Challenge Forte Open Road tyre review

Challenge Forte Open Road tyre
Cycling Weekly Verdict

A sidewall puncture suggests they could be vulnerable to side impacts, but I'm swiftly growing to trust these in every other regard, especially on slippery, wet corners.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Good grip in the wet

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Only available in 23mm

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Hannah Bussey's avatar
By
published

Badged as a sister tyre to the Criterium, the Forte has a more aggressive tread for grip in wet conditions and, I could also add, sketchy Derbyshire descents.

Like the Criterium, it's only available in 23mm, but the Forte has a slightly lower thread count of 300; not that you'd notice much increase in rolling resistance as a consequence.

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Hannah Bussey
Hannah Bussey

Hannah is Cycling Weekly’s longest-serving tech writer, having started with the magazine back in 2011. She has covered all things technical for both print and digital over multiple seasons representing CW at spring Classics, and Grand Tours and all races in between.

Hannah was a successful road and track racer herself, competing in UCI races all over Europe as well as in China, Pakistan and New Zealand.

For fun, she's ridden LEJOG unaided, a lap of Majorca in a day, won a 24-hour mountain bike race and tackled famous mountain passes in the French Alps, Pyrenees, Dolomites and Himalayas. 

She lives just outside the Peak District National Park near Manchester UK with her partner, daughter and a small but beautifully formed bike collection.