Vittoria Mezcal III, Terreno Dry & Terreno Wet tyre review

Vittoria has developed its broad range and I was happy test three different models, at least one of which is likely to fit your particular needs.

• Brand: Vittoria
• Product: Mezcal III, Terreno Dry, Terreno Wet
• Price: £54.99
• From: Freewheel
• Tested by: Fahzure Freeride

As the world of gravel riding has expanded, we are now offered multiple gravel tyre options that allow the rider to pick from a range that goes from nearly ‘all road’ to ‘mountain bike’.

On test I had the (from ‘most roadie’ to ‘most MTB’): Torreno Dry, Mezcal and Torreno Wet, all tubeless ready. All of the tyres were easy to mount up tubeless and appear to have robust sidewalls. 

My bike came fitted with Vittoria Torreno Dry 2.0 Graphene tyres which, to me, resembled a classic cyclocross tread pattern: a pebble texture with semi-smooth centre, distinct side knobs and a moderate width (in this case 38mm).

I found this combination to be ideal for our poor quality roads and canal paths where the center kept me rolling quickly and the side knobs were there to save me in the occasional mud patch turn. However, I quickly realized that the Terreno Dry was overwhelmed by rougher terrain, bridleways and cobbles where my higher pressures (40-50psi) made the bike skittish and uncomfortable. 

I went looking for solutions to the harsh ride  and lack of soft condition traction and decided to add Cushcore Gravel liners so that I could use lower pressures without jeopardising my rims or increasing the potential for pinch flats.

Because the liners take up much of the tyre volume while supporting the sidewalls, there is an actual reduced air volume and quicker ramp up of pressure with loads. Call it a ‘dual rate spring’ if you’re a geek, I call it the Holy Grail of tyre cushion, soft off the top, with a progressive spring.

Some words about the test bike: a Cairn E-Adventure Limited Rambler Edition eGravel bike in the largest size, that I decided to make it as off-road capable as possible. In addition to the liners, the bike features a 45mm travel suspension fork, dropper post, flat pedals and double wrapped bar tops.

While I appreciated the speed and durability of the Vittoria Torreno Dry, with the changes to the build the Dry tyres could no longer keep up with the 15.2kg Rambler’s build and my (88.4kg) intentions. After about 700km on them (only the centre showing wear), I decided to swap them out for something burlier.

Enter the 44mm Vittoria Mezcal III, which features edge to edge knobs craftily meeting in the middle to provide a smooth straight line experience. Lowering my pressures (I run 5-10psi higher in the rear) by 10psi and with full knobs, the traction and comfort improved tremendously. Here I had a tyre that was good on just about any soft surface, yet was rideable as an everyday tyre on the road. Sure, on wet rocks and steep singletrack, I didn’t really have the traction necessary to keep up with the MTBs, but those folks weren’t using their bikes on two hour long road rides.

I really pushed the Mezcals, dropping my PSIs to around 30 in the rear and 25 up front, which yielded tremendous traction and comfort, if making them a bit slow on the road and disconcerting on fast, hard surface turns. Still, I wanted something more reassuring, especially as typical British summer weather (rain) made its statement. 

Fortunately, I had a Vittoria Terreno Wet available and mounted it up front. Much like MTBers I’m a fan of two different tyres on a gravel bike. The 45mm Wet seems much larger and higher volume, allowing me to go even lower on pressures.

I only rode the Wet up front, given my mixed surfaces, and hold-out for summer weather optimism, and it was perfect for that application. Perhaps, if all my gravel were bridleway or singletrack, a rear Terreno Wet would be appropriate, but I feared the hard surface turning squirm so kept the Terreno Wet where I could see it. And, it did not disappoint, literally carving into mud that had previously taken me down on semi-slick tyres. 

Overall

In general, the Vittoria gravel tyres had robust sidewalls (all from the Endurance line featuring 120 TPI casings), ran true and were well sized and easy to mount. In about 1500km on five different tyres, I’ve yet to have a flat and wear seems reasonable. Vittoria has additional tyres in its lineup but based on my experience, I’d recommend you choose the Endurance casings and find a tread pattern good for your riding.