At Wednesday’s Interbike Media Preview, the team from Vittoria (née Geax) were exceedingly keen to share the news about their new graphene-enhanced tyres. While there was a good deal of science-speak, the upshot of the one-molecule-thick carbon material is that it reduces rolling resistance and weight while improving grip and wear. While mountain tyres’ performance are a little harder to quantify, Vittoria claim that their graphene-ized road models reduced rolling resistance can save as much as 32 seconds over a 50km time trial. All without sending you into the bushes at the first turn.
“Oh”
The spiritual successor to the Geax Saguaro, the new Mezcal is a fast-rolling tyre said to be good everywhere… except mud. Sorry, Britain. That said, the linked centre tread should bless summer rides with a healthy dose of speed, while the increasingly aggressive shoulders make hard cornering possible. Vittoria’s four-compound construction is at play, with both centre and shoulder treads hard on the inside and soft on the outside, keeping knobs where they’re meant to be but allowing for good grip.
Similar in construction but a little radder in intent, the Morsa should be more at home on trail and enduro (we are, apparently still using that word) bikes. Knobs are ramped on their leading edges to reduce rolling resistance while braking edges remain sharp. This one looks like fun.
Adding to the rad, the Morsa also features a red (though you can’t see it) APF anti-pinch-flat layer at the bead, protecting both the rim from dings and the tyre from cuts. Good stuff, though we’re not sure what the acronym stands for. Happily, pricing for the new models will remain at the lower-end of the premium tyre spectrum: around $70 in the US UK TBC.
