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Challenge threads 300tpi handmade tubeless road & gravel tires, plus TUBELESS Tubulars!

Challenge Handmade Tubeless Ready tires HTLR, road gravel tires
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Long known for making supple road, cross, then gravel tires, Challenge was a little slower to fully adopt road tubeless for fear of losing the smooth ride of their high-TPI handmade tires. Now the launch of a Handmade Tubeless Ready Tire range puts that to rest, combining the ride quality of 260tpi & 300tpi with an airtight casing & ETRTO bead for Challenge’s most popular road and gravel treads. Oh, and don’t forget even smoother rides from new tubeless tubular tires that are gravel-proof and work with regular sealant.

Challenge Handmade Tubeless Ready (HTLR) road & gravel tires

Challenge debuted tubeless ready tires last summer, but they were vulcanized like pretty much every other road & gravel tubeless tires on the market. That’s not to say that all vulcanized tires are all bad – the high temperature process does result in a durable tire – but they lack the supple ride feel of the handmade, high thread count polyester tires that Challenge is known for.

HTLR Tech details

Challenge Handmade Tubeless Ready tires HTLR, road gravel tires

Enter the Challenge Handmade TubeLess Ready clinchers for road & gravel bikes. The tires share much of the same construction as Challenge’s standard handmade clinchers (including the aramid puncture protection under the tread), and then add two new bits of tech – a new tubeless-ready folding bead that conforms to the new ETRTO tubeless standard (more on that soon) and a unique butyl inner coating.

That thin black bead-to-bead butyl layer is key for keeping the tire sealed, but also in maintaining suppleness. The liner layer is an all-new material for Challenge, a special liquid butyl rubber that is coated to the completed casing (similar to being painted on, for example) and does not require the high temperature of vulcanization for a secure bond that typically results in a stiffer tire.

Gravel & Road pricing, sizes, and availability

Challenge Handmade Tubeless Ready tires HTLR, road gravel tires

The final result claims to be the comfort & grip of a handmade tire, and the performance & durability of a tubeless tire. Challenge is launching the unique new Handmade Tubeless construction with a single herringbone road bike tread in three widths and in a couple of gravel bike tires.

Challenge Handmade Tubeless Ready tires HTLR, road gravel tires
c. Challenge

The road tires include the 300tpi 25mm Strada (255g), 300tpi 27mm Paris-Roubaix (280g) & 260tpi 30mm Strada Bianca (305g), all of which sell for $80 / 70€ a piece and should be available in November 2019.

Challenge Handmade Tubeless Ready tires HTLR, road gravel tires

For gravel riding you can still pick that slick Strada Bianca in an even wider 36mm version (385g), or the file tread Almanzo with its small Grifo side knobs in 33mm wide (390g), or the file tread Gravel Grinder with aggressive Limus side knobs in 33mm (405g) or 36mm (425g) widths. All of the gravel tires get 260tpi casings and the same $80 / 70€ price, and the same November expected delivery.

What about Handmade Tubeless Cyclocross you say?

Challenge Handmade Tubeless Ready tires HTLR, road gravel tires

As much as Challenge likes to differentiate gravel & cyclocross to show the breadth of their offerings, the Almanzo is essentially the old Grifo XS and the Gravel Grinder is a Chicane (minus less than a mm of tread width.) Both gravel tires are offered in UCI-friendly 33mm widths, but Challenge knew they wouldn’t have the new supple tubeless tires ready in time for this year’s CX race season, so they figured they should go forward with gravel first. That said, expect Handmade Tubeless Ready cyclocross tires to debut in time for CX season 2020/21. We had a quick talk with cross mechanic Stefan Wyman, and he said the low pressure performance is finally offering real competition with cross tubulars.

Challenge Handmade Tubeless Tubular (HTLTU) road & gravel tires

Challenge Handmade Tubeless Ready tires HTLR, road gravel tires

Speaking of tubulars, Challenge is still refining the tech behind the tire of choice of pro road & cross racers. Without the bead interface and the pinch-flat potential that comes with it, tubulars just deliver a more supple ride feel (even if testing seems to prove higher rolling resistance.) A big obstacle to regularly riding or racing on tubulars (besides a finicky gluing process) has been the threat of punctures out on the road. Challenge gets at that with a handmade tubeless tubular construction, too.

