Vittoria’s Corsa tyres have been around in one guise or another for a great many years, whether in tubular, or latterly tubeless form. Now the Italian tyre brand has launched a faster, lighter model that aims specifically at time trials; the new Corsa Pro Speed.
Vittoria claims this new model has a 5% reduction in rolling resistance, as well as a 2% weight saving over the standard Corsa Pro. This brings the range in line with that of Continental, the brand’s biggest competitor, with a race tyre and a TT-specific option.
Where have the wattage and grams savings been made, and how much will these slippery tyres set you back?
Already a Tour winner
Being able to chalk up a Tour de France stage win before a product launches is quite a feat. Add to that the overall Tour de France GC from Jonas Vingegaard (not exclusively on these, but still), a Belgian National TT title from Wout van Aert, and a Dutch National TT title from Jos van Emden and you’d be hard-pushed to say these haven’t already been ‘race proven’.
The Corsa Pro is a pretty prolific tyre, and the new Corsa Pro Speed takes the 320 TPI cotton casing and mates it with an all-new tread. This tread utilises the same compound as the Corsa Pro, but does away with the parallel lines in the centre, replacing them with a wider, totally slick surface. The striations on the shoulders are also fewer and further between; it’s about as slick as Vittoria dared make it by the looks of things.
To reduce the rolling resistance and the weight the Corsa Pro Speed has done away with the puncture protection belt that features on the standard Corsa Pro. These belts are normally stiffer than the tyre carcass, and so removing it will make the tyre more supple, but ultimately more puncture-prone.
The tyres are tubeless ready, which may well offset some of the reduced puncture protection, but the notable thing is a lack of tubular options.
Pricing, sizing, and weights
Three widths are on offer, a 24c, a 26c, and a 28c. All sizes will set you back €94.95 per tyre, so there isn’t a noticeable premium over the standard Corsa Pro. The smallest width weighs in at a claimed 225g per tyre, through 230g for the 26c model, and a 250g claimed weight for the 28c rounds out the range.
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