Vredestein is really stepping up their performance Fortezza road bike tire range with three all new road tires, building off of their racing tubular experience. The new Fortezza family gets a new tubeless clincher variant, a light race clincher, and a triathlon specific tubular. And then there’s that eco green tire made from dandelion rubber. Oh yeah, and they are also adding some natural rubber, skin wall options to their even wider tubulars too.
Fortezza Flower Power ecological dandelion rubber road bike tire
Vredestein’s prototype Flower Power tire is the culmination of a project to develop an ecological alternative to relying on oil from the Middle East to produce bicycle tires. Developed with Dutch Wageningen University and Research (WUR), the EU supported Drive4EU project has produced this top performing road race tire with rubber derived from oils extracted from the roots of dandelions. A mix of sustainability & just plain innovative initiatives, the Flower Power tire is made from flowers grown & harvested in the Netherlands, and actually claims to have better grip than traditional synthetic butyl rubber tires.
Vredestein is currently working on developing the process and seeing if they can scale up a viable commercial production of the Flower Power rubber & tires. For the time being though, they are strictly development prototypes.
Fortezza Tubeless Ready tubeless road bike clincher
The Fortezza Tubeless Ready is the first road tubeless offering from Vredestein. They’ve realized the benefits of lower pressure for better grip, lower rolling resistance without a tube, and improved puncture resistance. Vredestein’s road tubeless race tire is designed to work with a liquid latex sealant, and claims to save 20g per wheel when you factor in the different casing construction, plus sealant, minus a tube.
The new tire uses a butyl infused 120tpi carcass and a stiffer, squared off & reinforced bead (at right, above) for reliable seating & sealing. The 290g tire is first being offered in 25mm only, with wider versions in the works.
Fortezza Duralite light, anti-puncture road bike clincher
Vredestein likes to make light tires, but sacrificing durability for weight savings usually doesn’t pan out in the long run. So the new Fortezza Duralite aims to deliver weight still less than many road racing clinchers, with a full Sportex anti-puncture layer. The 150tpi racing clincher weighs just 180g in its 23mm & 195g in its 25mm versions.
Fortezza Senso Tri, butyl triathlon specific race tubular
The Fortezza Senso Tri was developed just for triathletes who want to race on tubulars. But they can’t get away with riding standard latex-tubed tubulars because after placing their bikes in the staging areas the day before a race, they would come back to find their tire pressures significantly reduced due to the naturally porous nature of latex inner tubes. So enter a premium road race tubular with butyl inner tubes. Sure, there is a small loss in rolling resistance, which Vredestein makes up for with a premium handmade 290tpi cotton casing. And tire pressure stays where you set it. The all-weather silica tubular weighs 320g, with a poly-cotton protection layer, and is available only in a 25mm width.
Fortezza Senso Superiore road race tubulars
Not a new tire per se, Vredestein’s top-level Fortezza Senso Superiore tubulars get a couple of updates. First, a wider 28mm version joins the 23s & 25s. And it looks like the demand for skin walls will be satiated too. The new tubulars will also be offered in a natural treated cotton sidewall version.
