Building on the development of their Cinturato endurance road bike tire and the recent Scorpion mountain bike tire, the new Pirelli Cinturato Gravel and Cinturato Cross tires bring new rubber and tread patters to the off-road drop bar category.
The series gets two tread profiles for each, one for Hard (H) and one for Mixed (M) terrains. The Hard tires use SpeedGrip rubber, along with a more closed tread pattern, for fast rolling on hardpack, regardless of whether it’s wet or dry. These were the tires Yuri Hauswald ran at The Rift Iceland, where he finished much, much faster than we did.
All of the tires use a similar protective layering construction as the tubeless ready Cinturato road tires. That means a woven nylon fabric running bead-to-bead under the outer rubber, followed by a softer multi-ply 127tpi main casing underneath. Down near the folding bead is an extra shaping and protective layer to help keep the tire seated and sidewall protected when running lower pressures.
As with the Scorpion tires, their SpeedGrip rubber compound is designed to provide good “chemical grip” regardless of surface moisture (meaning, bone dry to rainy wet). So, you’re free to choose the tread type based on terrain, not weather. Then, the construction underneath is very tear resistant, helping prevent cuts and punctures.
Pirelli Cinturato Gravel Tires
The Gravel M keeps an open side knob design with a tighter center stripe to decrease rolling resistance in the straightaways.
It will be available in 700×35 (430g), 700×40 (500g), 700×45 (570g), 650Bx45 (520g) and 650Bx50 (550g). All versions and sizes will run $69.00 USD.
The Gravel H uses a nearly flat, oversized file tread with slightly raise side knobs to improve cornering grip.
Sizes offered are 700×35 (410g), 700×40 (480g), 700×45 (550g), 650Bx45 (510g) and 650Bx50 (540g).
All of the gravel models will come with both the black sidewalls shown here and their classic “Para” tan sidewalls.
Pirelli Cinturato Cyclocross Tires
The treads get a little more aggressive for the Cross M tires, with a bit more open space in the center to handle grass and other things not usually encountered on pure gravel rides. The Cross M comes only in a 700×33 to keep it UCI compliant.
Claimed weight for the Cross M is 390g.
The Cross H is far more aggressive than the Gravel H but does get a tighter center section for rolling faster on harder surfaces…and possibly ice.
The Cross H 700×33 comes in at a claimed 380g. All models go on sale in October 2019.
