Pirelli’s most popular Cinturato Gravel tires get a HP High Performance Italian upgrade with new certified sustainable rubber, new 10-15% faster-rolling but MTB-tough casing, and of course new production at their high-tech factory just outside of Milan. Not only do the top tires get updates, though, the rest of the Performance line gravel tires shift to a new all-rounder construction that appears to shed some weight, too.
While there are no new tread designs, the new Italian production helps divide the broad Pirelli gravel line-up into two tiers – the more race-focused High Performance and all-rounder Performance tires.
Top-tier Pirelli Cinturato Gravel tires, now made in Italy
It’s been almost four years since Pirelli started making cycling tires in their revamped Bollate, Italy tire plant. It was a shift towards increased precision that Pirelli said allowed them to create lighter and faster tires, even when using the same materials.
Just a week ago, I was talking with an Italian gravel bike builder who was spec’ing their bike with Italian wheels, drivetrain, saddles, and more about how proper gravel tires were going to be the last to make it to Bollate. First, it was road, then Pirelli’s fastest-ever XC tire, and next even a sustainably-produced all-road tire. But now a couple of premium Cinturato Gravel tires make the move to Italy, as well.
Starting off, Pirelli will only make the Cinturato Gravel M & Cinturato Gravel H in Italy. The tread patterns do not change, not since Pirrelli launched them 6 years ago. But they do get ‘smarter’ rubber and a more ‘pro’ casing construction. Likely more will follow in their race-oriented line-up in the future.
New SmartEVO GR rubber and ProWall Gravel casing
What’s new in the HP-line tires is first a new, more eco-friendly SmartEVO GR rubber compound. This compound features FSC-certified natural rubber (15% of the total tire weight) in a new mixture Pirelli material engineers optimized for gravel riding. “It combines low rolling resistance and exceptional grip on dry and wet surfaces, offering efficiency and control across all terrains.“
The new gravel tires also get an all-new ProWALL Gravel construction. It is still a 120tpi casing like their previous top gravel tires. But now it features a construction refined more from Pirelli’s top XC MTB tires with separate sidewall and under-tread protection layers to create a more supple, faster-rolling tire, without sacrificing durability.
Combined, the new hard surface Cinturato Gravel H HP reduces rolling resistance by 10% AND increases puncture resistance by 20%, compared to the previous made-in-France 120tpi Cinturato Gravel H tire. For the new mixed to soft terrain Cinturato Gravel M HP, it’s a 15% rolling resistance reduction AND a 7% increase in puncture resistance vs. the previous generation.
Pirelli Cinturato Gravel Performance Line updated & partially renamed
The new second-tier P-line of Pirelli Cinturato Gravel tires offers a wider range of treads and casing shapes, at a bit more affordable prices with more basic SpeedGrip rubber. These tires now all shift to the same coarser 60tpi construction, but even manage to shed a few grams in the process, thanks to the simpler bead-to-bead protection of their TechWall Gravel casing construction.
There are now five tires in this family – RH, H, RM, M & S.
The RH is a new-this-year hardpack semi-slick with big square shoulder knobs for grip in the most technical conditions with loose corners. The RM is another squared-off technical off-road tire, more like a scaled-down mountain bike tire for mixed conditions (originally called the RC when it launched a few years ago.) The H is the tightligh spaced hardpack tread, M the middle ground mixed-conditions tread, and S for riding in wet & soft conditions.
Distinguishing the new HP-line from the P-line
The new Pirelli Cinturato Gravel High Performance tires feature Italian flags on their packaging to help pick them out, plus FSC-certified natural rubber and Made-in-Italy labels molded into the tire sidewalls.
As a general rule, it looks like the new Cinturato Gravel High Performance tires will be the only ones going forward to get the color-coded model labels.
And the Performance-line will stick with all gray labeling.
(Although the unchanged Gravel S messes that up a bit until those get their next update.)
Pirelli Cinturato Gravel – Pricing, options & availability
By dividing their tubeless-ready gravel tire lineup into HP- & P-lines that look quite similar, Pirelli did still manage to keep the pricing and options simple.
The new Cinturato Gravel HP-line tires will all sell for the same $98 /80€, now just including H & M treads. Pirelli offers the High Performance line tires in 40, 45 & 55mm widths and in both all-black or ‘Classic’ brownwall versions (that will get simple black labels).
The updated Cinturato Gravel P-line tires all sell for $79 / 65€ each, including RH, H, RM, M & S. These come in 35, 40, 45 & 50mm widths depending on tread patterns, but will only be offered in black.
The most popular 40mm & 45mm sizes are already available now via regular Pirelli dealers. And the rest should be in stock within the next few weeks.
