Hidden gems - fast tires

[BigBoyND]

The BRR voting pattern for road tires makes me think people prefer to see common tires tested 10 times in different sizes than to find hidden gems. The Bonti RSL might fall off this month for a 26mm Aero 111 which is sized like a 24mm tire. Something I didnt think anyone would choose in 2024.

Without BRR, I probably would not have had Tufo on my radar, and now the Prima is my favorite all-rounder. It makes me wonder what other gems by smaller brands we are missing.

Some potentially interesting tires:
Vredstein Superpasso
ERE Genus CCX
Panaracer Agilest Fast (at least this one has a chance)

Since they're unlikely to make the cut on BRR, has anyone seen comparative testing of these elsewhere? And what other tires look promising but are staying under the radar?

[LouisN]

FMB


Louis

[OtterSpace]

Most of the focus is on 32mm and lower tires by both the big brands and BRR voting.

For >32mm rene herse is fairly interesting if not running tubeless but their tires run a little big radially making blowouts more probable if running non hooked.

[BigBoyND]

Seems plenty 32mm+ tires are being tested on BRR (listed under CX).

Rene Herse has quite a few tires on the list but somehow only the extralite 44mm is fast. The 31mm tire tested super slow even in extralite configuration.

[Nickldn]

Oops

[UpFromOne]

FMB

Louis

I have personally purchased a dozen FMB tubs over the years, in different sizes, and not a one of them was ever round.
Meaning the casings all had varying diameters, such that there were one or more hops in the tire.

I understand what "handmade" means, but when you can feel bumps in the tire that's just not right.

[nickf]

The BRR voting pattern for road tires makes me think people prefer to see common tires tested 10 times in different sizes than to find hidden gems. The Bonti RSL might fall off this month for a 26mm Aero 111 which is sized like a 24mm tire. Something I didnt think anyone would choose in 2024.

Without BRR, I probably would not have had Tufo on my radar, and now the Prima is my favorite all-rounder. It makes me wonder what other gems by smaller brands we are missing.

Some potentially interesting tires:
Vredstein Superpasso
ERE Genus CCX
Panaracer Agilest Fast (at least this one has a chance)

Since they're unlikely to make the cut on BRR, has anyone seen comparative testing of these elsewhere? And what other tires look promising but are staying under the radar?

Just put in a vote for the RSL tire. Just put it in winning position, see if it holds!

[wheelbuilder]

While probably not applicable to your use case, I have used vredestein senso superiore clinchers with latex tubes for a couple thousand miles and while they felt sublime - comparable to Turbo Cotton- and cornered really well, they were very slow in all situations. So much so I could feel it as the rider.

[TobinHatesYou]

RSL could be interesting because I'm not sure Trek is using Vittoria's compound. They've made no mention of graphene+silica in their marketing materials and also the claimed weight of the 28mm is lower than the Vittoria despite what looks like a much wider tread cap.

[wheelbuilder]

RSL could be interesting because I'm not sure Trek is using Vittoria's compound. They've made now mention of graphene+silica in their marketing materials and also the claimed weight of the 28mm is lower than the Vittoria despite what looks like a much wider tread cap.

Agreed. They "look" like they will roll well.

[TobinHatesYou]

RSL could be interesting because I'm not sure Trek is using Vittoria's compound. They've made no mention of graphene+silica in their marketing materials and also the claimed weight of the 28mm is lower than the Vittoria despite what looks like a much wider tread cap.

Just got back from the shop and got a chance to compare a 28mm Corsa Pro and Aeolus RSL side-by-side.

- Casing width is identical
- The Aeolus RSL tread cap is 7-8mm wider, it looks like it has at least 52% tread coverage, which would be greater than any other tire in this class.
- The Aeolus rubber felt grippier when I ran my finger across it, but that could be down to the tread pattern.

[BigBoyND]

Looks promising for the larger sizes.

Was the tread width the same across various tire sizes, as is the case with Vittoria?

[TobinHatesYou]

Looks promising for the larger sizes.

Was the tread width the same across various tire sizes, as is the case with Vittoria?

The shop only had 28s in stock.

The tread on my 30mm Corsa Pro was definitely wider than BRR’s 28mm measurement. I haven’t measured the 32mm.

[BigBoyND]

Looks promising for the larger sizes.

Was the tread width the same across various tire sizes, as is the case with Vittoria?

The shop only had 28s in stock.

The tread on my 30mm Corsa Pro was definitely wider than BRR’s 28mm measurement. I haven’t measured the 32mm.

This post came to mind about the 32mm tire. Maybe Trek will spec wider tread for all sizes. Looking forward to the BRR results for that one.

BUT regarding tread width (which has been covered extensively in this thread) - FFS what is going on? Below is a comparison between the old Corsa 2.0 25mm clincher and the Corsa Pro 32mm. And yup, just as it appears both have a tread width of 30mm. Carcasses are 72.5 and 86.0mm respectively.


I am trying to convince myself that because the tire is so successful under the worst conditions in elite competition, that I have nothing to worry about. But it looks damn scary to me. Anybody done some serious descending on the 32mm Corsa Pro with 25mm internal rim combo? Anybody done it in the rain? Cold? Armageddon?

[JoO]

I would like to have the veloflex Corsa evo clincher 28 and 32 mm tested.
Affordable and comfortable