The official Tire of the Belgian Waffle Ride
Whether you are racing to win, or just trying to survive the day, IRC has a tire for you.
The Belgian Waffle Ride is treacherous. The courses are designed to test your body, mind, and equipment to the limit. Tire choice is critical. IRC has worked with the organizers and a stable of experts to recommend the right tires for YOU. Scroll down, or click your event to find the race-day tire recommendations for your event.
California | N.Carolina | Utah | Kansas
San Diego, California
136 miles
11000 feet
33% off-road
You will have dramatically different tire needs at the California event depending on your distance and goals.
Full Waffle: Full-Gas
The rider completing the long course, who want to go fast, needs to optimize for the road. The BWR is a road race at heart, and it is won on a road tire. We recommend our Formula Pro 700x28. It pairs a grippy compound with an extra wide-tread and strong cut protection.
Shop Formula ProFull Waffle: Survival
Let's be honest… most of us aren’t trying for the podium. We just want to finish well. For the mere-human we suggest our SeracCX Sand 700x32. These tires have become the most popular choice for most riders at BWR California. They have enough volume and grip to get you through the off-road sectors, and the file-tread rolls like a slick on the tarmac.
Shop SeracCX Sand
Wafer: Full-Gas
The wafer is only half as long as the waffle, BUT it is 50% off-road, including all of the roughest and most technical parts of the course. Even though it doesn’t carry the prestige of the full-waffle, there are still fast riders who race the front of the wafer. Because you will be spending so much time around Hodges, Mule Trail, and Sandy Bandy, and you will not be climbing up to Ramona and back, the fast rider at the San Diego Waffle should ride the SeracCX Edge 700x32. This is an easy recommendation. These are the perfect Wafer tires, striking the difficult balance between grip, speed, and durability that you need to perform at your highest level.
Shop SeracCX EdgeWafer: Survival
If you are nervous at all about competing in or completing the Wafer ride in San Diego, we have a tire that will take the edge off your nerves. It is the Boken 700x36. This tire gives you some extra volume to take care of you if you select a poor line, and it has slice protection in the sidewalls. The center tread rolls fast on the road sections too. If you are not racing for the podium, you will be very happy riding the Boken 36 in the California Wafer.
Shop Boken
Wanna
So, you wanna try out this BWR thing, but you aren’t sure you have the appetite for one of the longer distances… We recommend the DoubleCross 700x38. Tough, grippy, and fast, the DoubleCross 38 will get you through the treacheries of the course.
Shop Doublecross
Asheville, North Carolina
144 miles
12000 feet
35% off-road
North Carolina is perhaps the most difficult course to make tire recommendations for. North Carolina is the longest BWR, and contains the greatest elevation gain, but initial course recon suggests the 50 miles of off-road is considerably more challenging than the hard pack at the California event, and you will want to ride a 32mm tire minimum, no matter who you are.
Waffle
The unique characteristics of the North Carolina course mean our tire recommendation is the same whether you are trying for the podium, or the lantern rouge. The extreme amount of climbing and 95 miles of road mean you need the narrowest tire you can get away with. The 50 miles of rooty trails and gravel roads mean that is a 32mm SeracCX Edge.
Shop SeracCX EdgeWafer & Wanna
For riders competing in either the Wafer or Wanna in North Carolina, we are recommending they size up to the Doublecross 38. This is still a fast tire on the road, but gives you the volume you crave for the off-road sectors.
Shop Doublecross
Cedar City, Utah
125 miles
6000 feet
75% off-road
The Hell of the South (Utah) is the first true gravel edition of the BWR. The course features a wide range of watt-sucking terrain from deep sand, to chip-seal, to double-track and single-track. You need a tire that can do it all.
Doublecross 38 or 42
Instead of a road race punctuated by off-road sectors, the Utah course is a gravel race punctuated by paved sectors. The IRC Doublecross was made for this kind of race. It handles incredibly well in the dirt, but still rolls fast on the pavement. Choose the 38mm If you are racing the event. If you are riding but not racing, choose the 42. This recommendation holds no matter the distance; Waffle, Wafer, or Wanna.
Shop DoubleCross
Lawrence, Kansas
111 miles
8000 feet
72% off-road
This is a brand new event, but we know these roads well, and we have a tire engineered to withstand the knife-edged rocks of the flint hills.
DoubleCross FOR EVERYBODY
With nearly 3/4 of the course off-road, the go-to tire for BWR Kansas is the DoubleCross. This tire was engineered specifically for the terrain in Kansas. Choose the 38mm If you are racing the event. If you are riding but not racing, choose the 42. This recommendation holds no matter the distance; Waffle, Wafer, or Wanna.
Shop DoubleCross
