Challenge Tires Launches New GETAWAY XP Series.
I'm going to be very honest here. I am not a tire expert. That would be Dan or Ryan Rish. But I am a good enough rider to know when a tire sucks and when it doesn't. And what I can tell you is these tires don’t suck. Anytime I can I install a pair of gravel tires and go trash them for a couple of weeks in the southern Utah “dirt” roads and around the single track rides around my house and not feel scared in the corners and not have any flats. I know someone has made a good tire.
I have had my hands on the new Getaway XP 45’s for about 4 weeks now. I have ridden them in Southern Utah, Colorado, Nebraska and Idaho with terrain from desert rock, sand, mud, and pavement. I have misjudged pot holes that nearly broke my wrists and taken them on climbs that I usually have to get off and walk. I have had zero issues with the tires themselves. I did have to replace my tubeless valve stems though.
The main reason I wanted to write about this new tire is because this tire (to me) represents something important that is happening in our space at the moment. Smaller companies that are developing game changing products when it comes to new tech or just making small adjustments to the older tech and bringing it to market faster. This is not some funky aero bar system that saves “3 watts” and puts the rider at a safety risk. This is just good old fashion. Let's make a better product and bring it to market faster than the bigger companies can or I should say. will.
Challenge Tires has been in the business of handmade tires for decades now .The family run business took over the old Clément factory under the Pirelli family in the late 90’s, after years of trying to license the name from Perelli they went ahead and formed what is now known as Challenge Tires and today they are making big moves in North America. It’s no secret that Challenge has been a leader in the cycle cross space for decades. The family owned business recently (18 months ago) brought on Jason Losey to lead the charge in North America in hopes to expand that presence into Road and Gravel. Jason’s Losey has been in the bike business for 20 plus years from retail to owning his own rep group. Because of his long history in the industry he was very interested in the chance to join the Challenge family when the opportunity came around. When speaking to Jason about the last 18 months his biggest mission has been to bring to market the things that North American riders need.
One of the things I admire about smaller companies (it's one of the things I admire about slowtwitch) is their ability to pivot to demands or circumstances they find from either a.) their consumer base or b.) the market. Over the last 18 months Jason with full support of the family business dove head first into his market territory not only to figure out what the current consumer thought of the brand and it’s current products but what the market also needed from the brand.
The terrain is different, the riders are different and we can learn alot by being present at the events and talking to both the new consumer as well as the high end pro – Jason Losey
With the massive rise in gravel participation over the last 3-5 years, bike, component and accessory manufacturers have barely been able to breathe with the increased demand for the so-called “perfect ride.” All of this is because the beer drinking mountain bike rider, coffee stopping hipster and the over aggressive tri geek have found themselves riding together and high fiving I might add while dirty together in the middle of BFE. (I’ll let you figure that out)
What does this all mean? Simple it means that we “in North America” need and still need products for North America. When companies that are born overseas come to America they struggle why? Because America is America we are just different that is why 🙂 And when I say North America I'm talking about the middle of BFE like Emporia Kansas where the hills and the rocks are like a thousand cuts just waiting to see if the rider on two wheels are as tough as the ranchers and cowboys that have lived there for generations.
What I like about companies like Challenge is that they are small enough to move fast but have been around long enough to know better. So in other words if they can see a need they can adapt but they won’t do so if it's the wrong move. The XP series is a perfect example of listening to your market space and providing what they need. Improving from the Original Getaway design the XP adds more “Umph” to the tire. In short, what Challenge as done with this tire line is beef up the casing added a new bead to bead tech and added both what they call CORAZZAARMOR SILVER and CORAZZAARMOR GOLD to the sidewalls and the tire as a whole. This sort of “Umph” is what any rider needs on the American gravel roads, where we have some of the nation's biggest events. These are 100% handmade, tubeless and hookless ready. Having ridden the original getaway in the 40’s I will be 100% switching to the XP for the type of “rocky ass dirt” for what I ride on.
The New XP series provides a higher KPA limit of 400 instead of 350
The more aggressive shoulder knobs for cornering.
The center line fast rolling grip for improved speed.
Reinforced sidewall protection
Like almost any tire make sure you check with the manufacture for the wheel you plan on riding. I measured these tires mounted to a GRX Wheel with 35 PSI @47.1mm in total width.
