Confession. I work for Vittoria. Confession. I love their road tires. Confession. Last year I thought their Cyclocross tires needed some work.
Starting this 2009-2010 season, the designers at Vittoria did some major reworking of the cyclocross tires. The three models: file tread XN, All purpose XG, and made for mud XM all come in black, sticky rubber. That’s a huge improvement, but underneath that rubber is another big change. Higher thread count casings. The secret to those fantastic road tires that Vittoria makes has always been the high TPI.
Vittoria bumped the clincher models up to 150tpi (typical ‘cross clinchers are 60-127tpi) and moved the tubulars from 290 to 320 TPI (that’s threads per inch).
Those two improvements made a radical change. Out of the box, the XM tubulars I glued up at the start of the season were buttery supple. I’ve mixed and matched last year’s grey 290 tubulars with this year’s 320’s. The newer tires conform and corner better.
Of the three treads, I’m a big fan of the XM for ‘all conditions’. I think the XG would be fine also; but like the Michelin Mud the XM can be used for all types of courses. In particular, the wide spacing avoids filling and the moderately aggressive ‘paddle’ style tread bites on loose turf and hard dirt of early season ‘Zomer’ ‘cross.
Contact area and suppleness often mean more than any style tread. These tires are supple. The XM currently only comes in a 32mm. I’m a fan of big tires, my initial thought was this tire might not have enough volume. I was pleasantly surprised.
I’ve raced the XM’s 13 times this season. On some bumpy courses and some sloppy courses. Their was plenty of tire to soak up the bumps on the rough stuff. I’ve got a bad back, so I’m sensitive to rough. I’ve glued the tires to wider rims. That keeps the tires tread on the ground, not the sidewall. Some of the other popular (and still quite good) tires tend to rely on sidewalls as part of the contact area, particularly in the ‘fat’ 34mm models. The Vittoria is all tread.
My favorite ride on these tires was at a recent snow covered venue. While some very good area riders struggled to ride some of the short steeps, and keep upright on the corners, I was able to clean everything. Total confidence in the tires. A post ride reflection with a rider I lapped (and he usually schools me) revealed the difference was the tires.
Back to the size thing. There will be 34mm XG’s out soon. That extra bit of volume will be a wise choice for some courses, but I’m happy with my 32mm XM’s for this season.
A last note: These tires were incredibly straight. Quality control keeps the tread where it’s supposed to be. The sidewalls are latex covered for extra durabilty. I had to glue up a LOT of wheels for team riders/friends this year. It’s great to have a supple and straight tire to work with.
Where do you get ’em? The Vittoria XM is in limited availability throughout our readership areas. In KC, a couple of our advertisers (hint: click on those folks that support us) have a few pair in stock. There are plenty of races left. Glue some on.