I really wanted these to be my go-to, all conditions, all-rounder, because they're more supple and they roll much better than the GK SK+ I've been using for several years, and they grip just as well on dirt/gravel. (They also hold air better and are easier to seat - at least the first time you mount them.)
Unfortunately, the puncture resistance & durability isn't quite there, and they don't grip well at all on wet pavement (crashed twice in two months on these versus never in over three years on the Gravel Kings).
Also, as noted above, these tires don't want to seat a second time. I've had to replace a valve core and add sealant a few times with these, and they're more stubborn than the GK the second time around - which is saying something, as GKs don't particularly like to be reseated either.
Verdict: I'm switching back to Gravel Kings on my winter/gravel wheels. I'll probably give the Pirellis a little more time on my allroad set.
I bought a pair of these (40 mm width) in early 2022 and have ridden about 1900 miles on them. Road surfaces were about half and half moderately smooth asphalt and dirt/gravel. I expect another 500+ miles from them at this point. I rotated tires front to back after about 1200 miles. No flats. Had some puncture vine thorns, which the sealant easily handled.
The tires looked great, and I was excited to use them. However, they did not fit my Specialized Diverge Carbon frame. The Diverge specs suggest that my frame has clearance for up to 700x42 tires, but these (700x40) just didn't fit. Don't know if it was tires or frame, but - FYI. Disappointed, and I couldn't return because (although unused) my mechanic discarded the packaging! Oh well.
Purchased these for my travel bike. Great for hard pack and pavement. So far they are great! Easy to mount up and they are holding pressure very well. I am very impressed with Pirelli tires.
I have the Cinturato H in a 700x45, black sidewall on my Santa Cruz Stigmata with DT Swiss GRC 1400 carbon wheels with 24mm internal width. The tires felt nice coming out of the package, sturdy, thick and uniform. They went on to the wheels nice and tight but with good bead stretch and pumped up VERY easily with just a floor pump and sealant. No leakage around bead or weeping through the sidewall on initial inflation or in the days after. Upon initial spin test, tire ran straight and true...impressed so far! Have a couple hundred miles on the tires now in varied gravel, singletrack, and pavement conditions. I was initially running 34 psi in the rear, then 32, then 30, then 28, now 27psi. They ride really nice, roll fast, and have sturdy sidewalls that don't get squirmy. They are nearly silent on hard surfaces. Traction-wise they are good on hardpack, a little squirmy and do some dancing around on high speed loose gravel. The same size Cinturato M on the front feels more planted and straight-line stable on gravel in the same conditions (review on that tire coming as well!). Might try an M on the rear and see how it does as it seems to be just as quiet and almost as fast with a solid center section but more grip when stuff gets chunky. The traction in grass isn't good at all, spinning easily...not unexpected given the tread pattern but was noticeable and probably no better in grass than the Vittoria Terreno Zero's I had on before. Cut/flat protection has been really good so far. I rode a bunch of singletrack on this bike in NW Arkansas and while the tire shows some evidence of the sharp rocks trying to take its life, it never lost any air or has any spots where sealant started purging. No small feat with those conditions. The M on the front wasn't so lucky, and was cut through in a gap between the lugs. The H has so many small lugs that the sharp stuff doesn't have near as much opportunity to make it to the casing to cut it...this helps a lot on sharp rocks! Overall, impressed with this tire for what it is and glad to see Pirelli putting some LEGIT contenders into the booming gravel tire space. If you know what this tire is supposed to do well, and are honest about the limitations you will have with a lug like this I think you will be really happy. And BikeTiresDirect is the BEST place to get these tires...their service has proven to be second-to-none yet again, so thank you very much!
I picked up a pair of 45s for a 440 mile gravel bikepacking event around the Olympic peninsula. Prior to the ride, I used them for approximately 200 miles of mixed terrain, mostly pavement. Tires were very easy to install tubeless and offered a very comfortable ride. The tread pattern also offered enough grip on dirt but rolled well on pavement.
