Pirelli Gravel RC Tires: At The Finish
I wish that this Gravel RC was just a bit lighter both on the scale and under the keen eye of a caliper set ….
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I wish that this Gravel RC was just a bit lighter both on the scale and under the keen eye of a caliper set ….
The Gravel RC is a bit of an interesting creature, with very fast looking, minimally low profile center knobs and graduated layers of wider spaced knobs that increase in aggressiveness as you move towards the outside edges.
Pirelli sent out a press release today with news of a new gravel tire in their Cinturato Gravel range called the RC X”
Do yourself a favor and check out Pirelli’s Cinturato Gravel range. The tires are criminally under the radar and should be on more bikes than they are now.
The Cinturato M’s have what Pirelli claims is a “gravel specific” compound for the rubber. Whatever “SpeedGrip” is, it works.
These are good looking tires with big, diagonally placed knobs and a center row which forms a solid ridge, more or less.
So, as it stands now, WTB has a 36mm and a 40mm Vulpine that would make for a fantastic tire for racing, and maybe it would work for adventurous types and everyday gravel riders if the terrain was tamer.
So, looking at this tire as what WTB has described it as – a gravel racing tire – I have to hand it to WTB at this point.
We really liked the speed, ride feel, and grip that this ‘on the skinny side’ gravel tire had. Not surprisingly, we hoped that WTB would opt to offer a wider version of this great tire.
This tire seems to me to be the “mountain biker’s gravel tire”. A tire for rougher adventures, dirt roads, mountains, and even light single track.
Now with several more rides in on these tires, my impressions have only been solidified and so, it is time for a final verdict on the Kimberlite tires.
I found the Speedmax to be stable on loose gravel, and capable in a bikepacking situation on deeper gravel as well.
It (the Kimberlite) felt less wooden and stiff than the previous versions of American Classic tires and more akin to a tire costing much more.
The County is the tire one should look to for mostly paved riding or where the unpaved roads are typically harder, smoother, and not covered in deep crushed rock.
The Ritchey Speedmax WCS 700 X 40mm tires have an iconic look, an aggressive looking tread pattern, and seem pretty stout with their Stronghold casing.
In this post, I want to get to what I found out about the County tires on gravel, how they rolled on pavement, and anything else noteworthy.
The Kimberlite is a tire that American Classic says is meant for pavement and mixed-surface rides. However; here at Riding Gravel’s home, we have found that a minimal amount of tread works fine on deeper, loose gravel.
Okay, so we have a tire from a brand you know well, but not for bicycle tires. It looks a heck of a lot like a competitor’s tire, which we just so happen to have, and so we will be comparing the two.
News breaks today of updates to that range of tires. The company has a new puncture protection system and has lowered weights across the range as well as engineering in a lower rolling resistance for their tires across the range.
This tire is kind of an oddball in WTB’s line up. The other SG2 cut protected tires I’ve tried are good, but this Vulpine is so much nicer riding
But I really would like to try these with a good sprinkling of ‘pixie dust’ on them. A dust that would allow the tire to give me a more compliant ride across all conditions.
Oddly, the Vulpine isn’t as fast a rolling tire on gravel which is loose, chunky, and deep as other tires with similar width. However; once you get out of situations where the terrain is loose and deep, the Vulpine begins to show up as a fast, controllable tire.
I liked the tread pattern. It looked right up my alley, an alley paved with asphalt mixed with dirt roads.
So, in the end, I come back to that old adage: “You get what you pay for”. In terms of the American Classic Wentworths, that’s not saying they are bad.
