Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M 700c Tire

I bought into the hype and bought a pair of the 45mm black wall Cinturato Gravel M 700C tires. The Front tire got a pinhole on the first ride, and to be fair that pinhole that did seal after spewing some sealant on the down tube. As one reviewer noted there are large gaps between the knobs which aid traction but leave a lot of room for sharp gravel to do some damage and that's exactly what happened to me: the gravel punctured the tire between knobs. Then on my second ride, I got a side wall cut on the rear that ruined the tire. I was able to put a tire boot in it to get home with a tube but I've never had a sidewall get cut like that. I've ridden several different gravel tires too -- Kenda Flintridge Pros, Panaracer Gravel King SKs and SK +, Teravail Washburns, and a shorter stint on Maxxis Velocitas, none of which got a side wall cut. Maybe it was just unlucky and not the fault of the Cinturato, but it has definitely scared me off. Panaracer Gravel King SK+ and the Teravail Washburns have been the most durable tires I've ridden. Regular Gravel King SKs get pinholes, so if you go for Gravel Kings go for the "SK+" version. But I've never gotten a sidewall cut before on any of the other tires except on the Cinturato. These tires rolled really well while they lasted but no better than any other tire I've ridden. I'm starting to realize that tighter tread patterns may be more flat resistant than wider spaced knobby tires. I don't think you give up much traction on tight pattern treads over knobbier tires except *maybe* in extremely muddy conditions. I'd rather have the puncture protection and give up a tad of traction in muddy conditions. Nothing against BTD as they offered a good price and good shipping times, I'd buy from them again.

I replaced a worn out Maxis Rambler on the front with this tire. I was looking for something that would offer more confidence on steep, chunky loose descents without too much penalty in rolling resistance for all those miles riding to the good stuff. While I can definitely feel the added inertia getting this tire up to speed compared to the Rambler, the trade-off is worth it. What really surprised me is how smooth this thing rolls on pavement. I assumed with the more aggressive knobs that I would feel a lot of road feedback (vibration) and noise. It is completely silent on pavement, which makes it feel fast, at least psychologically! All in all, I am very happy with the tire. I do think it is a bit overpriced given how many options are out there, hence the three stars on value rating.

Recently used this tire for an extended gravel ride throughout the Dolomites in Northern Italy, where gravel ranges from fine and smooth to very large and jagged. I encountered mud, fire and logging roads, single track, asphalt, and cobblestone sporadically along the way. These tires provided great traction in all the conditions I rode in, are surprisingly tough, and maintained speed on asphalt relatively well (not a lot of drag). I've tried many gravel tires through the years, and in many conditions, but I'm most impressed with the Cinturaro M; an excellent all-around tire, and one I plan on using as my default on my gravel bikes.

I mounted a set of these 700x40 classic tan walls on Santa Cruz Reserve 32 depth wheelset with a 30mm external rim width and 24 internal rim width; at 41psi tubeless front/back, the final width of the tires came out to 41.2mm. First off, these were the easiest tubeless ready tires I've ever mounted (no tire lever needed, and I have weak thumbs!), and equally easy to remove. In the loose, loamy dirt (aka sand) of the Eastern Sierra fire roads, these Pirellis powered through easily and had some minor rear wheel slipping on the extra loose stuff at faster speeds, but nothing out of the ordinary and behaved very predictably on the steep downhills. Transitioning to the hard road tarmac, the Cinturato M's grip was definitely an influence on rolling speed, but overall, it just felt like I was working a little harder as evident by the power meter readings. A small concession IMO, and should not be a detractor. If you're planning on riding 70/30 percent favoring gravel, especially in the sketchy loose stuff, then this is the tire for you. 350+ miles of debris laden trails have yet to produce a puncture or slice on these Pirellis (and I don't mean the light stuff, I'm talking sharp edged shale, not the minor goat head stuff). I'm impressed, and I've run a LOT of different tire makes and models. These have earned a Top 3 spot for my heavy duty gravel rides. Pirelli, you've really produced a great product for us dirt riders.

