CHALLENGE IS DIFFERENT

Understanding our Tire Series and Casing Materials

Understanding what differentiates our Race, Pro, XP, TE and Ultra Series tires becomes simple when you consider we use four different casing materials while our competitors use only nylon. The following is a breakdown of our "product levels" along with how they are constructed.

TRADITIONAL VULCANIZED TIRES

The RACE Series focus is value – It's tough to beat the durability, good performance and low cost of vulcanized construction. We work with proven factories in Asia to bring iconic Challenge tread patterns and compounds to more riders.

  • RACE Series

    With our RACE Series, we start our lineup where other tire makers stop - we utilize ultralight 120TPI Nylon Superlight casings and superior tread compounds to give our traditional vulcanized tires excellent compliance and quality that is more affordable than our handmade offerings.

  • Nylon Casing

    Nylon is available in thread counts up to 120TPI (threads per inch). Claimed nylon thread counts higher than 120TPI like 180TPI are really just describing a 60TPI material overlapping three times in the casing. Our 120TPI Nylon Superlight casings are comparable in performance to the best tires offered by our competitors.

CHALLENGE HANDMADE TIRES

Handmade Tires are what made us famous – From the PRO to ULTRA Series, all Challenge Handmade Tires are constructed by us in our Thailand factory.

  • HANDMADE

    PRO Series

    Everyday Handmade Luxury – Our workhorse handmade tire is the PRO Series, delivering performance and ride feel unmatched by traditional vulcanized tires. Perfect for training, racing and the rigors of daily riding, they're the gateway to Challenge Handmade Tires.

  • Polyester Casing

    'Super' Polyesters with higher thread counts of 220-300TPI make up our most affordable handmade casings. Polyester is much softer and stronger than nylon, is impervious to water and quite durable.

  • HANDMADE

    XP Series

    Rugged High Performance – Extra Protection under the tread and Corazza Silver + Gold armor in the sidewalls make our XP Series the choice for rough pavement and gravel routes where sidewall cuts are common.

  • Polyester Casing

    'Super' Polyesters with higher thread counts of 220-300TPI make up our most affordable handmade casings. Polyester is much softer and stronger than nylon, is impervious to water and quite durable.

  • HANDMADE

    TE Series

    The go-to for our professional athletes, Team Edition TE Series Road, CX and Track tires are a step up in casing and compounds and are the ideal balance of features for special efforts. Since 2018 when they were ridden to four World Championship titles by Sanne Cant, Eli Iserbyt, Evie Richards and Ben Tullet, our TE Cyclocross tires have become the world standard.

  • Cotton Casing

    Corespun Cotton with thread counts of 320-350TPI is naturally softer and more supple than polyester but is more likely to absorb water so we seal our cotton sidewalls for increased durability.

  • HANDMADE

    ULTRA Series

    The Best of the Best – The extreme expense of silk (Seta, in Italian) construction means ULTRA Series tires are primarily for World Championship and Olympic competitions. The performance is only moderately higher than our TE Series, but when pursuing marginal gains there is no better tire for chasing dreams.

  • Silk Casing

    Silk is a strong, soft, natural fiber with thread counts over 1000TPI. The ability of our compliant sealed-silk tires to conform to even the smallest surface feature gives them great traction and very low rolling resistance.

  • HANDMADE

    Sealed Casings

    To protect Challenge Corespun Cotton and Ultra Silk tires we apply a special waterproof bead-to-bead coating in our factory. The sealant keeps the casings lighter, more supple, and extends their life. This Challenge sealing layer replaces the need to seal at home with aftermarket products.

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