Vittoria is betting big on gravel. Well, specifically, betting big on big tires. The tire brand is expanding its Gravel Endurance line with two new sizes, 50c and 55c, to cater to growing trend towards high-volume tires.
The new tires are available in Grapheme black or with natural brown sidewalls. Photo: Joe Harper
High volume gravel vs XC tires
There are all kinds of reasons to run big tires. From flat protection while running lower pressures, rolling efficiency and control on rougher courses, comfort on long days and for both casual riders and racers, a bit of safety when heading into the unknown. Or into cheeky bits of singletrack, right?
Racer started running big tires by just borrowing from the mountain bike shelf of their local bike shop instead of sticking to pure gravel brands. That makes sense as 500x50c and 700x55c are equivalent to 29×2.0″ and 29.2.25″, respectively. I.e. right where XC tires were five years ago. But that comes with a compromise. Those tires are designed to survive the demands of mountain biking. Different rubber compounds, different casing constructions, different flat protection. They were better than running narrow tires, but not exactly gravel specific.
Bit tires for rough roads. Photo: Joe Harper
Gravel specific volume
Vittoria’s new line of tires uses treads and casings developed for gravel, not borrowed from XC. The Terreno T10, T50, T70 and T30 (which was already available in big sizes, but now gets the option of brown sidewalls) cover a huge range of conditions and riding styles. From fast, hardpack dirt roads to rough, loose, muddy roads or full on singletrack, the Terreno line has a big tire for your purpose.
Zipp XPLR rims are the only rims that could make 55c T70s look normal. Photo: Joe Harper
Like the rest of the Gravel Endurance range, it uses the brand’s Endurance casing, using a 100 TPI nylon casing with reinforced sidewall protection for puncture protection and stability in the bigger sizes. That casing includes an anti-puncture belt for flat protection, since you’re probably riding tires this big somewhere rough, and reinforcement at the tire bead to keep these firmly locked on the rim at low pressures. Vittoria’s Endurance Graphene rubber compouned balances speed and durability for long rides.
None of these new 50c or 55c tires are available in Vittoria’s very interesting, very recycled Gravel Race tire construction, yet. But hopefully in the future we’ll see that option.
It’s kind of wild to see tire sizes that used to be a fringe novelty or racer-only option be offered in a full run of treads. But it is cool to see Vittoria embracing this new vision of gravel as it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.