Best winter road bike tyres 2023 — ride confidently in cold and nasty weather

The Vittoria Terreno Zero TLR G2.0 is a slick gravel tyre that's designed for road and smooth off-road duties but is capable of much more.

This is the slickest tyre in Vittoria's gravel range. All of them use a graphene compound in their rubber, something only Vittoria uses in its tyres, claiming that this revolutionary material allows for natural material barriers of rubber to be removed so there is no compromise between speed, grip, durability and puncture resistance.

On the road, they're not the fastest tread-free gravel tyres around but they're incredibly robust, so happily take poor tarmac and potholes in their stride, romp over packed gravel paths and perform far better than you might expect on other rougher surfaces.

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These Hutchinson Challengers are a firm favourite amongst some of the world's best Ultra Endurance athletes thanks to their unbelievable durability. Hutchinson claim that you can get 5,000 miles out of one of these bad boys and our testing gave no reason to query that, making them even more of a bargain.

At the time of writing this, the tyre is offered in 25, 28 and 30mm widths and is clincher only; but that being said, we have spotted Hutchinsons-sponsored athletes out trialling a tubeless version, so expect that to hit the shelves soon.

For such a hardwearing tyre it is surprisingly supple, offering great handling wet and dry, and good rolling resistance which makes it easy to recommend.

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Only released in 2022, the Pirelli P Zero Race 4S has been designed for four-season use and is the successor of the P Zero Velo 4S. 

The Pirellis impressed us with their grip in mixed conditions while feeling quick to ride. If you want a summer tyre-like feel all year round, these are amongst the best options around. It’s no wonder that these scored a 9/10 rating and made it into our coveted monthly road.cc Recommends show.

At the time of writing this, Pirelli doesn’t offer a tubeless version of this tyre but we’d be very surprised if we make it through 2023 without one being launched. 

Overall, Pirelli's P Zero Race 4S is about as good as it gets for a fit-and-forget year-round clincher road tyre. Certainly, if you're after one with a light, grippy summer tyre-like ride quality.

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Our list wouldn't be complete without this classic from Continental. A tough Duraskin mesh and two Vectran anti-puncture layers beneath the tread make this an excellent choice for chilly miles! At 280g for the 28mm version, it's a good weight too, for the rider wanting a fast winter tyre.

Conti's max grip silica rubber compound provides a good level of grip in both the dry and wet so is a good choice for winter and one that we have no problems using in spring and autumn too. If you desire even more protection, then Continental also makes the Gator Hardshell which is a similar tyre but with a third layer of Polyamide in the sidewalls.

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Cadex is a high-end, in-house brand belonging to Taiwanese bike behemoth Giant. This Classics 28 Tubeless clincher comes from the same range as the Race 25 Tubeless but, as the name suggests, it's more robust. Available in 25, 28 and 32mm widths, it offers really impressive grip and speed – it's not cheap, though.

Cadex says that a combination of puncture protection, grip and suppleness make a good tyre for the Spring Classics, and our reviewer Jez said two of the three are pretty readily apparent. These are grippy tyres that are outstanding when descending fast on loose, poor-quality tarmac. 

He said: “Back-to-back against another favourite road tyre – the Vittoria Corsa Control G2 – I was measurably faster on the Classics, thanks to the predictable, rock-solid way they cling to the road.”

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