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 ….
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 far I am super happy with how the valve clogging issues have completely gone away.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Remembering that these are $35.00 tires (each) means that we probably should not be looking at the American Classic offerings as being equal to, or better than tires costing more, despite what “direct-to-consumer” marketing may seem to indicate here.
ealant is a lot like tires are when it comes to opinions. What is legend and what is fact gets lost in the passionate takes some folks have concerning which one is ‘best’. So, as far as this opening introduction goes for this new sealant from WTB, many of you may, no doubt, dismiss it out of hand because of your choices. That’s fine. This review is not being done to evangelize anyone. But those who have a more open mind to new ideas should read on.
When you hear or read the name “American Classic”, you probably are not thinking about tires. But that’s what we are looking at here.
So who is this tire for…..They are the kind of rider that wants a bullet-proof, easy tubeless set up, a tire that doesn’t require baby-sitting in terms of air pressure retention, and a tire that wears well. That is a tough combination to get right, but I believe that Pirelli did get this right with the Cinturato Gravel H tires.
So, who is this tire best suited for? I believe that the way Panaracer has made this tire and the way that they market it as the “strongest version of the GravelKing SK..”speaks to a cyclist who craves a reliable tire with volume for rougher surfaces and/or heavy loads.
I’m pretty impressed by the Cinturato. It does ride well, handles well, especially for a tire with not much tread, and it is almost a ‘set it and forget it’ tire in terms of width and air pressure retention.
The Gravel King SK+ tires have decent roll, are seemingly quite resistant to punctures, and have copious volume for their size. In fact, you had better have room for 50mm tires on your bike if you want to try out these 650B tires.
There are several sizes of the Gravel King SK+ tires in the range, we happen to have the 650B X 48mm versions. The tires we have are the blackwall versions, but Panaracer lists a skin wall version as well. None of the funky colors as with other Gravel King variants here though, which you don’t get with the SK+. Just plain black tread.
The tubeless ‘dance’ isn’t hard to do once you get the hang of it. That said- it isn’t for everybody. Using tubes is definitely a lot easier and comes with less maintenance issues. Of course, they do fail when punctured, there is no free lunch. You’ll just have to decide which suits you better, and if all this maintenance is worth the benefits for your riding.
If you are racing, or if you want a great tire that makes riding to gravel and dirt roads more fun and speedy, this is your tire.
