Hannah Simon: Summer of Camrock
In the summer of 2025, I rode my 29 x 2.4″ Teravail Camrock XC tires in the three-ultra endurance bikepacking races in Europe. Each race came with its own unique challenges and I was grateful that this versatile tire was up for all of them. My Camrocks have held up for more than 2,000 miles of racing and touring on mixed terrain. I didn’t get a single flat, and though the tread is showing some wear, there is still life left in these tires! Here are the races I put these tires through:
Hellenic Mountain Race (Pindus Mountains, Greece - 885km/550mi - 60,000m/90,000ft climbing)
The most mountain-bikey of the three, the Hellenic route put me on true singletrack trails and rugged gravel roads. My Camrock tires were fresh for this race and had all the grip needed to claw me up the steep, chunky grades. I was also grateful that the tires kept me stable on technical, downhill singletrack sprinkled throughout the route. Of the three races, Hellenic took me the longest at nearly five days of riding. Anytime I am going to be riding my bike for several days, I prioritize comfort over speed.
El Piri (Pyrenees Mountains, Catalonia - 776km/475mi - 19,000m/60,000ft climbing)
This gravel adventure through the Pyrenees mountains in Catalonia was much less technical than the Hellenic Mountain Race. With 60% tarmac and 40% gravel, most climbs started out as paved, winding mountain roads. Toward the top of each climb, the road would deteriorate into a less-maintained gravel path. I was grateful to have these 2.4” XC tires to get me down the backside of the rugged roads. The Camrocks kept me upright as I sent it down the loose, steep descents. Though a hardtail mountain bike is not necessary for this race, I was happy to have my flat bars and mountain bike tires for confidence while descending.
Bright Midnight (Norway – 1,110km/700mi - 20,000m/65,000ft climbing)
The gravel in Norway is buttery and pristine — if I were to close my eyes on most of those roads I would assume I were riding on tarmac. There were a couple of short off-road sections where I got to use the full capability of the Camrocks and overtake a few gravel-bike riders, but if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t suggest a hardtail and XC tires for this route. Even though this route was the longest of the three, it was the fastest-moving; if I’d had my way, I’d have been on my Chumba Cenote with a Cane Creek Invert fork, 700c x 47mm Teravail Cannonballs, and a mullet SRAM AXS group set (38t chainring, 10-52 cassette and drop bars).
