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review

Vittoria Corsa Speed G+ Isotech Foldable Tubeless Ready

9
£64.99

VERDICT:

9
10
Fabulously fast and supple, though their delicate nature and price probably limits them to racing and fast rides
Weight: 
471g

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Vittoria's Corsa Speed G+ Tubeless tyre is a great choice for summer and race use. The casing and tread are much softer than tubeless tyres that I've used in the past, giving these a much better feeling on the road.

  • Pros: Fast and supple tyre, great dry weather grip
  • Cons: Quite expensive, but not the worst

Tyres can completely change the ride quality of a bike, influencing the way that you can ride in different conditions. These Vittorias – the fastest tyre tested by bicyclerollingresistance.com – offer easy tubeless setup and a much superior ride compared with some tubeless rubber I've tested.

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The tyres are made in a very similar fashion to Vittoria's excellent regular Corsa G+ clinchers. That means you get the same 320tpi (threads per inch) corespun cotton casing and graphene compound. The tread pattern is the same as the clinchers and the bead area has been reinforced slightly. The big difference is found in the casing's covering. The grey coating is applied to both sides of the casing and feels very similar to the Aquasure I use to waterproof cyclo-cross tubulars.

Vittoria Corsa Speed G+ mounted.JPG

This results in a casing that isn't porous yet remains very supple. That suppleness has two main benefits: tyre shape and comfort. I've had a few tubeless tyres that have been made so rigid they don't work well on wider rims. The profile here is brilliant and they sat very well on the Prime BlackEdition wheels that I was also testing.

Comfort is another big bonus of a more supple tyre; riding a tyre like this feels so much better than a cheaper stiff tyre.

Weight is also very good for a tubeless tyre. At 471g for the pair (235.5g each), they're actually 20g lighter per tyre than the clincher Corsa G+. Yes, you have a little trade-off with rim tape, valve and sealant weight, but that's still impressive.

So they're light and supple... the compromise should come at puncture protection or durability. Well, the sealant takes care of punctures, of which I had none. Durability, though, is a little worse than the standard Corsas; I'd suggest you save these for the good roads of summer.

Seating the tyres was pretty easy with a standard pump. I tried these on the Prime wheels with Stan's sealant and on a pair of Mavic Ksyriums with inner tubes. I'd seen people complaining that these are tight to fit but I've had no issues with either wheelset. Usually, this is a bit of a tense moment and I've had tyres blow clean off the rim before. These took quite a lot of pressure to get seated, but just over 80psi saw the final bit of bead seat itself with a good pop. A quick spin of the wheels was all that was needed to stop a small hiss and to check alignment.

One area Vittoria could improve is the sizes available: 23mm and 25mm options are great, but there's no 28mm. If Vittoria does release a 28mm version I'd be very interested to see if it's faster than the 25mm.

With their price of £64.99, these are tyres you'll probably want to save for your fastest days and racing. The grip in the corners is very good as long as the surface is dry. Should rain fall, you'll need to drop the pressure quite a bit. I dropped to 65psi front, 70psi rear but I don't feel that this made the ride much slower, and I'd be lowering psi even with a Continental GP4000S II.

> Buyer's Guide: 28 of the best road cycling tyres

That brings us on to the competition. If the rolling stats are to believed, these are a class above the rest for pure speed. For racing, I'd recommend these over pretty much every other tubeless tyre. Yes, they're a little delicate, but you get a really nice ride feel, great grip (in the dry) and the fastest ride. And though they're not cheap, you can still spend more on tubeless tyres: the Zipp Tangente Speed RT28s are £86 each and quite a bit heavier.

So, if you're after the fastest tyres around, these are it (allegedly). They're also supple and light – just be prepared to look after them and pay for the privilege. Now, if Vittoria could just make them with a tan wall...

Verdict

Fabulously fast and supple, though their delicate nature and price probably limits them to racing and fast rides

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Vittoria Corsa Speed G+ Isotech Foldable Tubeless Ready

Size tested: 700x25C

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Vittoria says, "The fastest bicycle tire ever tested features the lightest tubeless-ready casing on the market. This race-day specific weapon has raised the bar on tire technology! The Corsa Speed uses a proprietary Graphene compound, which is then paired with an ultra-fine Corespun-T casing. The end result is a tire that maintains the lowest rolling resistance, while still providing the trademark Corsa suppleness, and outstanding wet weather grip. When used in tubeless form, the casing works perfectly with sealant, providing an even higher level of flat protection. This casing can also be used with an inner tube, if preferred. When absolute speed is your top priority, accept no substitute!"

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

From Vittoria:

Widths: 23mm, 25mm

TPI: 320

Compound: Graphine

Pressure: 87-130psi

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
10/10

Vittoria has really improved tubeless with its casings. Hopefully, other companies can do the same.

Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
5/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
10/10

These are very light for a tubeless tyre.

Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
10/10

The supple casing smooths rougher roads a little. Much, much more comfortable to ride than a regular tubeless tyre.

Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

These are expensive, but they're incredibly fast and still cheaper than some.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Very well indeed. These are beautiful tyres to ride and ones that I'd be happy to race all year.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The beautifully supple casing makes these feel like regular high-end tyres. The fact that they're tubeless doesn't kill them and make them hard.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The compound isn't that robust so on UK roads I'd be saving these for racing and summer rides only.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

Cheaper than Zipp's Tangente Speed. A bit more expensive than a standard clincher but you're getting the fastest available tyre, allegedly.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes, although I wish they came in tan wall.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

These gain points for being lightweight, fast and grippy, but that's tempered by the delicate compound and slightly higher price than a standard clincher.

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 24  Height: 177cm  Weight: 62kg

I usually ride: Cannondale Supersix Di2  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 5-10 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo-cross, commuting, club rides, general fitness riding, I specialise in the Cafe Ride!

Add new comment

5 comments

Avatar
Miller | 5 years ago
0 likes

To be fair, the Vittoria website describes the Corsa Speed like this:  "Vittoria ... has positioned Corsa Speed as the best time trial tire in the market." So they are clear about the intended usage.

Avatar
Chris Hayes | 5 years ago
0 likes

If these are anything like the clincher version, they are simply not suitable for UK roads: I experimented with a couple of pairs last year and was nursing quite serious cuts from the very first ride...They are smooth, fast and comfortable, however. But not more so that GP4000ses which are more durable.

Avatar
Scoob_84 replied to Chris Hayes | 5 years ago
0 likes
Chris Hayes wrote:

If these are anything like the clincher version, they are simply not suitable for UK roads: I experimented with a couple of pairs last year and was nursing quite serious cuts from the very first ride...They are smooth, fast and comfortable, however. But not more so that GP4000ses which are more durable.

 

I appreciate this advice, i was thinking of pushing the button on these in the very near future. 

Avatar
Liam Cahill replied to Chris Hayes | 5 years ago
2 likes
Chris Hayes wrote:

If these are anything like the clincher version, they are simply not suitable for UK roads: I experimented with a couple of pairs last year and was nursing quite serious cuts from the very first ride...They are smooth, fast and comfortable, however. But not more so that GP4000ses which are more durable.

I'd say that they're much more supple than the GP4000S II. The tread cuts are a lot to do with luck. I had one Veloflex Master 25 that cut to the carcass on the first ride while the rear lasted a whole season of training and racing with nothing. It's just the luck of what you ride over...

Avatar
Miller | 5 years ago
2 likes

This tyre has brought tubeless into time-trialling in a big way. It's not a tyre for rough roads but it is as fast as tyres get.

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