Pirelli

Tires are a tough review, some people want the fastest tire possible, some want to never get a flat, some want wet vs dry, some want everything, etc. So for this use case, I wanted to have reliable over fast, as they are on my road bike that I use for commuting miles/training. I do not want a flat at 0400 on my ride to work, even though I'm prepared, I don't want to deal with it.

These tires are tough, they ride slow (I'm 1.3mph slower at worst, usually about 1mph), you'll feel it, but who cares you're training. I had to set aside the mindset of pushing for some silly crown on an app, I don't care, it's a game of watts and time, not speed, in training.

They grip super strong in wet weather, no slips going up a hill for example out of the saddle. They also seem to last forever, I can get 4000 miles on a rear easily, front won't even be touched (I'm light, 151 pounds). Even with a backpack, still fine.

The few cuts and pokes I've had in these I never even knew I got, sealed right up. They are thicker than your GP5000 for example, 3x as thick. They are uncomfortable as well, you'll feel everything. I've had 26's and 28's, neither helps.

Have a heart to heart with yourself. I'm a speedy racer dude, and I hated seeing the slow speeds, I threw my race tires on my one bike so I could feel faster. I got flats. I hate dealing with it. I ride alone, I don't care, I want reliable tires.

I am going to try the P Zero Race TLR AS some time, they are also pretty flat protected but not as much. Maybe it'll be fine for my roads and paranoia. But for now, the Cinturato Velo will get you from A to B with sealant in them. Mount pretty easy too, I can do with my hands.

So far, I'm a fan of these tubes. I still use butyl tubes instead of tubeless, latex (pressure retention) or TPU ($$$). Plus butyl is easily patchable. With modern 28mm+ tires I decided to stay with size appropriate tubes instead of cheating and using the -23mm or -25mm to avoid even more pinch flats at the lower pressures. This doesn't seem to pinch flat any worse than the 120g+ Conti or Schwalbe standard tubes, which I otherwise like a lot. Those tubes take up a lot more saddle bag volume than this Pirelli RoadTUBE. A bit pricey for butyl but I'm happy with this relatively cheap weight upgrade. Have ridden more than a thousand miles on these, with no seam or stem issues.

I purchased a previous version of this tire with black sidewalls in 2021 and had an excellent experience with them (about 2000 miles and no flats) so I bought a set of tan sidewalls this summer to replace them. I tried to swap them out today and, even though the SRAM website lists them as a compatible tire for the Zipp Firecrest 303 tubeless rims I'm using, I found it absolutely impossible to mount these tan sidewall tires on these rims, I had to use a tire lever just to get the first bead mounted. The second bead was absolutely not going to go over the rim. I have been riding and racing for over 40 years and have never had such an extreme problem mounting a tire. I'm going to have to return them for a different make and model for my wheels.

Waited until I had around 1500mi to get a review in for these.

Tested these in a range of conditions/road/light gravel. Ran the 28mm and 30mm on Reserve 25mm internal so they blew up a little bigger.

Overall I am really pleased - This is an amazing tire that I feel strikes a perfect balance of everything. Super fast, but not the fastest out there. Very good longevity for the speed and road feel you get.

Decent puncture protection (I did get two flats that I sealed no problem with plug. Both were on absolute terrible road debris area so no fault of the tire for the flat.

These tires EXCEL in the wet. Very confidence inspiring and not sure what tire I have run that gave me so much grip in wet/warm conditions. (wet/very cold conditions yet to be tested and is something I avoid)

This is a race tire, so it definitely isn't going to be the absolute longest lasting and best puncture protection, but they punch way above their weight for longevity/puncture and how much speed you get from them. Excited to try these in the 32mm version for the fall/winter season.