Vittoria
By accident I've gotten three Strava segment PR's with these tires on. Switched from the Pirelli TLR Race after reading a couple of reviews and getting a couple of Pirelli punctures. They were easy to install on Reserve and Shimano wheels, almost impossible on Mavic (isn't everything?). At the same pressures they seem to ride quite a bit softer. Grip is all there. There's plenty of spring road trash and after 500 miles I haven't yet gotten a puncture yet. (outside riding starts late here in the mountain NW) I'm guessing these are 2+K mile tires by the lack of wear they're showing. I'll get another set.
All the positive comments are true. Very fast. I haven't found them more prone to flats. Have run them tubeless and with a tube. Unfortunately one of my new tires started to delaminate, where the outer portion of the main tread separates from the body of the tire, with less than a few hundred miles. BTD was great at sending me a new tire at no charge. Now that tire is doing the same. It has over 500 miles and is less than a year old. I don't think my problem is unique and I hope Vittoria come up with a better glue. Would really like to keep buying these tires.
These are my first latex tubes. I've ridden on butyl tubes for years, and I do notice a difference. The latex does seem to absorb the bumps more. I've been maybe 300 miles on them with no issues. One thing, the stems are not threaded, so I wonder if pumping the tubes up for every ride will be tough in the tube/stem union. My work-around for this issue is to place half of the stem-cover that comes with tube back on the stem and gently (I do mean gently) secure a small pair of vise-grips to the base of the stem with the vise-grip handles resting on a wooden block that's the same height as the tire and wheel combined. When I attach the pump, the vise grips keep the stem from pushing into the tube. Then when I remove the pump, I hold onto the vise grips, so that the stem doesn't pull on the tube. So far so good.
I enjoyed these tires very much and have no complaints whatsoever except their overall short life span. I put approximately 974 miles on my set and the rear tire's wear indicator dimple was already gone. Over the course of the 974 miles, I picked up 2 punctures that sealed immediately with Stans sealant. Nice smooth ride with confidence inspiring traction. At 5'9 / 215lbs, I had the rears set to 65psi and the fronts at 62psi. I ride mostly on swept bike trails but will also do the occasional canyon ride with beat up roads.
