ChallengeGravel Grinder Race Tire(Return to Product Page)

I'd been running Sammy Slicks as my summer tyres, riding a combination of gravel roads, fire trail and single track. Bike is a Lynskey CX with CurveHope wheels. Having read a review or two on the Grinders, I pulled the trigger.

They are better than what I expected, so much so the Sammy's are gather dust on a shelf. The width, volume of the 38mm makes a noticeable difference in handling. As the seasons progress the track and road surfaces dry out, and turn from hard pack to loose gravel and sand. I run 5560 in the hard pack, and 5055 once the gravel starts to break up.

Tyre wear wise, the rear is holding up well, more so compared with the Sammy's. Comfort and performance wise, they are probably the best tyres I've ever ridden. Some of the routes I ride include a return on tar seal roads, and on those I can happily sit on 27-30kmh as a warm down.

I've not tried the lightweight inner tubes Challenge recommends, I'd prefer a tubeless, but will have to wait.

Bought this tire to ride on gravel, obviously. I'd been running Challenge Eroicas, which ae nice, but still a little squirrelly in deep gravel and fast down hills. These though, are the cat's meow. Rode the Oregon Stampede on them with no flats over 125 miles of jeep trails, basalt gravel, large rocks, and pavement. Had no body soreness afterwards either, which attests to their incredbly flexible sidewalls and shock absorption. Have put around 500 miles on them total, and the tread still looks new. Plush ride, tough, runs equally well with 75 psi or 40 psi, what's not to like.

I ride lots of dirt roads and rail trails in New England. These are the best all round ones I've found so far (have ridden Vittoria XG, Maxxis Mud Wrestler, Clement MSO 40's). They are light for a 38mm, wide enough to avoid pinch flats, quiet and fast enough on pavement, and provide great traction on a wide variety of surface and allow you to stand on graveldirt hill climbs. They dampen the ride without being too bouncy.

I run this tire on a Niner RLT9. It has seen a fair mix of road, dirt roads, gravel roads, singletrack and jeep trails. I have run it in group rides on the road and in one of the toughest gravel races (Savage CX) in NC. It is a good all around tire that has hooked up well in turns and just enough volume to not get beat to death on rougher roads and trails. It has seen 500 miles and the center is worn on the rear, but you can still see the file tread. I have run Clement MSO 40s & 32s and this tire comes as a perfect fit for me. It is still fast like the 32 on the road and has the cushion of the 40. My one grip with Challenge and all other companies is to make this tubeless.

I love this tire, let me just say that. Once it became available, days before the 2014 Cornhusker State Games, I ordered a pair and had them 2-Day shipped to me to use in the event. At 5545 fr, they handled 120 miles of pavement, gravel, railbed trail, and MMR without a flat or an issue. The 38mm wide casing provided extra suspension and comfort for my 225lb self. I totally agree with Guitar Ted, these are the best gravel tires out there.

Last night, the sidewall on the rear tire failed along a tread block section, and exploded with a dramatic bang (fyi, I'm a former motorsports racer, so I'm freaky weird about determining optimum tire pressures, and checking them before each ride). I was able to boot the tire with a dollar bill and ride back home, where I quickly swapped it out. It failed after about 250 miles.

I love the tire, and I'm ordering a replacement today, but it's not quite all there. I'm not sure if the failure was due to manufacturing defect, or if it was damage induced from a previous ride. We ride a lot of hard gravel in Nebraska. I do not feel the tire should have failed after so few miles.

Great tires, however, mine both came with a bulge from being so tightly folded and I could not work it out with or without tubes. The beads did seat nicely for tubeless use however. The side knobbies are awesome in deep mud and set these apart from some other gravel tires, but I think the mid section, while fast on super smooth dirt or pavement, are a little slick on sandy gravel. I think they need some grooves.

I have ridden hundreds of miles on pavement, gravel and dirt roads. The center tread allows less rolling resistance on pavement and outside knobs provide cornering grip on looser surfaces.

These tires work well for pavement, gravel and dirt. They have minimal tread on the center and are lightweight for low rolling resistance and the knobs on the sides provide traction in looser terrain.

Rode for the first time on the Cycle Oregon Gravel Ride in the Tillamook Forest west of Portland. Met my expectations on both dry (Saturday) and Sunday (wet) rides in gravel, mud and hard pack.

Not slow on pavement and very stable and quick on dirt roads and tracks. This is the one tire for everything on my Specialized Crux.

I've only got one ride on these but I'm super happy with them! My clement tires aren't very confident cornering, even on the road. These challenge tires transition real well in corners and lock up nicely on gravel. Reasonably fast on road or dry hardpack as well. Corner well in gravel.

I mounted them on a pretty narrow pair of road rims (vuelta) and my micrometer says they're more like 32's on these rims.

Challenge never lets me down, they have a wide range of tires, some with gum wall options. The tread on the gravel grinders is just what I want between commuting on pavement or hitting off road.

Just what I was looking for. The larger size fits and will be usable for both paved and dirt roads. Plan to buy a 33 for my wife's bike once they are in stock.

These tires are very fast, they roll well, but still have good traction when needed.

They have good grip in gravel and the side knobs have enough grip to keep you from losing the front wheel if you hit an unexpected patch of deep sand. As expected they provide virtually no forward traction in deep lose sand.

The only downside is the 38mm tires measure out to 35mm on my wheels, but so far their performance has more than made up for being skinnier than advertised. I'll probably get about 800 miles out of the rear which is on par with other tires I've used.

I have been riding with the 700x32 tires that came with my bike - worked well in spring and summer riding. Wanted to go to 38s for fall and winter. I have been riding more canal trails and plan on continuing through the fall and winter months. Have about 250 canal trail miles on these tires - they are holding up perfectly, have PSI 55 front and 65psi rear. No flats and a very comfortable and stable ride.

Great price and quick shipping.

As the hosts of the unofficial Gravel Worlds, you'd imagine we've got plenty of gravel around Lincoln, Nebraska and we do. I settled on a 38mm set of these to roll on my CX to give me a little more width, but still roll well. They do their job well. Riding on pavement, they're smooth. Riding all types of gravel they handle well too.

Bought these for Rasputitsa and they delivered. The wider version of the Chicane, these puppies hook right up in packed snow in Cyberia and the side lugs hold when it gets a bit sketchy. Bought a second set after riding these.

Good all around Gravel grinder but a bit on the heavy side

With over 200 miles on rough roadbed, the tread is still much like it was when new.

These tires work! Used these in the gravel Epic and went thru gravel, mud wet and dry pavement! They keep on going!