Got these in 700x45 for my Bombtrack Hook to be more road worthy but still maintain off road beast mode. Having removed too large Vittoria Barzo's in 29 x 2.1, these skinny tires have a lot to live up to. While I did not traverse deep mud well, they sleighed gravel, dirt, and tall grass, while being among the stickiest on blacktop/pavement that I have ever ridden.

By far these were the easiest tubeless set up I have every attempted. Seated immediately to Shimano GRX wheels, got bathed in Stans by shaking tires, then aired up (higher pressure at first to allow better seating and coverage - pro tip from a mech) to prefect alignment on rim. If you want to go really fast on pavement, this is not the tire but the rolling resistance is acceptable given the traction. And the bike handles so much better with the more narrow width than the 2.1 Barzo's.

The dark brown looks exceptional in person, but not all bikes will be as handsome or match. Will update once I have more miles and can speak to durability. Both tires had seams visible on the sidewall through the casing but hoping that's how they're supposed to look.

UPDATE JUNE 27 (250 miles) --

am in love with this tire and count it among the very best I have ridden on any surface. these are up there with my love for IRC Mythos and Panaracer Dart/Smoke for MTB Racing in my 20's. they are just a capable, predictable, and solid performer. can be a bit slippery in rain and muddy puddles, but this tire clings to chunky mud very well, and has not washed out in sand, even at high pressure.

been riding the C & O Canal and have found these tires a perfect partner. as before, they are not the fastest gravel tire, but they are the most well rounded for the kind of riding that i do with the bike they're installed on. and they look damn fine doing it.

4-stars on value only b/c i can't speak to longevity, and think the price of bike tires is outrageous, forcing bikers to read 30 reviews before spending $140 on a set.

I installed this Cinturato M in a 700x45 (black sidewall) on my Santa Cruz Stigmata mullet build with DT Swiss GRC 1400 wheels (24mm internal) paired with a Cinturato H of the same size on the rear. See my review on the Cinturato H if you are interested in a fast tire for hardpack conditions. I paired that with the M on the front for the loose gravel conditions that are very prevalent in the NE corner of Iowa where I live, as well as for some singletrack use here and in NW Arkansas. I previously had a set of Vittoria Terreno Zeros on the bike which of course don't offer a ton of traction on looser conditions or dirt due to their complete lack of lugs with only some "fish scales" on the edge of the tire for a touch of cornering grip. The Cinturatos both went onto the wheels and inflated tubeless (with sealant) very easily with just a floor pump. No leakage from beads or seepage from sidewalls was confidence-inspiring. Post-inflation spin test showed the tire running smooth and true...nice high-quality casings and quality control indeed. I started with air pressure in the front at about 32 psi, and after dropping it over the first few weeks of riding the tires have settled into about 26 psi in the front as a great balance of ride quality and traction with enough reserve for rim protection on most gravel conditions. For rocky singletrack I would run 1-2 psi more or use rim strips to protect against strikes. The traction on the M is great in all conditions but the very loosest of gravel (where lugs don't matter because the gravel is rolling out beneath the tire). The ability to take corners with high speed is impressive and the tire rides smooth as silk both vertical and when cornering with no perceptible buzzing...no doubt a product of the solid centerline tread on the tire. Transition and edge grip is very good and as stated is also very smooth. My only "knock" on this tire is that with the large gaps between lugs (part of why it has great traction in mixed and loose conditions) a sharp rock was able to find it's way to and through the casing and flatted me out of the Rule of 3 race in Bentonville. I eventually got it sealed with 3 Dynaplugs but the casing integrity was hurt so much from the long cut that it bulges a lot there and needs to be replaced. The tire only had a couple rides on it at that point but with how long and deep the cut is it wouldn't have mattered if it was the day the tire had been installed. I emailed BikeTiresDirect to see if there is anything they could do and they went above and beyond offering me a hefty discount on a replacement. I've said it before and I'll say it again: BikeTiresDirect has the best customer service of any online retailer I have used. I will continue to be a customer of theirs for years to come because of th

Customer for very long time but my first review. I purchased these tires in 45 mm for my Trek Checkpoint SL. These tires are thick and on the heavier side comparing to my previous tires. I was little concerned about it when I was putting them on but I was in shock with the performance. The rolling resistance, grip and stability especially on loose gravel is incredible. Best upgrade I purchased for my bike.

