One-ride review: Hutchinson Caracal Race - nope

If you're a fellow gravel tire nerd you've likely heard about the Caracal Race tires. With a very impressive low rolling resistance as benchmarked by Bicycle Rolling Resistance, a compound borrowed from their road tires, and a slick center tread pattern, they seem to validate Hutchinson's claims. Is this really the fastest gravel tire?

I have a race coming up with a lot of road miles and some really fast compact gravel. While I worship at the church of Thunder Burt, I felt like they slowed me down considerably at my last race, which ended up being about 50% paved. I'm in search of a fast tire that won't blink at ripping sustained 30mph+ on compacted gravel roads.

The Caracal Race seemed almost too good to be true. Because they are.

The 45s blew up to 48.5mm on my Zipp XPLR 303 SW wheels (32mm ID). I was already regretting not getting the 40s at this point. I took my inaugural ride on these from Fairfax CA into the Marin Headlands and back. This would be a perfect simulation of the terrain at my upcoming race – lots of pavement, and compact gravel, with some decent climbing and descending on both.

These tires are definitely fast. They are also terrifying.

I happened to be doing some efforts on a familiar climb that I had just done days earlier with the Thunder Burts. At the same power and perceived effort, the Caracal Race were faster on both the dirt climb, and the dirt descent. They are fast, that part is true.

The problem with these tires is that you can't stop thinking about them. They demand attention. Descending a familiar road with some lovely corners, these tires felt really strange. It was hard to lean the bike over, as if they demanded to be ridden on that slick patch. The gyroscopic feeling was intense with these. I've ridden this same road with many different gravel tires, and this was the first time I had ever felt nervous. Not a good start.

Descending that compact gravel fire road, -7% average at about 21mph, was absolutely terrifying. These tires make you feel like you are floating, and not in a good way. It's not uncommon to get some wind gusts in the Marin Headlands so today when I felt a push around a corner, the whole bike just drifted a bit to the side. I've ridden this trail many times and have never felt that disconnected from the trail, even on 40mm gravel tires.

So this is one guys review after one ride. I struggle to imagine a scenario where I would intentionally choose these tires. If you are seeking the ultimate speed on highly compacted gravel with lots of road, maybe a nice juicy road tire would do.

If you're in Marin and want to check these out yourself, hit me up. I've got a pair I won't be using :)