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- Price: $48.00 | £35.99 | €42.00
- Weight as measured: 570g / 20.1oz
- Colours: Black (Standard) and gumwall (Classic)
- Sizes: 700x40c | 700x45c | 700x50c
- Casing: 60 TPI
Choosing the best gravel bike tyre can be an absolute game changer for your ride experience, inspiring confidence (or not), and sometimes even making the difference between riding and walking. The Pirelli Cinturato Gravel S sits at the most aggressive end of the gravel tyre spectrum, and is unapologetically focused on traction rather than speed, designed to keep things grippy when the going gets muddy.
I tested the tyres in a 700x45c size, in what has been one of the wettest winters on record. From January through March, I’ve ridden mostly on bridleways and purpose-built trails around Bristol (known for its sticky clay mud), as well as on a 3-day bikepacking trip in the Scottish Highlands. With a decent number of miles needed to reach the trails in Bristol, the test conditions highlighted the Cinturato Gravel S’s compromises and strengths, and ultimately I found myself riding where I may have previously spun out and had to walk.
Design and Aesthetics
The Pirelli Cinturato Gravel S is the slowest rolling tyre in the gravel range, but it’s also the most aggressive in mud as one of the chunkiest gravel bike tyres around. In a gravel line-up that includes the faster rolling Cinturato Gravel H for hardpack and dry conditions, the mixed terrain Gravel M, and the race focused Gravel RC, the Gravel S is definitely the mud specialist. These are the tyres you put on for waterlogged trails in a wet winter like the one we’ve recently experienced in the UK, much like the Vittoria T90 we also tested recently.
The Gravel S features widely spaced and chunky centre knobs, paired with aggressive side lugs that almost stray into mountain bike territory. The design intent is clear; dig into soft terrain, shed mud, and provide stability when conditions are at their most slippery.
Pirelli claims the tyre prioritises “control and safety in every condition”, and that is obvious in the tyre’s hardy construction. The…
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