Pirelli’s Scorpion entire mountain bike tire range gets a quick shake-up this season, appending XC, Trail & Enduro naming as they focus on which casings, treads & new sizes best suit each discipline. A big part of that is about making it easier for riders to pick the tire that’s perfect for their trails. but it’s also about offering more options as Pirelli goes toe-to-toe to take on more entrenched MTB tire makers from the XC World Cup to the EWS…
2020 Pirelli Scorpion mountain bike tire range in XC, Trail & Enduro
Last year Pirelli rolled out a wide-ranging line of mountain bike tires with premium rubber and a logical breakdown of their four tread designs based mostly on terrain conditions – Hard, Mixed, Soft & Rear-specific. Just this week they added Race Cross-country to the mix with an all-new Scorpion XC RC. Those tread patterns don’t change for 2020, nor does the rubber or actual casing construction.
There are just a number of new 27.5″ & 29″ tires added in both 2.4″ & 2.6″ widths, available now with more coming soon. And now breaking the tires down into each discipline, Pirelli names each type of casing based on its level of protection.
2020 Pirelli Scorpion XC mountain bike tires
The XC tires get the least obvious change since we’ve seen them before. All five of the tread patterns are available: RC, H, M, S & R in both the lightest, fastest 120tpi multi-ply LITE tire casing and a second 120tpi ProWall casing that adds sidewall reinforcement protection.
For 60€ in any size of construction, the XC tires are offered in:
- Scorpion XC RC 29×2.2″ LITE (610g) & 29×2.2″ ProWall (660g)
- Scorpion XC H 29×2.2″ LITE (540g) & 29×2.2″ ProWall (690g, also NEW in optional tan sidewall)
- Scorpion XC H 29×2.4″ ProWall (780g)
- Scorpion XC M 29×2.2″ LITE (670g) & 29×2.2″ ProWall (720g, also NEW in tan sidewall)
- Scorpion XC M 29×2.4″ ProWall (820g)
- Scorpion XC S 29×2.2″ LITE (680g) & 29×2.2″ ProWall (730g)
- Scorpion XC S 29×2.4″ ProWall (820g)
- Scorpion XC R 29×2.2″ ProWall (730g, also NEW in tan sidewall)
2020 Pirelli Scorpion Trail mountain bike tires
Moving to the Trail designation, the same original four H, M, S & R tread patterns all carry over to larger sizes and more durable construction (just not the new XC RC racing tread). The Trail tires all feature reinforced ProWall construction with nylon sidewall protection and a tougher, heavier 60tpi nylon casing.
Again, all selling for 60€ in any configuration, the Trail tires are offered in:
- Scorpion Trail H 29×2.4″ ProWall (890g)
- Scorpion Trail M 29×2.4″ ProWall (910g)
- Scorpion Trail S 29×2.4″ ProWall (950g, NEW)
- Scorpion Trail S 27.5×2.4″ ProWall (870g, NEW)
- Scorpion Trail R 29×2.4″ ProWall (930g)
- Scorpion Trail R 27.5×2.4″ ProWall (850g, NEW)
2020 Pirelli Scorpion Enduro mountain bike tires
Finally, the Enduro designation gets just three tread patterns – M, S & R, figuring you won’t be riding enduro on hard terrain – plus, even more wide size options. Built for faster racing on rougher & more technical trails, the Enduro tires get a more reinforced HardWall construction that starts with a 60tpi nylon casing, then adds a bead-to-bead nylon protection layer and thick rubber inserts at both beads to prevent pinch flats & rim damage. Surprisingly, when we look at the claimed weights, that extra protection only adds about 100g per tire over the Trail ProWall.
At 70€ per tire no matter the size, Enduro tires are offered in:
- Scorpion Enduro M 29×2.6″ HardWall (1140g)
- Scorpion Enduro M 27.5×2.4″ HardWall (940g) & 27.5×2.6″ HardWall (1090g)
- Scorpion Enduro S 29×2.4″ HardWall (1050g, NEW) & 29×2.6″ HardWall (1180g)
- Scorpion Enduro S 27.5×2.4″ HardWall (980g) & 27.5×2.6″ HardWall (1110g)
- Scorpion Enduro R 29×2.4″ HardWall (1010g, NEW) & 29×2.6″ HardWall (1140g)
- Scorpion Enduro R 27.5×2.4″ HardWall (940g) & 27.5×2.6″ HardWall (1090g)
UPDATE: New E-MTB, more reinforced e-bike versions added too!
E-bikes get the same updates now too, with a new HyperWall sidewall protection, and tougher Lignin-infused e-bike-specific SmartGrip+ rubber too. Check out the full details and our breakdown of why the E-MTB version of Pirelli’s Scorpions just might be suited for bikepark riding too. All of it here: Pirelli Scorpion E-MTB adds Lignin to the mix for durable, lightweight e-bike tire range
2020 Pirelli MTB tire pricing & availability
The majority of the full reshuffled 2020 line-up of Pirelli Scorpion mountain bike tires are already available now. Most come with standard silver logos and color-coded tread letter designations (red H, yellow M, blue S & green R), with some available in Team Edition yellow graphics. Pricing is simple – 60€ for any XC or Trail tire, 70€ for any Enduro tire.
A few of the newest XC, Trail & Enduro tires (marked as NEW, above) are not yet in stock, but are expected to be available from the start of July. We expect to get some of the first sets of those newest 29 x 2.4″ Soft terrain Trail/Enduro tires in to test soon. So we hope to be able to share our first impressions of how they stack up to the competition by the time you can buy them.
