BWR Califorina - tires?

Equipment
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Signed up for the belgian wafer ride next may.. i have 32c continential gp 5000s tr on the bike at the moment.. ive ridden a fair amount of “gravel” on them, but can i pull of the ride w/ those tires? or do i need to actually run a more robust gravelly tire? any advice is very welcome.. cheers!

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You might checkout a few “long” YouTube videos. I did see one a while back that a person took with a GoPro. It was pretty informative of the obstacles and terrain of the course.

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I’ve done BWR CA on 32s, 42s, and 44s. It really depends on the year which tires would be appropriate. The year I did it on 42s, 32s totally would have been great. The year I did it on 32’s, I should have been on 42s. The 44s were spot on the year I chose those.

Generally speaking, BWR California has quite a bit of road. A “larger” volume semi slick is probably the safest bet. Something like a 40mm G One RS.

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I’ve done 4 BWR:CAs:

  • 2022 on 33mm Challenge Strada Biancas (road bike)
  • 2023 on 35mm or 40mm Terraspeeds (can’t remember exactly, but I think 35)
  • 2024 on 40mm TerraSpeeds
  • 2025 on 40mm Hutchinson Caracal Race

33mm were doable, but 220km+ on them made for a very harsh ride with speed loss on technical and sandy sections. Terraspeeds are great - they roll fast, have enough volume, and have enough grip on most sections to be comfortable. Caracals were fine on the way out, but as I got tired I lost grip more than a few times, and bailed pretty hard once. I wish I was doing it again this year, I got the new 45mm Tracers and I find them faster on technical terrain than both Terraspeeds and Caracals. I also have a pair of 50mm G-One RX Pros which I have yet to try out, but that may be getting into overkill territory for BWR (.. or maybe not).

Though you can run 32 GP5ks, I would not recommend. There were quite a few real steep hills last year that you run a good chance on losing grip and being forced to walk. You’ll also have a higher chance of puncture on the rocky stuff, and in general will not feel as comfortable around the corners on dirt. It isn’t the most technical of terrains, but you’ll almost definitely drop time by running those tires.

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