I've had slicks on for the past couple years and wanted a change toward something knobbier that would still feel like it rolls well. These have been excellent.

Tubeless mounting was the most difficult I've experienced on a tire yet - I ended up going to LBS to use their compressor, no issues since then.

Ride quality is pretty good, but I'm still trying to find the right pressure for any road rides that I do; 45psi can feel harsh, but rolls really well.

Traction is stellar. I'll happily go 50-100mi on mixed terrain at 15mph, so I was looking for security over speed. I'm really glad I got these, and I'll probably try to squeeze the 45mm of these into my frame when I wear the current ones out.

I run these on one set of wheels and gravel king SS on another.

These give up no speed to the gravel kings, however they are insanely better off road.

I only have run about 200 miles on these tires, so no real opinion on wear.

I would not hesitate to buy them again.

Nice tires. They do well on paved roads, washboards and even loose dirt. They mount easily which is a plus. I had been running GravelKings and they were almost impossible to get the tires to seat on the rim. In the end, everything worked out great, I really like these tires.

This is my wife's and I's first "knobby" gravel tire. We were finding the smooth gravel tires weren't cutting it for the off road portions of our rides. We were very worried about excessive rolling resistance on the pavement. Turns out, these tires roll really well on pavement. She's 120lbs, I'm 240lbs - so we cover the spectrum of weight. We are running the 35mm. (Would have purchased 38s if they made them, as we'd like the extra width). But so far so great...

Tires required some muscle to get them tubeless but they held air and sealant perfectly since install. They feel fast on pavement and handle some chunky stuff well for the 40mm width. Look really good on the gravel rig also.

I a bit of a tire nerd and have a subscription to bicyclerollingresistance.com. I'm always trying to find that perfect balance between rolling resistance, puncture protection, grip, and ride quality in a tire, whether its road or gravel. This winter I decided to go for something more aggressive tread wise for my winter gravel riding and assumed I'd just have to give up some rolling resistance to get grip in the slop. Well, I guess you don't! This tire has grip for days, seems to be very resistant to punctures, rides great AND rolls amazingly fast on the road. I'm incredibly impressed with this tire and recommend it to anyone wanting a true all around gravel tire. I'll probably leave it on through the spring assuming the tread lasts that long.

Great on luxury gravel, and the rougher stuff sell, and fast on road sections due to its profile.

I don't have a lot of miles on this tire yet, but so far I'm pretty impressed with its balance/tradeoffs as a tough, high-volume, relatively high traction gravel and mixed terrain tire. I got the 700x45 (black) and am running it on the front with a Cinturato H on the rear. This tire (and the H) both mounted up very easily, with no air loss or seepage/sealant weeping on DT Swiss GRC 1400 carbon wheels (24.5mm internal width). Ride quality is good, with decent damping at 28psi. The tire rolls very smoothly as you would hope from the nearly solid center line of lugs, and on-road noise is low as well. With about 150 miles of mostly rounded gravel at this point I certainly wouldn't have expected any cuts or punctures and haven't seen any issues. The real test will be this coming weekend with ~125mi of sharp limestone gravel and singletrack planned. Only knocks are the relatively high weight (not too far off from 29x2.2 tires with protection) and the price...gravel tires have increased in price by a lot over the past year or so, but it's reasonable on this tire for the high quality of the tire. Happy trails!

Installed these as my winter tires and they work great.

I using this tire on my Trek Checkpoint SL5 Gravel Bike. This is my second set. The first set I got 3,500 miles out of this year. I would say I do 35% Gravel and the rest ranges from bad chip and oil to nice pavement. This tire does it all for me. The security of grip makes you never want to leave home without them.

This is a great tire and doesn't weigh like a truck tire I'm using these on my Ebike the ride is smooth cuts very well in the corners I'll be buying these on my other bike

Gravel Riding Awesomeness! Highly recommend giving these tires a go! True to size and wear well.

I've run these tubeless for the past month (350 miles) in very dry conditions and they have exceeded my expectations for both grip and traction. Roll surprisingly fast on pavement as well. Very durable and have yet to show any signs of wear.