Review: Pirelli Cinturato Adventure | Go-anywhere gravel vibes
Pirelli’s do-it-all tyre promises high-mileage
The Cinturato Adventure is Pirelli’s go-anywhere gravel tyre that is positioned alongside their racy RC versions and the terrain specific M (Mixed surface), S (Soft surface) and H (Hard surface) lineup.
The Cinturato Adventure is available in a 35, 40 and 45 width in both Standard (black) and Classic (tan) sidewalls. Carrying about 100g more than the brand’s fastest race options, the Cinturato Adventure is designed to last long and tolerate aggressive gravel terrain.
Details
Inspired by the brand’s Scorpion MTB range, the tread pattern is relatively straightforward, featuring V-shaped medium-sized, tightly spaced knobs down the center with larger, more spaced-out lugs on the shoulders. Its profile is very similar to a mountain bike tire, a design intended at delivering a smoother transition from the centerline to the shoulders.
Pirelli
| SIZE | 700 x 45 (Available in 35 & 40) |
| INTENDED USE | Gravel, Bike-packing, Adventure |
| TERRAIN | All surfaces |
| CARCASS | 60Tpi with multiple sidewall and center protection layers |
| COMPOUND | Pirelli Gravel ProCompound |
| WEIGHT | 596g (actual) |
| RETAIL | ± R1100 |
| MORE | pirelli.com |
Puncture protection is in the form of Pirelli’s ProWall Gravel casing, developed by the brand using technology from both their road and MTB tyre technology. The Cinturato Adventure has four layers of reinforcement in the section of the casing that sits underneath the tread and again along the bead. By contrast, the mid-section of the sidewall has three layers of protection.
Intended for high-mileage and above-average durability, Pirelli says the compound has been tuned for reliability and predictable grip, across a variety of terrain and conditions. Without offering much in the way of detail, Pirelli also states the compound is ‘similar to’ what is used on their World Rally Championship rubber. Rad!
Across the sizing and sidewall options, the Cinturato Adventure tyres tip the scales between 550g and 650g – weights which talk directly to their go-anywhere vibe and robust characteristics. If you are looking for something racier, then the Cinturato Gravel RC at 460g might be the one to go for.
Ride Impressions
Setting them up tubeless was relatively easy peasy. As with all the Pirelli tyres I’ve played with, fitting them to the rim required a tad more elbow grease than most. This is a good thing — and its elbow grease I’m happy to offer — as it usually indicates the tubeless seal will be reliable when riding and overnight air loss will be minimum. The other upside of a tight tolerance between the rim and tyre is you can usually get away with running less sealant – which saves some weight.
One thing you will notice with the Cinturato Adventure tyres is the slightly stiffer feel of the sidewalls. There’s no shortage of material here. The upside of this solid construction, is better support and less likelihood of the tyre deforming or rolling off the rim. As far as pressures go, I ran slightly softer than usual; 25psi front and 30psi in the back tyre — which worked well for my weight (72kg) and desired ride feel.
So far I’ve done a little over 300km on these tyres, taking in some local loops in and around the Cape Peninsula and weekend in Greyton. On tar, it’s a big tyre and I did notice a marginally lower rolling speed than the small-block designed, 40’s that I had been riding – which is to be expected. Through slightly wet off-road conditions, taking in some rooty and rocky climbs, the grip was better than I expected out of a ‘high-mileage’ compound.
Out on the gravel roads in Greyton I was particularly impressed with the durability of the Cinturato Adventure. Over the two ride days I put the tyres through a lot of abuse, hitting a lot of square edges at speed and rolling some rough trails with a few bad line choices — without flatting. Actually, I haven’t had a single flat, loss of grip or single sketchy moment with these tyres.
VERDICT | Gravel means different things to different people. If (like me) you despise flats, don’t mind a couple extra grams of rotational mass and take confidence from a well-constructed tyre, then the Pirelli Cinturato Adventure Tyres are worth considering. I’ve put them through a wide variety of riding conditions, they’ve shown no signs of wear and have proven to be very reliable. //
| WORDS: Myles Kelsey | VISUALS: Max Sullivan |