Here there kinda still is a tube, but it is permanently bonded to the inside of the tubular tire casing. It is an ultra thin latex ‘liner’ that is fused to the tire at lower temperature than vulcanizing to retain suppleness.  That means that you can use a latex-friendly sealant inside, and if you get a larger puncture it can be patched with a normal tubeless tire repair plug.

While it may seem a bit wild to think of riding gravel on tubulars, this setup was actually developed to race the Dirty Kanza with double layer puncture protection and the virtual elimination of any risk of pinch-flatting.

Challenge Handmade Tubeless Ready tires HTLR, road gravel tires

The gravel HTLTU tires include the Strada Bianca in 30mm (385g) or 36mm (495g), a 33mm Almanzo (450g), and the Gravel Grinder in 33mm (465g).

All of the tubeless tubular gravel tires sell for $100 / 87€ and will be available in November. Cyclocross HTLTU tires (beyond the Almanzo & Gravel Grinder) are expected to be introduced in time for next year’s cross racing.

ChallengeTires.com

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13 Comments
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Ryan
Ryan
5 years ago

Tubular tires with no tube and clip-less pedals that we clip into…..oh cycling.

Ha!
Ha!
5 years ago
Reply to  Ryan

Research what a clip pedal used to be and maybe you’ll understand that one. 😉

dkrenik
dkrenik
5 years ago

How is TPI measured? Some (a lot?) of manufacturers will fold 60 TPI cloth over itself 4 x and call it 240 TPI.

Maus Haus
Maus Haus
5 years ago

Have you ever tried to put these tires on a wheel? Worst experience ever.

Tired
Tired
5 years ago
Reply to  Maus Haus

Yes, i completely agree. It was such a pain to mount the tires in my garage with tools etc. I haven’t had a flat out on the road yet, but I fear that I will not be able to change a flat out on the road.

Major
Major
5 years ago
Reply to  Tired

In my experience they are much easier to mount the second, third, etc. time. After a couple of weeks they take a shape that matches the rim; as opposed to the flaccid, shapeless–I mean supple–brand new form.

Frank
Frank
5 years ago
Reply to  Maus Haus

agree.

K-Pop is dangerous to your health
K-Pop is dangerous to your health
5 years ago

HTLTU=ROTFFL.

Ryan
Ryan
5 years ago

Their regular open tubular tires are a nightmare to mount in many rims. Hope these are easier, because tubeless tires are notoriously harder to mount.

Frank
Frank
5 years ago

The tires are awkward to mount only the first time as they come so flat and supple. They are no problem to remount after spending some hours inflated on the rim. Another couple of hands helps while mounting the first time. If no helper is available, a pedal strap will hold the tire in place while you finish going around the circumference.

Frank
Frank
5 years ago

My previous comment applies to the standard Strada Bianca and Paris-Roubaix. I have no experience with the new tubeless versions.

Brad Comis (@BradComis)

I’m stoked to try these tubeless tubulars! I’ve been looking at the Dugast tubeless tubs for a while, but I dont think they had a 30mm, which would be pretty ideal for me. The real question is what sealant will last most of the life of the tire? Plugging holes with “bacon strip” type plugs seems like a great idea for a tubeless tubular. I find mounting tubs to be a slow process, but easier than most road tubeless mounting.

Huffagnolo SuperMagna
Huffagnolo SuperMagna
5 years ago

Yes initially their tires are a massive challenge to mount but over time they stretch a little and get into more of a tire shape and become easier to mount! I have been using their tires for a while and they are excellent! The ride quality is top notch and I so rarely get flats in any of my open tubular tires!

I really like the idea of a tubeless tubular it seems like a good combo of all the different worlds. A tire that doesn’t come off and doesn’t need a tube and can seal many smaller punctures! Granted yes if you cannot seal or plug the hole you are screwed but your tire won’t come off!

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