were by far the most difficult. way harder than GP5000 TL.

once mounted, they were both very out of round. ok so I ignore that too because they just feel sooo supple. went for one ride at 40psi and they felt super fast and smooth on coarse gravel, even at that high of pressure. For reference I weigh 155lbs. but then on the following road descent they were unnervingly squirmy in corners. it was uncomfortable pushing them into a corner faster than 30mph. so basically, they're awesome in a straight line, on bumpy roads, as long as you don't mind them being wobbly and impossible to do a flat change roadside. can't speak to their durability since I returned them after 2 rides. when I removed them, bead had stretched so much that I could put it back on by hand. I suspect that challenge knows these unvulcanized tanwalls stretch a ton and thus intentionally undersize the bead a lot to account for that.

Yes they're a pain to mount, but honestly maybe only 5% worse than a GP5000's if you've mounted Challenge tires before you'll be fine.

Bead up nicely. Roll fast. Super comfy. Tolerate psi variability. Plenty of bite. Durability is TBD. My main gripe, as with all the handmade tires in this line, is the inconsistent placement of tread on carcass both of them they have a lateral hop.

Conditions in the Marin headlands are dry dry dry these days. Fire roads are definitely hard pack. This supple tire is definitely helping to soften the blows. Low profile tread requires rider attention on downslopes but'shouldn't that always be the case??

Definitely worth it.

One note about install: tight fit for sure. Patience and technique will reward and once on no issues with seating.

I bought these tires because they rated really well for rolling and puncture resistance. The tread looks like "just enough" for dry SoCal trails. The yellowish sidewall is kind of ugly, but I figured I'd eventually get used to it if they performed well.

Unfortunately I couldn't even get them mounted on my Rolf Prima Hyalite wheels (alloy rim). I knew something was weird when I took them out of the package and they were totally flat. Absolutely no roundedness to them at all. Then when I tried to get them on the wheel, The "fit" was so tight I needed to use tire levers to install the FIRST bead. Even with the first bead in the tubeless channel, I had to work the tire levers to get the first bead seated. Then I wanted to use a tube to set the tire up before adding the hassle of sealant. Well the tire was so tight I could barely get a fully deflated inner tube between the tire and the rim. Then, trying to install the second bead? Fugettaaboutit. I eventually got the second bead seated, but surprise, surprise, when I tried to inflate the tube I had obviously pinched it while wrestling with the second bead.

So now I have to try and get this thing off! Frankly I should have stopped when the first bead was so difficult to get on the rim. I can't even imagine what a nightmare it would be to try and deal with a bad puncture on the road/trail. What a waste of money.

These are pretty fast rolling tires and pretty light. I like them better than my Gravel Kings because they roll just as fast and don't throw pebbles at my fellow riders. They have a yellow sidewall, not tan if that matters to you. My 38mm version expands to 40 mm wide on my 25 mm internal rims. They require a no ammonia sealant apparently so just to be safe, I bought Challenge brand sealant instead of my normal sealant. Would give 5 stars if I could use my regular sealant. Maybe I can, but I don't want to experiment with these relatively expensive tires.

I was able to log 60 miles and 2 days on these tires before I got a sidewall tear on a pavement ride. Customer support said that they were unable to help me because the failure was due to a road condition. I would never recommend these tires and I am replacing both because I have no faith in their durability.

I mean these are easily the most supple gravel tires I've ridden. All those Little Rock gardens disappear as I glide through the hills.

But I mean life span is crazy short. These tires are probably best saved for a race. As in one race. Well maybe two but don't forget the Dynaplugs.

Overall I liked these tires, my set are getting pretty worn with 1k+ mi but they haven't failed me at all. i did observe that the tread is slightly off center on one tire, which could be due them being "handmade" tires.

these tires are durable and roll fast for sure, but not well enough to offset the fact that they are horrible to mount and for that reason alone I will not buy them again and will go back to Conti Terra Speeds.