Pirelli

I've had a couple different iteration of Pirelli tires - some XC MTB tires that I loved, and another set of Cinturatos, but these were solidly meh. When they arrived, they felt somewhat heavy and thick compared to my usual Pirellis, but they set up easily on my not-officially-tubeless rims and looked decent.

Riding them, I found I had no flat issues, and they rode OK - good traction in wet and dry, varied conditions from pavement to singletrack, but they didn't feel as plush or resilient as other Cinturato tires I've owned. I put it down to being a different bike and a little down sizing from what I was used to, and rode them for a few hundred miles, so they obviously weren't that bad.

Then, after a big trip (Italy) I was looking to upsize my tires, and figured if I had 700x45, 700x50 should be an easy fit given the space I had - so I ordered and installed the bigger tires only to find they were MUCH bigger on the same rims and didn't actually fit for safe riding. Perplexed, I decided to measure them out and found that the Adventure tires, marked as 700x45, actually were 700x40 when I measured. 40 vs 45 is kinda big. The new Cinturato's I got, the 700x50's, measured at 51, so it was a total difference of 11mm width and, of course, a taller tire, too.

So, that definitely explains the ride quality - I was expecting a 45mm width ride, but on 40mm tires, so yeah, it'll feel a bit rough. They did great as 40's for sure, but I expected 45's. If they were true to size, I'd likely still have them. rather than sizing up.

Purchased these tires after a trip to Italy, wanting to size up from my 700x45 Pirelli Cinturato Adventure tires and these have not disappointed. They measured slightly larger at 51cm wide on a 26mm inner rim and made my adventure tires look small. Turns out the adventure tires were only 40mm wide, which explains why they felt so small and hard.

These are a much nicer tire - higher TPI and much more supple ride - and the tread is just right for riding a bit of everything. Not loud or draggy on pavement, decent in the wet, and work fine in the single and double track that I've done so far. Not a tire for extreme off roading, but I'm sure they'll work great for everything I want to do on my gravel/adventure bike.

The tan sidewalls also look great against the British Racing Green of my bike, so that never hurts.

Overall, great tires that I'd buy again!

I put over 2500 miles on these tires (40 mm size), over 27 days, on all terrain types from medium (2-3 inch rocks) gravel to soft sand to smooth tarmac, all while carrying two fully loaded 22 L panniers and an 18 L rack top bag, along with a tent on the front. Overall, I would say it was an additional 35-40 lbs over the 30 lb bike weight with a 180 lb human riding.

I rarely use my brakes and I felt like these tires handled all the terrain I threw at them with great grip and control. I did hit a sharp rock at one point and that penetrated the rear tire (right in the middle of the smooth center strip). The sealant (Orange Seal) did it's job and, though I could feel the loss of air, I'm sure I could have continued for many miles in search of a pump. I carry a pump so I immediately stopped and topped up, adding about 15 psi.

Overall, I am very happy with the performance of the Pirelli Cinturato All Road 40 mm tires.

Terrain types ridden: medium-sized gravel (2-3 inch rocks), hard dirt, soft sand, mud, grass, potted tarmac, smooth tarmac, wet tarmac.

On pure ride and value alone, these would rate at least 4.5 stars but I'm taking 1.5 off for the difficulty in installation. Without a doubt, these are the most difficult tires to mount I've ever used. I broke 2 tire levers trying to get them on and all the usual tricks like soapy water failed. I ended up paying my LBS to get it done--since I had to get new levers anyway. Plus, I'm at the age where sometimes you just want to throw money at a problem to make it go away :) Gratifyingly, the mechanic told me he had a rough time with them as well so I don't feel quite so dumb now.

But once on, they're pretty nice--soaks up bumps really well. I can't speak to how well they'll handle real gravel--got them for my regular commuter bike--but so far, the grip and handling seem good. I've just got my fingers crossed I can get by without having to take them off any time soon.