Wednesday 10 September 2008

new challenge mud tub - fango



The Dugast Rhino has a challenge (sic) - in a coup reminiscent of Hello magazine and coverage of Wayne and Colleen's nuptials, http://www.cxmagazine.com/ have just revealed the new mud tire from Italian firm Challenge (pre-production model).

Whether this will perform better than the Rhino, the 'industry standard' for specialist mud tubulars remains to be seen. It is likely to undercut it on price though, if the Challenge Grifo is anything to go by as they are around 20% cheaper than offerings by Dugast and FMB.

The marketing centres around the scooped central knobs that give 2 contact edges akin to 2 separate knobs but without the propensity to clog in between. Aggressive side knobs help grip too. Not made in a shed in Brittany by one man and his beret (Francois at FMB) or owned by cross legends the Richards Groenendaal and Nieuwhuis (Dugast), but made in Thailand in a factory. Draw any conclusion you like from that - artisan vs mass produced, snob value vs real world prices?
Either way, the dark art of cross tubs just got a little bit more competitive and a little more exciting.


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