I'm a bit disappointed in how quickly they appear to be wearing though, mostly the rear, although to be fair most miles have been with a loaded gravel bike. Also, I did get a rear flat on day 2 of the Olympic event, although never did find a culprit. So can't necessarily blame the tire but I do wonder if the faster-than-expected wear played a role.
I bought these because I wanted a tire with a less aggressive tread as my riding is a mixture of road and packed gravel. They have not disappointed . Subjectively I think they are faster than what was OE on bike, and I feel that they corner much better. That was a surprise given the tread design. I can quantify that I have been riding longer distances since putting them on, which leads me to believe that I am using less energy to keep moving, though that is really just a guess. They were pretty easy to mount, and with help from my local bike mechanic, to get both beads seated. The front tire is holding air very well, but the rear is losing a little more than I would like. User error, I think, but worth mentioning .
Fairly new to the gravel scene but my bike shipped with stock Maxxis Ramblers. In my area there are a lot of connecting asphalt roads along any gravel route and for 90% of the year the gravel roads do not require knobby tires. After seeing high ratings of these tires on Bicycle Rolling Resistance I thought they would be a great tire with a bit of tred but low rolling resistance overall and so far, they fit the bill. No punctures yet after a few hundred miles and they absolutely ride faster than the Ramblers I previously had. Seated on my hookless rims without any issues and I can't say there is anything I wish they had or didn't have. Solid purchase and would recommend.
I got these in 47mm to ride mtb trails with my friends. I've also ridden them in a couple gravel races. They're reliable, fast, and very tough. Only had goathead thorns pierce them (easily sealed as I run them tubeless). They are quite reliable on easy to moderate mtb trails and have never flatted due to sharp rocks or rim puncture. Run really well/fast in gravel races and my Garmin clocked me at 42 and 43mph in them. I plan to run these in 40mm or 42mm for gravel rides and races and maybe try the gravel M's for MTB trails once I wear out my current tires.
I think these tires rate highly in both categories.
I have the tan sidewalls and they look nice on my red gravel bike.
They mounted easily as tubeless and I put 60 ml of Stan's sealant in them.
They measure 41mm wide, for a 700x40 size , and my rims measure 21 mm inside width.
I run them at 40-45 psi on the road depending on the road condition and the weather.
I feel they are very fast tires and if the psi is correct, a very comfortable ride also.
One of the nice thing about tubeless road and gravel tires is the air pressured can be tailored for speed, grip, or comfort depending on preferences. No need to worry about pinching a tube.
I installed this tire easily with 1 spoon on a Belgium rim!
At 55psi the 35 mm rolls like my GP4 season 32s on pavement.
I descended on some steep gravel roads and felt no wash out.
It measures 93mm wide pressed flat on bench so the 35 is a
a fine gravel //hard pack tire and you will want bigger sizes for
rough//loose gravel but this seems to be a fast tough tire that we CAN fix
a flat up in the hills. My new all terrain tire.
I bought these for a 250 mile gravel ride. Put about another 250 miles training for the ride. Tread is almost gone after the 500 combined miles. Also got a flat tire on the main ride. Small thorn made its way through the tire. Maybe I shouldn't expect more but listed as a gravel tire wanted better results. On smooth road and the more compact sections of trail they worked great.
I rode this tire in the 45 as a rear tire on a 18.6 internal width 18.6 velocity Dyad on a cross check. It fit with a couple of mm to spare. It was about as wide as the rock and road tire it replaced, but with what felt like less cushion and more puncture protection.
It was fast on pavement, and off road it held pretty well in dry conditions. However it provided minimal traction in wet and muddy conditions.
The tire seemed to slide out almost every time there was mud or wet roots. Turns that were previously handled by other tires required a lot of slowing down and/or "foot off the pedal" readiness to stabilize. There was a frequent feeling of being about to slide out through turns. There were times when I straight up slid out and fell through familiar turns that I had previously made with different tires. There times where I rode completely straight through the muddy edge of a puddle with my weight balanced as neutrally as possible and the tire still started to slide out!
