First Ride: New Pirelli Gravity Tyres
The new Pirelli ‘big meats’ have landed
Cast an eye across MXGP, MotoGP, Formula One and other mainstream motorsports and you’ll notice the omnipresence of Pirelli. Nobody can argue the Italian brand isn’t well-known and well-respected for their premium motor sports and consumer offering.
Whilst only entering the cycling market some five years back, they (already!) offer riders some 37 tyres, in multiple wheel-size and widths – for Road, Gravel and Mountain Biking. Fast-tracking the development of high-performance tyres across all these cycling genres requires two things; partnerships with the world’s best riders and a massive commitment of resources from Pirelli. And that’s exactly what they’ve done. From the Tour de France, to pro Gravel racing and into the paddocks of the XC, Enduro and Downhill World Cup Series – without squinting you’ll see Pirelli’s rolling about.
Details
The Scorpion Race DH is the latest addition to the range of Pirelli Tyres and they are available in three tread patterns. The ‘M’ has a tread pattern suited to hard pack, the ‘T’ tread pattern is suited to slightly softer conditions and the ‘S’ is suited to very soft conditions.
Pirelli Scorpion Race DH ‘M’
SIZE | 27.5 x 2.5; 29 x 2.5 |
USE | Front or Rear |
TERRAIN | Hard pack to mid-soft |
CARCASS | Double-ply casing |
COMPOUND | 42 Durometer – Soft, racing compound |
WEIGHT | 1616g for 29″ (actual) |
RETAIL | ± R1595 |
The Scorpion Race DH M, has a slightly roundish profile with a burly shoulder tread. The center tread pattern alternates from two side-by-side knoblies to four smaller and staggered ones. This is commonly referred to as a ‘two-four-two’ pattern.
The shoulder tread of the Scorpion Race DH M has a large sipe cutaway built to bring extra bite, when cornering hard. To boost traction under braking or when traversing off-cambers, none of the center tread is perfectly square in shape – the idea behind all the odd angles is to maximize grip, at all lean angles. It’s also clear Pirelli has specifically shaped some of the leading edges to optimize rolling speed.
As with most gravity racing tyres, the compound of the new Pirelli’s, is soft. They say the durometer is a 42 – which is pretty much as soft as most manufacturers go. The carcass is a two-ply affair, wrapped around the whole tyre. The bead is reinforced with a rubber insert. Inside the sidewall is an additional layer of fabric, for protection and added stability at lower pressures.
Pirelli Scorpion Race DH ‘T’
SIZE | 27.5 x 2.5; 29 x 2.5 |
USE | Front or Rear |
TERRAIN | Soft dirt, loam or slightly muddy (Intermediate) |
CARCASS | Double-ply casing |
COMPOUND | 42 Durometer – Soft, racing compound |
WEIGHT | 1280g for 27.5″ (actual) |
RETAIL | ± R1595 |
Taking a closer look at the Scorpion Race DH T, shows a very different tread pattern. The center tread follows a two-three-two design. That’s two knoblies side-by-side, followed by three, then two again.
Together with a definite channel between the shoulder and center tread, it’s clear this tyre is designed to cut into softer terrain and then bite. The DH ‘T’, is designed for riding in conditions that are loamy, powdery or lightly muddy. You could call it an intermediate conditions tyre.
For Enduro riders, Pirelli offer the M and T tread patterns in a slightly lighter casing, (±100 grams lighter). For eMTB riders, Pirelli offers what they call an eMTB specific carcass (which appears to be very similar to the DH casing, btw), in the M and S tread patterns.
Ride Impressions
I tested the Race DH ‘M’ on the front and the Race DH ‘T’ on the rear of a full power, Santa Cruz Bullit, on the hard pack trails of Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch. The first observation is just how beefy the tyres are. Straight out of the packaging it’s apparent the casing isn’t lacking in rubber, nor is the tread lacking in aggression. Both tyres seated easily and once inflated seem true to their 2.5″ sizing. A quick poke, push and squish of the tread confirmed they are indeed a soft compound – with rebound qualities of other well-established, soft compound gravity tyres.
To get a good feel for them on the first ride, I ran the tyres without any inserts and on my regular pressures of 20psi front and 28psi rear. Dropping into the Red Phoenix line, it wasn’t long before I felt the grip was good but that my pressures were probably too high. Next up, the steep and rocky Plumber line before a lap of the DH line confirmed the braking power of the Pirelli Race DH tyres are very impressive, as is corner traction. Curious about increasing the contact patch, I dropped the pressures to 17psi upfront and 24psi in the back before heading up for a lap of Iron Monkey and the Armageddon line.
Lowering the pressures unleashed a next-level of grip that I wasn’t expecting. Rolling through the slickest and most awkward turns I know (lower Iron Monkey) I could fully commit without braking through turns I’ve always dragged brakes into. Then, on corners where braking is required, the added traction meant I could change my braking points – making them later than usual.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from my first ride is not the great grip and braking power but more about the softer ride the tyres offer. That super strong casing means softer pressures can be used and that translates into a far smoother ride over small bumps and the meatier square-edge hits that litter our gravity runs.
Over the next few months I’ll be running these tyres on lighter eMTB’s and a Downhill bike. Stay tuned for more coverage and longer term impressions on their durability and performance on other runs in the Western Cape. //