Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RC tyre

The Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RC tyre is an impressive all-rounder, offering decent speed on the road for something this knobbly without sacrificing grip in the wet. They aren't as good at shedding mud as some, though, or as easy to get seated when setting them up tubeless – and they're expensive.

If you're interested in the Cinturato Gravel RCs, also check out our guide to the best gravel tyres for more options.

The Cinturato Gravel RCs are designed to be used as race tyres across a variety of surfaces, and sit between Pirelli's Gravel H (for hard surfaces) and Gravel M (for softer surfaces).

The tread is inspired by Pirelli's Scorpion XC RC pattern, which has been popular on its mountain bike tyres, and the Cinturatos excelled on all the surfaces I used them on, from smooth tarmac to rough farm tracks and muddy footpaths.

Pirelli has also used its SpeedGRIP compound, which apparently came from its work in the World Rally Championship. This compound is specific for gravel riding, basically taking the SmartGRIP compound used on its mountain bike tyres and altering it to reduce the rolling resistance. It has also slightly reduced the grip, according to Pirelli, but increased the all-rounder nature of the tyres.

While they aren't the absolute best on any of the surfaces I used them on, they were very good on all. They're tyres you can chuck on and not need to worry about changing (within reason); I didn't ever wish I had different tyres on, for any of the rides I did.

On the road they are fairly fast and hold speed better than I was expecting for a set of tyres offering this much grip. They hold the road well in the bends, with enough responsiveness to allow you to corner confidently at speed.

I tested the 40mm version of the tyres, but they also come in 35 or 45mm, so there's scope to size down if you want to reduce rolling resistance.

The tyres performed well on loose gravel too. I used them on a few farm tracks with differing gravel sizes and they handled just about everything well. Their stability in the corners combined with the grip provided by the tread inspires a fair amount of confidence when riding on loose surfaces.

Venturing onto muddy footpaths and even completely off-road through fields felt like the sort of terrain where they perform strongest, which is understandable given the Scorpion XC-inspired tread, with minimal wheel spin in the wet and slippery conditions. Despite the closely packed knobbles, mud shedding was good enough for the conditions I used them in, although if you're going to be be using them in 'ploughed field' conditions more often than not, you could find something that sheds better. That said, they still worked better than most others I have used.

To increase the tyres' puncture resistance for gravel riding, Pirelli has wrapped the entire tyre in its 120tpi TechWALL Gravel fabric. Road punctures tend to happen within the tread, while off-road flats tend to be caused by sidewall cuts, so by wrapping the whole tyre in the same puncture-resistant fabric, Pirelli is combating both. This undoubtedly adds to the weight, but I didn't see any evidence of the tyres being breached, so it seems like it works.

Setting them up tubeless

Throughout the review I had these set up tubeless on a pair of Roval Terra C rims and they held air well. I didn't have any issues with punctures throughout the review, and I didn't notice any leaking sealant either.

Getting the tyres on the rims was simple enough – I managed to get them on by hand without the use of tyre levers. However, once I had them on the rim I found it pretty difficult to seat them, and in the end needed to blast them several times with a tubeless pump and then carry on pumping; even this took four or five attempts on each tyre.

Once on, they held air and sealant well, so luckily there was no need to repeat the process.

Weight

At 520g each, they're fairly heavy for a gravel tyre, although that's not too surprising given their off-road pedigree. To put it into context, the Bontrager GR2 Team Issue TLR Gravel Tyre weighs 414g for the same size, but it's far less adept at muddy and wet conditions. The Schwalbe G-One R is a closer match in terms of the all-round qualities of the Gravel RC, but still 40g lighter, hitting the scales at 480g.

Value

At £62.99 the Cinturatos are pretty expensive, too, although as they're the kind of tyres you could happily run all year round you don't need multiple sets, which negates it somewhat.

They're not the most expensive, either. Those Schwalbe G-One Rs are £74, and the Bonty GR2s are £59.99, so not far behind – and Rene Herse's Fleecer Ridge tyres start at £82.

We have tested a few comparable tyres that cost less, though, including the Panaracer GravelKing EXT+ TLC at £54.99. Stu found these were also good all-rounders and coped well with UK conditions, but they only run up to a 38mm size, rather than the 45mm offered by Pirelli.

The Maxxis Ravager Folding tyres that Jo looked at last year offer similar off-roading capabilities, if not the same all-rounder qualities, and at 530g are heavier than the Pirellis. They are slightly cheaper, though, at £56.99.

Conclusion

Overall, I was really impressed with these tyres. They are good all-rounders that excel in the wet stuff. I was just as happy using them on muddy footpaths as roads or gravel, and the fact that you can leave them on as year-rounders makes their price a little easier to swallow. The tyres also include some useful innovations from Pirelli, such as the TechWALL Gravel puncture resistance and the SpeedGRIP compound, both of which seem to be well thought through and effective.

Verdict

Innovative all-rounders that can be left on all year, though they are quite pricey