Challenge

Grifo 32 Tire - Clincher

Challenge offers their Grifo 32mm Cyclocross tire in an open tubular, i.e. clincher version, as well as a more traditional tubular. This is great news for people who convert their road wheels for CX as the fall arrives. Or for people who want to match their training cyclocross clinchers to their racing cyclocross tubulars. As the Grifo is an open tubular, the tire has nearly the same performance as a tubular, just with the ease of installing and changing clinchers.

Challenge is the recreation of the old Clement tire brand. Clement was moved out of Italy to Thailand by their parent company, Pirelli, and abandoned. The people who imported the tires in Italy and the people who ran the factory in Thailand got together to offer the legendary Clement quality in a modern package.

The casing of the Grifo Clincher is a slightly thicker corespun polyester than Challenge uses with their road tubulars. While it isn't road thin, it is still thinner and more supple than most cyclocross clinchers on the market. After the casing is made, they then glue on a belt of corespun polyester casing to the area where the tread goes to give two plies for greater protection. On top of that second ply is hand-glued a knobby tread.

The tread is good for all-conditions. Some like specific-condition treads, like one for muddy slow courses and one for dry fast courses. However most of us don't travel with a passel of wheels, each set with a different tire for different conditions. Even those who travel this way are using and winning on Challenge tires. Erwin Vervecken has won the worlds on this tread. Daphny Van Den Brand has taken the World Cup on Challenge, and Katie Compton ripped up the US circuit riding them. If even the pros are winning on an all-condition tread, you can make the sacrifice to do the same.

The Challenge Grifo 32 Cyclocross clincher has a 700c diameter and 32mm width. The casing is made of reinforced polyester and has a density of 260 thread per inch (TPI). The tire has Challenge's Puncture Protection System (PPS). They have a Black tread with Brown casing.