Review: Cadex AR Tubeless Gravel Tire
(2023) We continue our Black Fly Challenge content with the tires mounted onto the Giant Revolt use for the event. Here were the field notes:
Sometimes the proving grounds are perfect. For the 2023 Black Fly Challenge, a forty-mile gravel race in Upstate New York, nearly every condition was thrown at participants with the exception of snow. The Black Fly is one of the few races on the calendar, so showing up with varsity equipment is necessary. Atop a Giant Revolt, we were outfitted with Cadex AR Tubeless 40c gravel tires. The Adirondacks took care of testing them out.
The Black Fly Challenge is a forty-mile bike race with multiple categories. Racing in the cyclocross category with a gravel bike, racers tackle nearly ten miles of paved roads after the mass start. The course then takes on a 25-mile unpaved camping road with varying surfaces from sand to quarry gravel. A brief return to paved roads then sends riders onto a sandy connector and finishes with a mile of single track. My day would not end at the Black Fly finish line; my plan was to ride back to the starting town of Indian Lake, NY, using thirty-five miles of paved riding. Tire selection would be key.
Cadex has heavily aligned itself with Giant Bicycles in recent years. Providing high end hoops and tires, Cadex continues their quality offerings with the AR Tubeless 40c gravel tire. Armed with a Kevlar bead, the AR casing is also equipped with 170 TPI for a smooth ride on any surface. The middle tread has muted diamond-shaped knobs for pavement riding while featuring outer trapezoidal shoulder knobs for cornering traction. With Dual Shield puncture protection, we would discover this tire was ready for anything.
Cadex AR tubeless 42c gravel tire is a great tire for pavement and gravel. It even impressed on technical single track.
Having ridden on the tires the night before the race, the Cadex AR tires hummed along the smoothly paved roads outside of Wilmington, NY. The tires rolled so well that it was believed the cycling computer was messing around when an effortless sustained speed of 20mph was achieved. Having such large tires, it was - incorrectly - believed that their width would be a detriment, but here we were gliding down a quiet mountain road with comfortable speed.
Over to the event, and the tire would be tested not just on the paved start, but the introduction of rain. Further, Black Fly features some sustained gravel climbs, ripping descents, and wild turns. A lot of faith was put into the tires. With the patter of rain on the late spring foliage, the Cadex AR tires remained planted to the gravel on climbs. Even standing climbing efforts saw few instances of broken traction. These tires were certainly giving me the chance to be competitive.
Then came the places of faith. Since the Black Fly Challenge reverses direction each year, it’s hard to get a read on terrain. That is, last year’s ascents were this year’s descents, and it’s difficult to imagine how steep a section is in reverse. Sure enough there was supreme confidence in the built-in traction of the Cadex AR. The inside lines on descents remained hugged. Even pebbly gravel was gripped with ease. Though the entrance speed may have varied compared to those who actually lost the line and wound up in the woods, there was room for the possibility to go faster if the terrain were known. Meanwhile the jarring bumps in the gravel were, for the most part, absorbed by the hulking casing. And speaking of absorption, the Dual Shield protection came to the forefront on the single track when glancing blows to the sidewall were shrugged off regularly. Cadex designed the perfect tire for this year’s Black Fly Challenge conditions.
Once the race was finished, the bike was pointed back to the starting town. Thirty-five miles of pavement were noticeably more supple than last year’s ride. Sure a tailwind helped, but to have comfort riding on these tires was key. Even though a race had just been completed, Cadex ARs encouraged a harder pace as the return ride progressed. Because of the Cadex tires, the ride almost jumped over the line of recovery. The road climbs were ticked off with ease as well.
Having spent a weekend testing the Cadex AR tubeless 40c gravel tire, I can say the result was purely reflected on account of the tires. That is, every drop of speed was squeezed out of that weekend, tires included. Could I have pushed the limits further on descents? Absolutely. Should one ask why I didn’t, I would refer to the course and its challenging set up: there is no way to prepare for the Black Fly’s terrain without regular rides in the correct direction. There is still speed out there on the Black Fly course, and Cadex is certainly the tire to hold its end of the bargain.