Overalll, it provided decent width and good puncture protection, but it's disappointing to have to regulate your speed lower that what you know you'd like do in order to make it through wet conditions.
Previously in love with the schwalbe g-one all round evo's for the past 2 years, so comparing to those- grabbed these as the g ones are unobtain-ium right now. After 2 rides and 100 miles these have became my new favorite tire. Mounted on zipp 303's ( hookless compatible) with about 40 psi I've taken them on every surface possible including mtb single track and they are one notch better in every category in my opinion. They just roll Faster on pavement and gravel, just as stable on all types of gravel, surprisingly grippier on loose crap and wet slick things - they seem to hold on a little longer before breaking loose on very steep climbs, even while climbing out of the saddle. Haven't had any issues with punctures ( it's early yet) but they have withstood the worst of everything I could carelessly plow over so far, including mine fields of big sharp rocks, streams, squirrels, feral cats.., really no negative on these, but I do sometimes notice a very slight counter steer feeling I think from the side lugs when leaning hard on fast clean pavement but nothing that feels bad or hurts confidence. Sidewalls feel a tad stiffer, not too mushy or balloon like , but still a super comfy ride. Excellent tire that covers everything very well.
I got these in 40mm at the beginning of the 2021 season on a Domane SL. Didn't use at Wild Horse Gravel, as that is pretty chunky/rocky terrain, but did 5 other races including Glenwood Gravel, Loess Hills Enduro, Gravel Worlds, BWR Kansas and rides in Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa. BWR was 10+ miles of mountain bike single track, including a lot of rocks and technical descents and climbing. The only issue it had was with mud. Not enough tread on the outside to grip. But that was after 1500+ miles on the tires. I never once had a flat. Crazy, isn't it? I used Stans sealant. The tires must be inflated before every ride, as they will go from 35-40 to 25 over night. But never had a problem being low at the end of the longest rides. About 25% of the miles are on pavement, and it certainly is not as fast as a smaller tire would be, but no problems with sound, and the grip is awesome. I've gone to a Pirelli on my road bike as well and again, their compound grip it exceptional.
My favorite things about the tires are the grip of the compound on rocks and pavement, their supple side wall for comfort and grip but still stable in corners and strength to hold up to gravel racing. The price was exceptional. Will replace both, as I worry about the compound hardening over time and UV exposure, but if I wanted could just go with a new rear and would be fine.
These are my first gravel tires on my first gravel bike, a Sage Titanium Barlow. I�m not new to tubeless tires. I ran Conti GP5000s on my previous bike. The tires mounted easily on Roval Terra C wheels with 60ml of Stans sealant. I'm using 700 x 35 tires. The ride is smooth at 45 psi. Traction and cornering are not an issue. I've ridden mostly paved roads so far. I deducted a star from these tires because the issue is how well they hold air. If I pump them to 45 psi, by the next morning they're down to 30 psi. The wheels are new. The rim tape is intact and the valve is snug. With my Continentals I had to add air maybe once a week. I used Orange Seal endurance with those tires. One bike shop person told me that the issue may be the Stans sealant. I've had one thorn puncture and it sealed almost immediately. If I were to do any adventure riding, I would probably use tubes because of the absence of a floor pump for daily pumping duties. These tires look good, have a supple ride with good traction. I will definitely try another set and use a different sealant next time!
So far I've put a few hundred miles on these on mixed city streets, paved trails and gravel trails. They feel fast, seem to have really good grip, handle well on dirt and gravel, and haven't had any flats even after riding through glass multiple times. Traction when climbing the local trails has been excellent, I was worried about this but it's shown to not be an issue for me. They were relatively easy to mount and I didn't have any issues getting them seated. When I wear these out, I will definitely grab another set. Plus the tan sidewalls give my bike a classic look that I love.
I use this for a lightweight tubeless tire/wheelset for summer months on my commuter/gravel ride. The traction on pavement is excellent with very low rolling resistance. On light gravel and dirt they perform very well. Tubeless set-up on DT Swiss DB460s was simple and they have been trouble-free.
