Challenge Strada Bianca Tyre Review

I promised a review of the Challenge Strada Bianca tyres I bought last week for my commuting bike and here it is! It is a lot shorter than I had been expecting.

Despite being covered in Italian branding, the tyres are hand made in Thailand; the tread stuck to one side of the bead and a red puncture protective layer on the other. Because the adhesive doesn’t need heat to cure Challenge claim the tyres are more supple than normal mass produced tyres which are created by injecting hot rubber into a mould. In theory the result is a smoother more compliant feel out on the road. Unusually this also means the tyres are supplied completely flat like a belt.

Now, I had read that this layout made them tricky to fit, but nothing had prepared me for the frustrating hour of sweating, cursing, blood loss, broken tyre levers and damaged inner tubes. My problems weren’t just down to the unusual profile, these tyres are INCREDIABLY tight! When with a deafening ‘SNAP’ I finally heaved the final inch of bead into place, I stood back, took a deep breath and considered my options. The scenario running through my mind was a cold, dark morning commute, the rain beating down on the tarmac around me. The front tyre is flat and I’m still 30 minutes from the office. What would be my chances of getting the tyre off and back on again with shivering numb fingers? The answer was obvious - absolutely zero!

So off the tyre came and before the second even made it out of the box they were winging their way back to the distribution warehouse they came from. In their place I purchased a set of 28mm Schwalbe Durano tyres. I reviewed these previously on my blog and have been using them very reliably for over 2 years now. At £20 each they were half the price of the Strada Bianca’s, and although I’ll never know for sure, I very much doubt the performance is half as good.

As well as the benefit to my bank balance, I popped the Durano’s on by hand without a tyre lever in sight. After the first ride I also pulled three shards of glass from the front tyre large enough to start my own stain glass window. The tyre was still inflated, so the puncture protection definitely works. Experience tells me they are durable and I like the grip and rolling resistance. The only question is why I didn’t buy them in the first place, the likely answer is I was lured by the Italian marketing.

So if you had been hoping for this review to be all about the beautiful, fluffy, cloud like quality of the ride, you’ve been disappointed. However, if you wanted so save yourself £40 I hope this review was helpful.