Pirelli Cinturato RC Tires – Australian Mountain Bike

Pirelli jumped into the off-road bike tire scene at the start of 2019 with their Scorpion range, and they've never looked back. I was lucky enough to be invited to Sicily to ride their first tires, casings and SmartGrip rubber. Pirelli has taken a different approach with mountain bike tires, releasing special tread patterns on all their XC, trail, enduro and eMTB tires as well as the latest Scorpion Race range of Enduro and Downhill rubber. Pirelli's Cinturato Gravel range started with Hard Conditions, Mixed Conditions and soft tread patterns and soon came the Cinturato RC tread – it looks very similar to a lowered version of Pirelli's Scorpion XC RC which is really unique but aims to be all conditions. the wheel.

Pirelli jumped into the off-road bike tire scene at the start of 2019 with their Scorpion range, and they've never looked back. I was lucky enough to be invited to Sicily to ride their first tires, casings and SmartGrip rubber. Pirelli has taken a different approach with mountain bike tires, releasing special tread patterns on all their XC, trail, enduro and eMTB tires as well as the latest Scorpion Race range of Enduro and Downhill rubber. Pirelli's Cinturato Gravel range started with Hard Conditions, Mixed Conditions and soft tread patterns and soon came the Cinturato RC tread – it looks very similar to a lowered version of Pirelli's Scorpion XC RC which is really unique but aims to be all conditions. the wheel.

The Cinturato RC plays a close role for low roll resistance, a tubeless bead for easy tubeless setup, grip edge knots, a strong casing to prevent punctures and even a straight stone combination that aims to increase roll resistance. When I was building a long-term stone bike for Factor LS with the latest set of Shimano's GRX groupset and wheels – the Cinturato RC was the obvious choice.

A closer look

The Cinturato RC comes in 40mm and 45mm sizes, and I was given the 40mm for testing. They also make a slightly stiffer casing for the Cinturato RC X if you know you're going to push the tires hard with sharp rocks and high loads. The tires use a 60tpi casing, compared to the Cinturato H, M or iS which use 120tpi for a smooth and comfortable ride. My test tires came in at 506g and 507g each, less than the claimed 540g. This is 60g heavier than the Maxxis Rambler at 60tpi with TR casing, and over 100g heavier than the 120tpi casing Rambler.

I put Cinturato RC up with Tubolight EVO gravel tires and Joe's No Flats Elite sealant. They fit into the beads without any problems or flow, and remained so during the test. The tires are inflated to 42mm on a 25mm inner rim, and I stayed at 35/40psi front and rear.

On the gravel

My first bike ride was a stone loop on the Scenic Rim, in south-east Queensland. It's a mix of smooth gravel, rough and large rocks, roads and lots of dirt braking bumps. I've ridden this route before with a tire setup that was too slippery on the dirt, or too slow on the fast sections. The Cinturato RC rolled quickly on a closed section of road, and I was pleased to find that it was able to pull easily even uphill as long as I was seated.

While the edge knob is nice, on the crumbling dirt roads on this route I still had to make sure I really picked my line. The contact area on a gravel tire is much smaller than an XC tyre, and even though it has a more varied tread pattern and a stiffer casing, there are clear limitations. Still, I was impressed with how the Cinturato RC rode. With most of the time spent on varied terrain from this first ride, I was impressed with how well the Cinturato RC handled the mix of terrain most people will encounter on a desert bike. It's very predictable in various terrains, although I haven't used it in any muddy conditions – as I can't remember the last time it rained.

The decision

I came away finding the Cinturato RC a firm favorite. Some gravel tires have specific conditions of use, or they can lack casing strength. Even the Pirelli the Cinturato H and M I bought last year didn't provide the end use I wanted. I don't mind changing tires to get the most out of my XC race bike, but on other bikes I want to get out and ride. I found the Cinturato RC to have a very wide performance window to do just that, easily transitioning from extreme off-road conditions to fast speeds on the road. It's not a cheap tire, but so far the wear rate has been very good, and it would be a complete set and forget gravel tire for many riders as it comes in both 40mm and 45mm widths.